Holme Lacy 0, Ledbury Town 0
Following their euphoric 6-0 demolition of Hereford Lads Club in the opening round of this season’s Herefordshire FA County Challenge Cup competition, in the biggest result seen at New Street in several years, Ledbury Town were brought back down to earth with a frustrating bump this weekend, drawing 0-0 away to Holme Lacy in a heated latest Herefordshire FA County League Premier Division encounter.
Holme Lacy had a score to settle after being beaten 4-0 by Ledbury at New Street just over a fortnight ago in the first round of this season’s Herefordshire FA Charity Bowl contest – a competition which Town won the last time it was played out in its entirety pre-Covid back in April 2019, when an 81stminute winner from substitute player Charlie Docherty secured a memorable 3-2 victory against none other than the New Street first string’s latest league opponents at Westfields’ allpay.park ground.
Despite countless chances for Josh Burns, Tom Boyle and Nathan Ince, who had all ran rampant against Lads Club at New Street three days previously, the goals just didn’t want to happen for Ian Merrick’s men as frustration from both sides over being denied a single mark on the scoresheet boiled over to result in referee Tom Fairclough issuing no fewer than eight yellow cards during a fiery second period.
The fouls began as early as the second minute as Ince commited a late challenge on the far wing to see Dale Taylor nod the free kick clear, before the hosts returned the favour in bringing down the pacy visiting marksman as the spot kick taken by Ben Miller was deflected out to Burns, who put the ball wide of the target.
A nervy tenth minute for Ledbury occurred when captain Matt Rooke couldn’t quite prevent a cross being fed in from the corner flag, with a slight deflection off Curt Williams on the goal-line seeing Zak Bonfield palm the ball off for a corner, as the regular reserves keeper stepped up to play for the senior Town outfit that afternoon owing to the postponement of Ledbury Town Reserves’ opening Ross Cup fixture away at Weston under Penyard on account of no referee being available.
The set-piece was again deflected by Bonfield to be nodded over the bar by an opposing forward under pressure from the Town defence in the box, before Holme Lacy were forced to make an earlier-than-expected first substitution on the quarter-hour mark when one of their defenders had to leave the field with a foot injury.
A second foul against Ince on the far wing saw another free kick from Miller being deflected over the touchline, with the visitors unable to produce anything from the ensuing corner as Burns was controversially flagged offside by the home linesman.
Some great 20thminute work from George Walker on the near wing ended with the Ledbury youngster being fouled, providing three opportunities for Town to take the lead in rapid succession as the well-taken free kick from Miller saw Boyle miss the attempted diving header, with Burns striking the post as Ince volleyed the ball into the back of an opposing defender on the follow-up.
Bonfield then recovered a cross from the corner flag, with the half-hour mark seeing Ince hit the side-netting as Taylor performed a good defensive header back across field to provide Bonfield with a comfortable save.
The busy visiting keeper made another good save to palm a more threatening Holme Lacy effort away, before the trio of Burns, Boyle and Ince once again all had chances denied through a combination of the home goaltender and one of his defenders, as Merrick and accompanying reserves assistant coach Nick Blakeway must have been dumbfounded at this point as to how on earth their side were not at least 2-0 up.
Ledbury’s agony continued as Tom Trigg missed out on a header at the near post which would have finished a 38thminute corner, before Boyle went on the run, only to knock the ball wide of the near post five minutes later as Town retired to the changing room for the interval in a far less exuberant mood than they had been at this point of the game three days previously.
Like the dull and chilly weather at their opponents’ ground that afternoon, things didn’t brighten up going into the second period for the visiting outfit as Pete Jeynes received the first yellow card of the day for a late challenge committed towards the near sideline, before Merrick decided to switch his squad up by bringing Williams and Walker off for Chris Wickham and Alistair to make 50thminute appearances.
After Holme Lacy picked up their first booking for a foul, with Burns again being flagged offside in a contentious manner, the temperature was turned up to eleven when the hosts received a second booking in the space of four minutes for another ill-advised challenge, which erupted into a brief fracas as Ince squared up against the opposing player who had brought him down by the near sideline.
Calls for calm worked as the game continued, as did Ledbury’s anguish as two consecutive corner balls saw Boyle connect with the header only to see the ball bounce off the far post, while an effort from Trigg receiving the ball from the second set-piece was blocked by a defender.
Holme Lacy’s third yellow card came through felling Burns, with the home assailant being lucky not to give away a penalty as the contact was made just outside the box to send the Town striker flying into it, as the free kick from Boyle was palmed away by the keeper.
Ince then raced away on the break as the woodwork may just as well have been a twelfth man for the opposition that afternoon as it again denied the strike, before a quickly-taken corner ball from Boyle to Miller saw the former Westfields striker put the ball wide.
Miller committed a foul of his own for a second yellow card for the visitors on the 70thminute, before volleying wide a further great cross from Boyle as the goals continued to elude both players, as Boyle’s later direct shot was saved after Ince managed to get the ball to his team-mate.
Holme Lacy made substitutions either side of Sam Branch entering the fray for Burns with ten minutes left on the clock for either side to finally make the breakthrough, before Bonfield managed to catch a free kick from the far wing in an assured manner as Chris Wickham became the latest Ledbury player to be denied by the stubborn far post.
Boyle then embarked on a final run into the box, with his shot being too weak to trouble the keeper as the Town marksman saw a last cross being halted by a defender, before a final late change of personnel from the hosts saw a final corner ball coming back out to Ince, whose high header from the edge of the box provided the opposing keeper with an easy catch.
Concluding heated moments on the far wing prompted Fairclough to show a pair of yellow cards to Holme Lacy and one the way of the black and white shirts, as the single point taken from this ill-tempered affair was no doubt far more valued by the hosts in keeping them off the foot of the league table away from Shobdon than it was to a despondent visiting outfit, who had experienced quite the comedown from the fairy tale ending of Wednesday night.
Merrick’s men, dropping out of the top three league spots after Hereford Lads Club Reserves defeated Hinton 4-2 at home the same afternoon to go level with leaders Hartpury University Mens and previous champions Clee Hill United on twelve points apiece, although with Ledbury still only sitting a point behind, will now look to regroup against none other than the current third place holders at New Street this coming weeked, KO 2:30pm.
Ledbury Town Reserves are out of action for the time-being after their aforementioned Ross Cup cancellation, continuing their Herefordshire League Division One campaign at home to Hinton Reserves on Saturday 6thNovember, followed by a further fortnight’s break before hosting Holme Lacy Reserves (both games KO 2:00pm).
Ledbury Town Swifts, the new men’s third team affiliated to Ledbury Town Football Club as a result of strengthened relationships with Ledbury Swifts Junior Football Club, will look to lift themselves off the bottom of the Herefordshire League Division Two table with a game against Ross Juniors Reserves at the Ledbury Rugby Football Club Ross Road ground this coming weekend (KO 2:30pm), before a busy November for Richard Thick’s squad begins the following week with a visit to Worcester United Reserves at the Jewry Field (KO 2:00pm).
Ledbury pull of major County Challenge Cup upset in biggest result in years
Ledbury Town 6, Hereford Lads Club 0
Ledbury Town pulled off a stunning upset during the opening round of this season’s Herefordshire FA County Challenge Cup competition on Wednesday evening, dismantling defending title holders Hereford Lads Club with an emphatic 6-0 victory, during a remarkable ninety minutes which will live long in the memory of the 250 spectators who witnessed a piece of Ledbury history unfolding right in front of them under the floodlights at New Street.
All the superlatives in the book could not have done Ian Merrick’s triumphant squad justice on the night, putting in a near-perfect all-round team performance to thoroughly take apart a side competing two leagues above them in the Uhlsport Hellenic League Premier Division, as Nathan Ince stormed down the near wing barely a minute into the encounter against a seemingly complacent and napping Lads Club outfit to fire home an exquisite cross-shot to take the lead almost instantly.
Town maintained their all-out assault on the beleaguered visitors’ goal to see Scott Roberts nod the ball home following a deflection off the four-man wall standing up to Tom Boyle’s 22ndminute free kick, and although there were signs during the opening quarter-hour of the second period that the city-based side were starting to regroup, this was swiftly undone when Josh Burns and Boyle found the net within two minutes of each other.
The remaining twenty minutes belonged firmly to the hosts, not needing the advantage of playing downhill to continue the fairy tale as both of the aforementioned Ledbury target men went on to complete braces.
Ince’s breathtaking opening thunderbolt from the wing was followed by the pacy reserves-turned first team marksman nearly finding a second goal barely four minutes later when his long ball from the opposite wing bounced just shy of the near post, before it was only through the laws of physics seemingly being bent that Burns was denied slipping the ball in on the tenth minute through a combination of opposing keeper and captain Steve Bell and the woodwork somehow managing to prevent the ball from sneaking over the line.
A promising cross from Boyle on the quarter-hour mark was deflected by the defender standing in front of both the goal and Ben Febery, before Roberts’ bullet header was followed by Town captain Matt Rooke making a solid deflection.
A superb 28thminute challenge from Ince gave his side a throw-in from the far sideline near the home dugout, before Boyle managed to hold off a trio of defenders at the edge of the box to feed a long cross towards the far wing, although with no black and white-shirted players being there to meet it.
It took until the 33rdminute for Lads Club to truly threaten with an effort which flew fairly close across the front of goal, before Boyle was blocked by a defender before he had the opportunity to produce the shot back downfield.
Febery was brought down just outside the box as the young striker went on to knock the free kick well over the bar, before man of the match for Ledbury that night Lewis Skyers, who, partnered with his strong defence, could take much of the credit for keeping the visitors’ tally at nil that evening through producing many quality saves, punched away a spot kick struck past Burns, Roberts, Ben Miller and Boyle forming the Town wall.
A massive goal kick from Skyers, standing in for regular goaltender Joshua Worrell, then reached Boyle on the edge of the box as the prolific home striker knocked the ball on past Bell and only just wide of the far post, before a satisfied Ledbury outfit retired to the changing room over the interval in the knowledge that a major upset could be on the cards should they maintain their stunning momentum.
It became clear that the security of a third goal was needed going into the latter half of play as Skyers was soon called upon to make the save in what was an early clear goalscoring opportunity for the blue and white shirts, as Tom Trigg was required to make a decisive clearance in order to keep the opposition out.
A terrific header from Rooke dealt with an awkward cross from the far wing which could have otherwise caused problems for Merrick’s men, before Cameron Godsall picked up the first of two Lads Club bookings that evening from referee James Lewis for a heavy challenge against Febery a few yards outside the box.
A 55thminute free kick from Dale Taylor landed in the hands of Bell as things started to become rather more heated, with the visitors making their protestations clear over a further foul given Town’s way towards the near sideline, as the Hereford-based squad then chose to make a double substitution as Godsall and Thomas Bendall left the field in exchange for Dean Lee and Glenn Segust.
A spot kick was struck over the three-man home wall to bounce off the top netting as Pete Jeynes came on to replace Dwayne Tyndale in a first Ledbury substitution, with Trigg putting in some excellent defensive work to both header and deflect a further free kick from the opposition as Jeynes made the final clearance from the touchline.
Febery nodded a third consecutive Lads Club free kick over the woodwork as half an hour remained for the visitors to salvage their game, with Rooke performing another good block just outside the box as Trigg displayed a fantastic burst of speed in order to chase down an opposing striker for Jeynes to again make the deflection.
For a moment on the 63rdminute, it looked as if Lads Club might have let themselves back in the game when Skyers dived for but couldn’t quite reach a ball travelling under the top corner of the frame, with cheers around the ground being just as loud as if Town had struck the net when the potential sole consolation goal for the visitors was disallowed on the grounds of an offside flag being shown by assistant referee James Cairns.
An expertly-timed challenge from Jeynes in the box was followed by a painful-sounding deflection off the thigh of a stubborn Taylor to send the ball over the touchline as the home defence continued to hold strong, before Ledbury more than addressed their need for a three-goal buffer when Burns and Boyle both found the net in quick succession.
A threatening 70thminute strike from a galvanized Boyle was then saved, only for the goal-hungry striker to finish a cross from Ince to send Town’s total to an unprecedented five, with Taylor then managing to slide in and deflect the ball just shy of the target back downfield as the resulting corner ball was safely caught by Skyers above the swarm of players beneath him in the box.
The 75thminute proved the most controversial of the game as Oliver Price picked up a second yellow card for his struggling side, with Lewis even seeing fit to walk over and have words with an aggrieved away manager, before hot Hereford tempers continued to be evident when Burns was felled through a poor challenge.
A great save from Skyers saw Trigg again being on hand make the clearance, before the substitute home keeper went on to block an effort with his feet before pulling off what was undoubtedly the save of the game, showing cat-like reactions in leaping to palm the ball over the bar to triumphant shouts from the bumper crowd of increasingly excited Ledbury supporters.
The ensuing corner ball was put just wide of the far post as the blue and white shirts faced the unfeasibly tall order of finding five goals in ten minutes if the game was to be taken to extra time, made all the more impossible when a thirty-yard strike from Burns entered the net past a static Bell to see Town’s opponents quite literally hit for six.
Febery stopped a late sustained run from a Lads Club marksman as Ince and Roberts left the field at a job well done for Chris Wickham and Curt Williams to play the remaining couple of minutes, as some good late further defensive work from Febery saw Skyers perform one final impressive save to see Merrick’s stellar squad sail through to the quarter-finals, at home once more to Hereford Pegasus FC on a date still to be announced.
