Alan Lee Reporting St Marys Cup Quarter Final

Leverstock Green 3 Chipperfield Corinthians 0

Tuesday 21st February 2023

It’s four league games without a win for Leverstock Green, who took an early lead in Saturday’s match at Ardley United but fell to a 3-1 defeat after a disappointing second half display.

It was a match played on a difficult bobbly surface, and Leverstock were playing up the slope in the first half. They got off to a great start and could have scored with only a minute played as a run from Richard Ennin set up John Shamalo with a chance, but his shot was saved. In the 6th minute Ryan Carruthers played a pass forward which home keeper Ben Hoy came out of his area to meet. Hoy attempted to head the ball away, but only headed it down to the feet of Chris Blunden, who made no mistake in slotting the ball into the empty net to put the Green 1-0 up.

However, the home side levelled in the 15th minute. Conal Rogan sent over a low cross from the byeline which should have been cleared, but two Leverstock defenders left it to each other to clear, and Mason Courtney needed no second invitation to nip in-between them and drill home a shot past Austin Byfield for the equaliser.

Ardley could have had a second a minute later but were denied by a goal line clearance from a corner. Leverstock went close again in the 22nd minute when Ennin and Blunden combined to set up Rio Beach, but he couldn’t get his boot on it. A corner from Carruthers in the 31st minute found Ennin in space at the far post, but he volleyed over the bar. There was another big chance in first half stoppage time as Shamalo ran in to meet a Carruthers free kick but put his shot just wide of the post. The teams went in with the scores level after an evenly contested half. A change at half time saw Luke Beckwith replace the injured Shamalo. With the slope in their favour Leverstock would have had hopes of going on to win the game, but they made no headway early on. In the 56th minute Ardley played a free kick into the Green six-yard box. Again, the ball could have been cleared, but wasn’t and one of Ardley’s two players called Lewis Gabbidon pounced to shoot his side into a 2-1 lead.

Leverstock continued to labour, pushing forward without creating anything and rarely getting the rub of the green from any deflections inside the Ardley box. There was a glimmer of hope when Alvin Kyeremeh got his head to another Carruthers free kick in the 66th minute, but Hoy gathered the ball. A third Ardley goal in the 75th minute just about sealed the game for them. Leverstock conceded possession in their own half and seconds later a cross was coming in for Anaclet Odhiambo to finish from close range.

Leverstock finished the game with ten men as Ennin was sin-binned in the 87th minute, just before a header from Kyeremeh brought a great save out of Hoy to tip the ball over the bar. A Leverstock comeback never looked likely, though, their second half performance having put them out of contention.

Man of the Match vs Ardley United

Presented by Emma Smart