Match Report

Leverstock Green earned a welcome three points with an excellent 2-1 win over Biggleswade United in Saturday’s SSML Premier Division game at Pancake Lane.

There were two new signings making their debut in the Leverstock back four, and both Alex Ward and Jamie Ovington acquitted themselves very well in their first game.

Leverstock had the game’s first effort on goal in the third minute when Luke Peerless hit an effort from distance just wide, and Luis Brooker had a shot which also went wide a minute later. However, it was the visitors who took the lead in the 5th minute. After a strong run down the left the ball was squared to find Enrique Amador, who had plenty of space on the edge of the box to hit an unstoppable shot past Matt Fallon.

The Green side were not behind for long, though. In the 8th minute they won a free kick to the right of the United box. Ollie Cox swung the ball over, and Peerless got on the end of it at the far post to level the scores at 1-1.

Four minutes later the visitors had another good break as Amador fed the ball through to Charlie Clayton, but his shot was saved by Fallon, and on 17 minutes Clayton hit a long-range shot just wide after a patient build-up. Leverstock won a number of free kicks in dangerous positions around the Biggleswade box, but didn’t make the most of them. Cox put one over the bar on 32 minutes, and three minutes later a trip on Adiel Mannion resulted in another free kick which John Smith hit into the wall. Leverstock finally got their noses in front in the 38th minute. The move was instigated by Ovington, who played a fine ball from near the halfway line which Peerless chased down to the bye-line, and pulled back across goal where Brooker came in to bundle the ball home from close range.

On 41 minutes there was another free kick just outside the box which Peerless hit just wide, and in stoppage time visiting keeper Emanuel Olajide was penalised for handling just outside his box, but again the resulting free kick was hit into the wall.

The early stages of the second half produced little in the way of chances, but two yellow cards in quick succession for Brooker and Smith. Peerless brought a save out of Olajide in the 55th minute with a cross that looked like it was going to dip under the bar until the keeper palmed it over. From the resulting corner a header from Jack Stevens was blocked on the line by Manny Richardson in a manner that brought shouts for handball, but the referee waved them away.

Fallon produced his best save of the game in the 62nd minute, diving to turn away a shot from Amador after some nice footwork in the box. Kai Stonnell had replaced Peerless in Leverstock’s first substitution, and the other goalscorer Brooker was replaced by Louie Griffiths after sailing too close to a second yellow card. In the 67th minute both Griffiths and Cox had efforts that weren’t too far off the target.

In the 74th minute Biggleswade introduced a different kind of threat as they brought on towering striker Leon Simpson, however the Leverstock defence dealt with him very well, with Simpson having only two headed opportunities in his time on the pitch, both of which were off-target. Ten minutes from time Fallon pulled off another good save when a cross from Richardson found Codi Spavins with a flicked header.

In the end Leverstock held on for a hard-earned three points which keeps them in a mid-table position in the early Premier Division table.