Match Report

Leverstock Green fell to a disappointing home defeat to London Tigers in Saturday’s SSML Premier Division fixture. Leverstock failed to produce their usual fluent football, while the frequent gamesmanship of the visitors ensured that the game never really got going as a spectacle.

The Green squad continues to have problems at the centre-back position, with Jude Bell the only one of the regular centre-backs fit to play, until another injury took him out of the game midway through the second half. There was little to write about in the early stages of the game, other than a free kick from Chris Blunden which went just wide in the 10th minute. In the 22nd minute a poor kick by the Tigers keeper gave Mark Smith a chance to send a lob from distance over the stranded keeper, but it went over the bar. Two minutes later Leverstock were behind as a mistake by keeper Arvydas Kacinkevicius gifted the visitors an opening goal.

Tigers then started to play some good football, with a shot from Dayaan Salifou going across the face of goal and wide after a quick breakaway. Three minutes later Paulo Alves threaded a pass through to Joel Ramos, but his shot from a narrow angle was saved by Kacinkevicius. On 37 minutes Leverstock had a chance when Jonathan Lacey’s free kick was put back across the face of goal by a defender, but Jordon Goode’s shot was over the bar. Two minutes later Smith had another effort from distance which went over the bar. Having not played well at all for the first half, Leverstock were gifted a way back into the game in stoppage time as a defender handled the ball while running out of the penalty area. The linesman spotted the handball and alerted the referee, and Lacey put away the resulting spot kick to send the Green into the break with the scores level at 1-1.

However, it took Tigers just five minutes of the second half to back in front at 2-1 through a far post header from a corner, leaving Leverstock in search of another equaliser. Another handball gave them a free kick in a dangerous position on 56 minutes, but Blunden’s shot was comfortably gathered by the keeper. Two minutes later they were unlucky when Lacey’s instinctive turn and shot from the edge of the box struck the bar.

On 67 minutes a long pass from Lacey almost created a goal when a defender tried to play the ball back to his keeper, only to find that the keeper wasn’t there. Sam Nair nipped in for the loose ball but his shot from a narrow angle was cleared off the line. There was another chance for Lacey on 73 minutes after a cross from Luke Nugent, but his shot went wide.

Leverstock’s chances took a further blow ten minutes from time when they were reduced to ten men. Blunden had already been booked for an earlier altercation, and foul and abusive language directed at an opponent who was timewasting saw him receive a second yellow and a red. As the game went into stoppage time, Kacinkevicius came up for a couple of corners, but Leverstock were unable to make anything of either. Six minutes into stoppage time Tigers added a third through Joseph Moore, whose long-distance lob went in off the post.

A disappointing result and performance, and the Green side will certainly have to play a lot better than this if they have ambitions of challenging in the top half of the table. The next match scheduled is at home to London Colney on Tuesday night, although this one is currently in doubt due to issues with the Pancake Lane floodlights.