LEDBURY fought from a goal behind to earn a well-deserved point against Pershore's development side in an entertaining 1-1 draw.
Both sides had chances late on, with Pershore goalkeeper Josh Reed-Jones producing two superb saves to deny Craig Howell and Nathan Ince, as Ian Merrick’s Ledbury side came agonisingly close to snatching all three points in stoppage time for the second week in a row.
“It’s probably two points dropped - a little bit disappointing,” admitted Merrick after the final whistle. “We could’ve been a couple of goals to the good in that first half, but their keeper made three or four top-class saves.
"We scored a good equaliser and pushed hard at the end, but you start thinking it’s just not going to be our day. Still, we haven’t lost, and that’s important.”
Ledbury started brightly and showed their intent early on, with James Febery nearly connecting with a dangerous cross from Tom Boyle in the opening minutes.
A flurry of chances followed, the best of which came when Cosmin Micula’s corner found Febery, whose goal-bound header was flicked narrowly over the bar by Ben Febery.
The pressure continued as Rory Wilkinson was played through one-on-one, only to be denied by an excellent reflex stop from Reed-Jones.
Despite Ledbury’s early dominance, Pershore grew into the game. They had a brief scare disallowed when Charlie Muir found the net, only to be flagged offside.
Minutes later, Mordecai Kudadirwa pounced on a misjudged bounce but dragged his shot just wide.
Ledbury were made to rue their missed chances as Jacob Dyke found space in midfield and curled a superb strike into the top-right corner, giving the visitors the lead heading into the break.
Pershore came out quickly after half-time, nearly doubling their advantage when a corner struck the post and Scott Loader was denied on the rebound Oscar Bignell in the Ledbury goal.
Ledbury responded well, with Lewis Tolley playing a clever flick down the line to Nathan Ince, who cut inside and fired low across goal, only to see Reed-Jones react quickly to smother.
Pershore came close again when Lewis Martin’s audacious long-range effort nearly looped over Bignell, who backpedalled and tipped it behind. Moments later, Muir’s glancing header from a Dyke cross flashed inches wide of the post.
Ledbury thought they had their equaliser when Zach Bruton broke through two tackles and slid in Nathan Ince, who calmly slotted past the keeper - only to be denied by the assistant’s flag for offside.
Undeterred, Ledbury kept pressing and were eventually rewarded. Bruton again picked the gap in Pershore’s back line and laid it off for Craig Howell, who whipped a brilliant effort across Reed-Jones and into the far corner to level the score.
Merrick’s men continued to press for a winner but were nearly caught on the break, as Jaymi Harris found himself free from a deep free-kick but blazed over from close range.
Ledbury refused to settle for the draw. Ince cut inside and forced a strong save from Reed-Jones, who reacted brilliantly to turn it over.
Moments later, Howell’s thunderous volley looked destined for the top corner, only for Reed-Jones to pull off a stunning save high to his left - denying Ledbury a dramatic late winner.
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