RORY Wilkinson's first-half strike sealed a vital victory for Ledbury away at Kington.
The winner came courtesy of a goalkeeping error, allowing Rory Wilkinson to fire home from 40-yards to seal the win for Ledbury as they continue their unbeaten start to the new campaign.
Ledbury came flying out of the blocks, immediately putting the home side under pressure as they looked to set the tone from the first whistle.
A defensive error from Kington gifted Joe Thomas an early sight of goal, but his powerful effort was straight at Theo Williams, who gratefully gathered.
Ledbury continued to dominate the early stages, and it didn’t take long for their pressure to pay off.
A long ball over the top caused confusion in the Kington back line, with Williams racing out but failing to clear.
The ball fell kindly to Rory Wilkinson, who took full advantage, spotting the keeper off his line and coolly lifting a shot over him and into the net.
Wilkinson nearly made it two shortly after when Thomas whipped in a dangerous cross from the right, only for Luke Winter to get a vital touch and flick it off the striker’s head.
Wilkinson again proved troubling, looking to be clean through after latching onto a brilliant long ball from Zac Bruton, but the move was controversially halted by an offside flag — despite the forward appearing to start his run from inside his own half.
Despite their dominance, Ledbury couldn’t find a second goal, and that allowed Kington a way back into the contest before half-time.
Noah Wickham created the hosts’ best chance of the half after cutting inside from the left and firing just wide of the far post, following a rare slip by Will Cape O’Reilly.
It was a let-off for Ledbury, who went into the break with a deserved but fragile lead.
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Early on in the second half, some neat build-up play between James and Ben Febery opened space for Thomas inside the box, but the striker failed to connect cleanly, slicing a great chance wide.
As the clock ticked down, Kington began to commit players forward in search of a late equaliser.
They looked especially dangerous down the flanks, with Riley Purvin drilling a low cross across the Ledbury box that narrowly evaded Josh Briggs and found Bradley Locke at the far post.
Locke struck first time, but Bignell reacted superbly to block at his near post and keep his side in front.
Young full-back Ayeyi Asante then came to the rescue moments later with a match-saving tackle.
Cameron Moynihan looked certain to score after running onto a long ball, but Asante’s perfectly timed sliding challenge stopped him in his tracks just as he pulled the trigger.
There was late drama deep into stoppage time when a high free-kick into the Ledbury box was spilled by Bignell under pressure.
Wickham reacted fastest and smashed a close-range shot towards goal, but Bignell redeemed himself with a brilliant stop to deny the equaliser.
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