Junior Football

NEWTOWN Sports Juniors played host to second-placed Westbury Celtic and still appeared to have the cup final blues in the early exchanges.

Wesbury started off the more eager and always looked threatening against a sluggish Juniors team.

Indeed, it was Westbury who took a deserved lead as the hosts failed to be patient, diving into several challenges without coming away with the ball.

But Rogers scored a well-taken goal past Edwards.

This did spur Juniors into life, however, and they began to play the ball around and started to put Westbury under pressure by forcing numerous corners.

With great deliveries from Phillips and Elmes, Juniors soon capitalised when Bromage forced the ball in from an Elmes corner to equalise. In the second-half, Juniors began to dominate, with Brookes and Betteridge giving them great width.

Bytheway and R Smith proved their versatility by giving sound defensive duties and then attacking options.

Winslow almost grabbed a late winner when narrowly missing a headed opportunity.

Despite finishing strongly, Newtown had to settle for a draw against a strong Westbury team.

Lads Club u12s 2, Ledbury Swifts Rovers u12s 2.

LEDBURY Swifts Rovers produced a good display only to throw away a 2-0 advantage eventually drawing 2-2 with Lads Club in a top-of-the-table clash.

It was Ledbury who started brightly and began to put the hosts under pressure, but would eventually pay for not being clinical in front of goal in the early exchanges.

Ledbury always looked a threat going forward, and Callum Williams broke clear after great interplay to score with a super strike for the visitors.

Lads Club rallied and went close prior to half-time with a fine strike from a free-kick.

After the break, Ledbury continued to press and frustrate their hosts, and with the visitors driving forward, it was no surprise when Jakub Kowal pounced on a keeper’s fumble to poke home.

Ledbury almost struck once again but Joseph Bullock was hauled down inside the box only for the officals to play on.

The hosts immediately struck a long ball which was pounced upon to make it 2-1.

The hosts were now bouyant and from a free-kick, a super strike made it all-square.

In the final minutes both sides could have won the game, with Lads Club striking a post from a swift counter-attack, and Ledbury doing all but score from a quick break themselves.

RESULTS MERCIAN FESTIVAL JUNIOR LEAGUE.

U9s, division one: Oldbury Park Tigers 4 Malvern Town Wanderers 2; Warndon Villages Jaguars 0 L&B Badgers Olympic 2; Westbury Celtic Youth 1 Welland Juniors Lions 1; Worcs Lions Comm Colts 1 Newtown Sports Juniors 6.

Division Two: Newtown Sports Colts 5 Worcs Lion Comm Rangers 0; Welland Juniors Colts 6 Westbury Celtic Juniors 0.

U10s, division one: Warndon Villages Cobras 9 Welland Juniors Lions 1; Westbury Celtic Youth 1 Newtown Sports Juniors 1.

Division Two: Kempsey Colts 1 Malvern Town Wanderers 6; L&B Badgers Athletic 0 KGV Worcester Lions 2; Newtown Sports Colts 8 Warndon Villages Phoenix 1; Welland Juniors Colts 1 Warndon Villages Cougar 0.