TWO-goal Westfields’ hero Aidan Thomas says he must like the big occasion after the city club kept their stranglehold on the HFA County Challenge Cup.

The former Hereford United youngster praised the battling display from lower-graded Ledbury, who led 1-0 and then 2-1 in the showpiece final.

“I was happy with my performance in the final last year and I got a goal then - so I must like the big stage,” said Thomas, whose side have won the cup eight times in 11 seasons.

It was the best county cup final for several years and not a one-sided affair which people might have feared with Ledbury three tiers below the holders.

Hereford United’s Craig Jones got a decent run-out on the Edgar Street pitch, scoring with a sweet free-kick and rattling the bar in the opening half.

Anthony Robbins also missed a penalty in first-half stoppage-time for the holders who dominated most of the final but were pushed all the way.

Westfields avenged a defeat by Ledbury in 2010 and manager Sean Edwards admits it’s getting tougher each year to win the trophy.

“It gets harder each season,” said Edwards.

“We’ve played Wellington, Bromyard and Pegasus to get to the final and this was the toughest game we’ve had, in the toughest conditions and on a poor pitch.”

Captain Scott Jackson was clearly elated, after climbing the steps to the main stand, to lift the trophy.

It was Westfields’ 12th county cup triumph - and extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 21 matches.

Westfields will now meet Hereford United in a money-spinning home per-season tie for the HFA Senior Cup.

Ledbury Town play in West Midlands League Division Two and their supporters would have been dreaming of a giantkilling twice in last Wednesday night’s match.

Town survived an early onslaught from Westfields who could have scored twice in the first minute.

Jones then hit the bar and there were a succession of near misses for the Hereford club before Ledbury, led by man-of-the-match James Febrey, took the early lead from their first corner.

Neil Gardiner’s corner was flicked on by Dan Herbert and Jamie Welch pounced to ram the ball into the net from close-range.

Westfields should have levelled on the stroke of half-time when Febrey was ruled to have handled Carl Morgan's flick but Robbins' powerful spot-kick hit the top of the bar.

Westfields attacked the Meadow End after the restart and deservedly drew level through Thomas' cool strike just four minutes into the second half.

But Ledbury threw caution to the blustery wind and should have been awarded a penalty after Dan Herbert's shot struck the arm of Sam Gwynne.

However, Ledbury regained the lead from the spot soon afterwards when goalkeeper Matt Gwynne was penalised and yellow-carded for a two-footed lunge on Welch.

Herbert dispatched the penalty and that proved to be the end of Ledbury's fairy-tale.

Westfields levelled two minutes later after Jones was fouled on the edge of the box and then drove a low free-kick past Adam McTear.

And the dangerous Carl Morgan cut inside three players and slipped the ball through to Thomas who thumped his shot into the top corner to seal the triumph.

Thomas said: “I had had gone four or five games without a goal so it was nice to get a few.

“But Ledbury did brilliantly. They made it a scrap for us and got behind our defence."