Match Report

Leverstock Green opened the new year with three points as they claimed a hard-fought win against Dunstable Town. The Pancake Lane pitch is not in the best shape at the moment, and although the pitch passed a morning inspection, it was a difficult surface for both sides to play on, with a bobbly surface and a lack of bounce, and the game was hardly a great spectacle.

It was the visitors who had the game’s first efforts at goal in the 10th minute, with a succession of shots being blocked in the six-yard box before Luke Little hit a shot high and wide of the target. Matt Fallon comfortably gathered a shot from Joe Hankins in the 21st minute.

Leverstock had won a couple of corners, but their first effort on goal came in the 28th minute when John Smith shot just wide from the edge of the box. Dunstable had a good chance on the break in the 36th minute, but Daniel Trif ballooned his shot over the bar. Five minutes before half time Chris Gosling was brought down just outside the box to give Leverstock a free kick in a great position, but Luke Peerless shot wide from the free kick as the first half ended in stalemate.

There was some controversy in the 52nd minute when Peerless appeared to be barged over when running through on goal, but the referee waved play on. Adiel Mannion protested about the non-decision, and as a result was sent to the sin-bin for ten minutes. It was while Leverstock were playing with ten men that they scored the game’s only goal. Half time substitute Jamie Ovington delivered a superb cross from the right touchline, and Peerless got on the end of it to head home.

That proved to be an isolated moment of quality as the game continued to be scrappy. Dunstable felt they had a good shout for a penalty later in the half, but again the referee was unmoved, and they came close to an equaliser in the fourth minute of stoppage time when Chris Stapleton got on the end of a corner with a looping header that went just over the bar, with many in the ground thinking it had gone in.

Leverstock held on for their third win over Dunstable this season, with Peerless having scored the winning goal in two of them. The three points means that Leverstock have already topped last season’s points tally after just 22 games.