Setback for Town title bid (From Ledbury Reporter)

Setback for Town title bid

9:37am Friday 22nd March 2013 in Football

LEDBURY Town suffered a West Midlands Football League Division Two title blow after losing 3-1 at current leaders Gornal Athletic Reserves.

The mid-week defeat left third-placed Ledbury eight points behind the Black Country side with two games in hand.

Herefordshire rivals Bartestree and Hereford Lads Club are also in the title mix along with Newport Town in an exciting run-in.

Ledbury host basement boys Malvern Town Reserves tomorrow (3pm) after beating Riverway 3-1 at New Streetlast weekend.

Just three weeks after drawing 2-2 at the Stafford side, Chris Powell and Phil Preedy’s men squandered a string of chances with the scores locked at 1-1 by halftime.

But Tom Boyle managed to save Ledbury by scoring his second goal from a corner and then he crossed for Jamie Welch to cement the win less than 10 minutes before time.

The first Town chance came after three minutes when a goalkeeping error from Jamie Lowman resulted in Welch’s shot bouncing off the post.

The follow-up from Welch was cleared off the line by Chris Hall. Mid-table Riverway demonstrated their threat when a shot was only just stopped by Ledbury keeper Nick Blakely.

But Boyle put his side ahead after just 10 minutes through a fine follow-up strike from a Martin Loveridge corner.

Lowman clawed away a Neil Gardiner shot shortly afterwards and then blocked with his leg from Boyle.

Welch blasted the ball at the keeper and Ledbury’s failure to score again proved costly as Riverway’s Tom Lane equalised on the half-hour mark.

Plenty more chances went begging before the interval and then two shots rebounded off the woodwork early in the second period.

Boyle grabbed his second goal, however, in the 52nd minute after a well-taken corner resulted in a scramble in the box.

Ian Merrick had an effort disallowed for offside before Ledbury made a triple substitution with James Dean, Scott Roberts and Sam Dixon coming on.

Welch finally grabbed a goal by blasting the ball home following another well placed Boyle cross to complete Ledbury’s victory.