Match Report

With 86 minutes played, Leverstock Green looked to be returning to winning ways as they comfortably led 3-0 against a ten man Stotfold side. Little more than six minutes later they were left with just one point as Stotfold pulled off an unlikely comeback. Stotfold’s point was not undeserved, as they had played well and missed a host of chances, but the manner in which the Leverstock side threw away their three-goal lead was very disappointing.

Stotfold could have taken the lead in the opening minute when an ill-advised throw-in put the Green defence under pressure, but Jake Long shot into the side netting from a good chance. At the other end in the 5th minute the visitors’ keeper Matt Fallon pulled off a good save to turn a header from Jonathan Lacey round the post after a great cross from Luke Preedy. From the resulting corner Brima Johnson, Danilson Vicente and Lacey all had efforts in a goalmouth scramble but none of them could put the ball away.

Stotfold had another great chance in the 9th minute when a pass through the middle put Daniel Bond clean through. Mark Berg stayed in his area, giving Bond the chance to send a lob over him, but the ball bounced just wide.

Leverstock took the lead in the 21st minute. A ball forward from Preedy just eluded Lacey, but defensive hesitation allowed Curtis Donaldson to pounce on the loose ball and burst clear. Donaldson could have taken it on himself, but instead chose to square for Lacey to slot home the opening goal.

There was another chance for Stotfold on 30 minutes when they won the ball near the corner flag, but the near-post header from the resulting cross was wide. Five minutes later they had a good shout for a penalty when Kendall Allen clearly handled in the box from a corner, but the referee didn’t see it.

Two minutes before the break a pass from Lewis Davis put Lacey through on goal, but he was brought down on the edge of the penalty area by a push from defender Karl Dean. After consulting his linesman, the referee awarded a free kick just outside the box, but showed a straight red to Dean for denying the goalscoring opportunity. It proved as good as a penalty though, as Donaldson blasted the free kick through the wall to send Leverstock into the break with a 2-0 lead.

Another Stotfold chance went begging on 52 minutes when Tom Oram had a free header from a corner, but put it over the bar. Leverstock were forced into a change on 56 minutes when Preedy limped off injured, to be replaced by Ben Darby, returning from a long injury lay-off. The game looked to be over when Leverstock scored their third goal in the 65th minute, a pass from Ross Adams putting Donaldson through to send a lob over Fallon which just found the net despite the attempts of a defender to slid in and clear it.

Leverstock made two further changes at the back midway through the half, although with all three subs having been used, both Darby and Davis were struggling with cramp towards the end of the game. The 3-0 lead was still intact when Stotfold won a corner in the 87th minute. Drew Cardines curled in an inswinger that Berg realised too late was heading for the top corner, and despite backpedalling he was unable to prevent the ball creeping in just under the angle for an unusual goal which, at this stage, still looked like just a consolation.

However, the Stotfold side sensed the chance for a comeback and upped their game, while the Leverstock defence had switched off. In the 89th minute Bond hit a shot which went just over the bar. In the first minute of stoppage time the Green defence was suicidally playing the ball around in their own half and gave it away, and a couple of passes later George Bates was shooting home a second Stotfold goal. Little over a minute later they pushed forward with pace again against a shellshocked Green defence and Cardines slotted home the equaliser. There was barely time to restart the game before the referee blew the final whistle on an extraordinary ending.

The result ended a run of three straight defeats for the Leverstock side, although it will feel like another defeat. It was the fourth time in the space of six weeks that Leverstock have failed to beat a side reduced to ten men for a significant portion of the game. Next up is a home game against Biggleswade United on Saturday.