Match Report

A severely depleted Leverstock Green side fell to another defeat in Saturday’s SSML Premier Division game at Herns Lane. Scott Dash was without even a recognised goalkeeper for this game, with midfielder Luke Preedy taking his place between the sticks as a makeshift keeper.

The Leverstock side was caught cold by a goal inside 30 seconds of the kick-off. A long throw was hurled into the box and flicked on, and with none of the defence dealing with the danger, there was an easy tap-in for Sean Brettell from a yard out.

Welwyn had the ball in the net for a second time in the 19th minute from a free kick, but it was ruled out for offside. Zak Howells was booked for the foul which give away the free kick, and was lucky to stay on the field after another tackle in the 28th minute that could also have been yellow-carded.

By this time the Leverstock side had settled down after a shaky start, with Preedy beginning to look more confident. There should have been an equaliser in the 36th minute when Jonathan Lacey floated a free kick across the face of goal, but Curtis Donaldson didn’t get quite enough of a touch on his header to divert it inside the post. Two minutes later Lacey exchanged passes with David Lawrence before his shot was saved by the feet of keeper Jack Metcalfe. There was a third chance on 42 minutes when Lacey put the ball over the bar from Lawrence’s cross.

Leverstock were still very much in the game as the second half started, and in the opening minute Metcalfe had to produce another save from a long range effort by Lewis Davis. Welwyn had the chance to increase their lead in the 62nd minute when Kendall Allen was harshly penalised for handling the ball inside the box while lying on the ground, however Josh Bronti’s spot kick was superbly tipped over the bar by Preedy.

Leverstock’s best chance of an equaliser came in the 79th minute when a Donaldson free kick was parried by Metcalfe. Davis came in for the rebound but lifted the ball over the bar from six yards out with the Welwyn defence shouting for an offside flag that never came.

Welwyn had put plenty of pressure on the Leverstock goal during the match, although had few efforts on target to show for it. They finally sealed the points with a goal in the first minute of stoppage time, as Ash Kersey lashed the ball into the roof of the net from a narrow angle.

The goals seem to have temporarily dried up for the Green side, with last Saturday’s two at London Colney being their only strikes in the last four games. They will hope to get back on track next Saturday when they visit Oxhey Jets.