LEDBURY rounded off their season with some silverware with a heartstopping, trophy-winning 30-27 victory over Winnington Park.
The sides clashed in the Papa John Shield Final at 5pm on May 18 in Doncaster, with a vocal cohort of supporters making the trip north to rally behind Ledbury.
The home side started brightly, with Jack Hughes opening the scoring with a penalty kick just three minutes in, putting Ledbury ahead 3-0.
However, Winnington Park quickly responded, breaking through the Ledbury defence to take a 5-3 lead within 10 minutes.
Despite some early pressure Ledbury's forwards Blessing Mwaisoloka and Ed Bennion, maintained possession, setting up a scrum that led to a penalty.
This allowed Charlie Pallett to cross the whitewash for a try, putting Ledbury back in front at 8-5.
The match remained fiercely contested, but Ledbury faced a setback when Jock Welch was given a stint in the sin bin.
However, they held firm, and despite conceding a try that put Winnington ahead at 12-8, Ledbury's scrum dominance shone through.
With a superb 50:22 kick from Iolo Bubb, Ledbury camped on the opposition's five-metre line, earning a penalty try and a yellow card against Winnington.
Hughes added another three to the tally with a penalty from the 10 metre line which made the score 18-12 at the half-time whistle.
The second half saw both teams make tactical changes, and after a series of exchanges, Winnington managed to score again, narrowing Ledbury's lead to 18-17.
The away side then surged ahead with two more tries, putting Ledbury under pressure at 27-18.
In a remarkable display of resilience, Ledbury responded with a driving score from John Clark, followed by a quick conversion from Hughes, bringing the score to 27-25 with just five minutes remaining.
The home side seized the momentum, and after a series of phases, Bennion magnificently touched down for the winning try after 10 phases with the last play of the game, sealing the match at 30-27.
This thrilling victory capped off a season of mixed fortunes for Ledbury, who can now look forward to their End of Season Dinner on June 6 with some silverware in their trophy cabinet before 2025-26 pre-season training begins in July.
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