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Alan Lee Reporting Premier Division

Cockfosters 1 Leverstock Green 1

Tuesday 14th February 2023

No teams have drawn more games in the SSML Premier Division than Cockfosters and Leverstock Green, so there was an air of predictability about tonight’s result as the sides shared the points in a 1-1 draw. Leverstock manager Fregus Moore had a depleted squad to pick from tonight with five players from Saturday’s game either injured or unavailable in addition to the four that were already missing through injury. Top scorers Chris Blunden and Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica were both out injured, so there were debuts for two players – Cameron Ferguson, on a dual registration from Hadley, and striker John Shamalo on a dual registration from AFC Dunstable.

Leverstock made a strong start to the game, though, and took an early lead. Luke Beckwith made a run from the halfway line before laying off to Richard Ennin, who at first seemed to have missed his chance to shoot, but he got the ball back and fired it into the corner of the net for a 1-0 lead in the 4th minute. In the 10th minute Shamalo had an effort at goal which was deflected wide, and Luke Durnin headed wide from the resulting corner. The home side had a good spell in the middle of the half, and Austin Byfield had to make two saves in the 22nd and 25th minutes to keep out shots from Ethan Rookard, who was clean through on both occasions. Leverstock went close again in the 32nd minute when a free kick from Ennin was tipped over the bar by a superb save from home keeper Charlie Mann. Ryan Carruthers headed wide from the resulting corner. In first half stoppage time Byfield pulled off another great save to keep out a Cockfosters free kick.

Further injury problems early in the second half saw Elgeniy Daalberg replace Beckwith and Bobby Armstrong replace Durnin. Seconds after coming on Armstrong was pulled up for a foul inside the box which saw Cockfosters awarded a penalty. Matt Thompson fired the spot kick past Byfield to level the scores at 1-1 in the 58th minute.

On 65 minutes Cockfosters had a good chance when Reece Barrett turned in the box but shot wide from close range. A minute later Leverstock were attacking when Kurainashe Musanhi made a run from his own half to the edge of the box before hitting a shot that Mann did well to turn away. The play went straight back to the other end where Barrett had another good chance but put his shot over the bar. The home side were denied again in the 70th minute by a goal line clearance from Ferguson.

Cockfosters were temporarily reduced to ten men when Chris Griffin was sin-binned in the 78th minute, but Leverstock couldn’t make their numerical advantage tell during the ten minutes, with a free kick over the bar from Ibrahim Nagheeb being their best effort. Leverstock were on top during a lengthy period of stoppage time, with the ball flashing across the face of the home goal a couple of times, but the draw always looked the most likely outcome, and so it proved at the final whistle.

It was an 11th draw of the season for Leverstock and a 10th for Cockfosters. Byfield’s series of first half saves earned him the MOM nomination.

Leverstock Green (1) 1 (Ennin 4)

Alan Lee Reporting Premier Division

Dunstable Town 4 Leverstock Green 1

Saturday 19th February 2023

Leverstock Green suffered their biggest league defeat of the season at fourth-placed Dunstable Town, but it wasn’t for the want of trying by Fergus Moore’s patched-up squad. There were further absences due to injury or unavailability from Tuesday’s game, where there were already nine players missing, so three further players were brought in on dual registrations for their debuts. Centre-backs Tom Smith and Jeremy Stewart came from Berkhamsted and Hanwell Town respectively, while midfielder Jedediah Brown-Johnson came from Welwyn Garden City.

In addition to the unfamiliar look to the side, the first half was made more difficult by the strong wind. The home side had more of the early pressure, with Austin Byfield saving a close-range header from Danny Webb in the 4th minute, and Smith heading off the line from a corner in the 17th minute.

Leverstock were holding their own until the half-hour mark where there was a flurry of goals. In the 30th minute Byfield did well to parry away a shot from Webb, but Tolu Ikuyinminu followed up to smash home the rebound.

Within two minutes there was a highly controversial second goal for Dunstable. Ikuyinminu hit a shot across goal which was put into the net by Joe Sellers-West, who was laying next to the goal line at the time it hit him and clearly in an offside position, but neither referee or assistant saw the need to disallow the goal.

Leverstock got themselves back into the game in the 37th minute. Luke Beckwith’s corner was not cleared from the six-yard box and John Shamalo applied the decisive touch to head into the net. However, the two-goal cushion was restored within a minute from a long throw at the other end. It was another controversial goal as Ikuyinminu finished at the far post, but Smith was clearly being held and went down as the ball came over.

Leverstock could have got themselves back in at again on the stroke of half time as Chris Blunden got to the bye-line and pulled the ball back for Shamalo, but his shot went over the bar.

Early in the second half Byfield pulled off two good saves to keep out shots from Webb, but in the 60th minute he had no chance as Webb took advantage of some suicidal passing around their own box by the Green defence to shoot home the fourth goal.

Leverstock kept on pushing to get a goal back, and their effort could not be faulted, but with their makeshift side against full-strength opposition it was always going to be an uphill battle and Dunstable held onto their lead comfortably for the rest of the game.

Leverstock Green (1) 1 (Shamalo 37)

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MoM vs Dunstable Town