LUDLOW Town Colts manager Scott Mackenzie hailed his side’s doggedness as the Herefordshire Division One leaders ‘danced on ice’ to maintain their unbeaten record.

Colts dropped points for the first time this season – having won all of their eight opening games – as they were held to a 1-1 draw at third-placed Wellington Colts.

But after the game went ahead in conditions that Mackenzie described as ‘farcical’, he was just happy to see Ludlow’s undefeated status remain intact.

Mackenzie said: “The pitch was shocking, it was very waterlogged. We struggled to play our football, in fact we struggled to stand up! It was a farce really.

“The pitch was unplayable, it was like dancing on ice. So we were quite happy to come away with a point.

“I’m not overly disappointed – playing in those conditions, you take anything you can get. The main thing for us was staying unbeaten – we didn’t want to lose our record in a game like that.

“Wellington are not a bad team, they are up there challenging, so to come away with a draw is not the end of the world. The boys battled, dug in and gave everything they had in atrocious conditions.”

Ludlow dominated the opening half-hour but wasted several good chances and Wellington went ahead against the run of play.

Jamil Kezze tucked home Dan Griffiths’ cross to equalise but despite having the better of the second half, Ludlow had to settle for a point in worsening conditions.

Colts stay one point ahead of second-placed Hinton Reserves but with three games in hand – and the two sides meet in the first game of 2019 on January 5.

Mackenzie added: “There’s no point having the games in hand if you don’t win them, it’s important we carry on these performances next year. There’s a long way to go yet.”

Elsewhere, Clee Hill United boosted their Herefordshire Premier title hopes with a 5-1 thrashing of Malvern Town Reserves.

United – who host Kingstone Rovers this Saturday in their final game of 2018 – remain 14 points behind leaders Wellington Reserves but have four games in hand to claw back that deficit.

All the goals came in the second half against Malvern as Josh Carpenter bagged a brace, while Craig Breakwell, Callum Gibbons and Charlie Edwards also netted.

Boss Wayne Whitbread said: “Wellington are in the box seat because they have the points on the board but we will be trying our best to close that gap.

“If we win our games in hand, it is still within our grasp – we still have to play Wellington twice and we want to get into a position that makes those games important.”

Tenbury United’s game with Ewyas Harold was postponed, while Tenbury Town did not have a game but face a relegation six-pointer at Holme Lacy this Saturday.

Town assistant boss Dean Morris said: “It would be nice to finish the year with a win. We are six points adrift of second-bottom so we are keen to close that gap.”