LEDBURY FC manager Ian Merrick has said his side will go to Bromyard with 'no fear', as they look to continue their recent upturn in form.
Since Merrick returned as boss of the club, they have risen from twelfth to eighth in the table, and in their recent 4-1 victory over Ludlow Town, they recorded successive league wins for the first time this season.
"We started very well, for the first 25 minutes we controlled the game, passed the ball well," said Merrick. "Tom Boyle scored an excellent free kick. We probably should have been a couple of goals up then really.
"We got sloppy and we let them back into the game. We started trying to force it, play the killer pass, the Hollywood pass too many times. Really they should have been level.
"It was a warning to us – one that didn’t really wake us up actually, so then they quite deservedly equalised.
"That pretty much swung us back into life actually, we went right down the other end of the pitch and won a penalty, and went ahead. The second half we came out and scored a third goal, which was some lovely interplay between the front players.
"Then we had a man sent off, played the last 25 minutes with ten men and it was backs against the wall there. But I thought we defended really well, really stopped a lot of chances for them, they were just having half chances – long range efforts or flashes at goal.
"We moved to a back four and our guys defended excellently, and Archie the goalkeeper. We scored on the counter attack to wrap the game up.
"It was a pleasing performance, it had a lot of elements. We weren’t at our best but we really were resolute and dug in when we went down to ten."
Due to the sides' early season form under Matt Tunley, any hopes of challenging for promotion or a league title have been and gone.
"We can’t win the league, but what we can do is disrupt other people’s seasons. Play attractive, attacking football and try to get people to watch the team again.
"When we are at home, hopefully people will look at our results and see that we are a team worth watching. Obviously the wins are important because they build confidence, they build momentum."
In their next game Ledbury play local rivals Bromyard Town, a side that they narrowly lost 3-2 to earlier this season.
"They are obviously a good team, we will go there with no fear," said Merrick. "Two games on the bounce, we have scored eight goals in those two games. We scored two against Bromyard previously – so we know we are good to score goals.
"A local derby of sorts, our strengths are turning games into battles at the moment, making it go a bit chaotic.
"Hopefully we will get a few folks there watching us. It is the Saturday before Christmas, so people might be doing their last minute Christmas shopping but we do have a decent away following, so hopefully there will be many people there supporting us. That always helps."
The side do have some unavailability ahead of the fixture, but Merrick maintains they will travel with confidence, with a squad that is "more than competitive."
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