First Team Results

Alan Lee Reporting Premier Division

Ardley United 3 Leverstock Green 1

Saturday 25th 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 bye-line 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.

Leverstock Green (1) 1 (Blunden 6)

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Alan Lee Reporting Premier Division

Potton United 2 Leverstock Green 1

Saturday 28th February 2023

Leverstock Green’s current struggles continued as they fell to a third straight away defeat in Tuesday night’s SSML Premier Division game at Potton United. A poor start to the game gave them an uphill task to get anything out of the game.

Leverstock were boosted by the return to the side of Dan Weeks, Ibrahim Nagheeb and RaduMihai Stefanoaica, but it was Potton who got off to a very fast start which left the Green side chasing shadows in the early part of the game. In the third minute Austin Byfield pulled off a good save to keep out a header from Steve Gentle, however in the 12th minute a cross into the six-yard box was not cleared and Tommy Blennerhassett was able to blast home from close range.

Worse was to follow three minutes later when Blennerhassett was through on goal and slotted the ball under Byfield to double Potton’s lead before Leverstock had even got going.

In the 24th minute, however, Chris Blunden found space on the right side of the box and lofted in a cross which Stefanoaica headed home to put Leverstock back in the game at 2-1.

The scores could have been levelled in the 29th minute when Blunden played a great pass to put Stefanoaica through on goal, but keeper Craig Foxall saved his shot. Stefanoaica was in again in the 39th minute from another precise pass from Nagheeb, but his shot drifted wide of the target.

The second half was evenly-contested, but for all their possession Leverstock created little. In the 64th minute Weeks got on the end of a Nagheeb corner, but headed wide. There were plenty of other set-pieces, but too many of them were either overhit or easily claimed by Foxall.

At the other end Byfield made a couple of good saves to keep his side in the game, but Potton were able to hang on to their win, with Leverstock becoming increasingly frustrated by the home side’s time wasting tactics.

Leverstock Green (1) 1 (Stefanoaica 24)

1. Austin Byfield, 2. Adrian Pitfield, 3. Rio Beach, 4. Dan Weeks, 18. Bobby Armstrong (14. Alvin Kyeremeh 57 mins), 6. Ryan Carruthers (12. Elgeniy Daalberg 72 mins), 7. Ethan Mooney, 8. Danny May (17. Dan Pett 62 mins), 9. Chris Blunden, 10. Ibrahim Nagheeb, 11. Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica. Subs not used: 15. Kurainashe Musanhi, 16. Ayomide Oke.

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