Match Report

Leverstock Green continued their impressive run with a 3-0 win away to Baldock Town in dreadful wet conditions. It was their second straight league win – both away wins with clean sheets – and their third straight win in all competitions. It was a well-deserved result for a superb team performance in which everyone played their part.

The home side had the better of the early chances, with a free kick from Alex O’Brien bringing a save out of Matt Fallon in the 10th minute. Two minutes later Fallon saved the day again, deflecting the ball over the bar with his boot when Curtis Finch broke through and shot. In the 14th minute a shot from Sam James had Fallon beaten, but Jack Stevens blocked the ball wide.

Leverstock had seen some promising early breaks from Louie Griffiths, but their first real attempt on goal came in the 24th minute when Kai Stonnell delivered a cross to the far post which Frankie Jowle headed over the bar. In the 33rd minute a great pass from Jamie Ovington to Jowle started a move which ended with Adiel Mannion being brought down by home keeper Adam Harpur. The referee had no hesitation in blowing for the penalty, and Jack Stevens put the spot kick away to put Leverstock into a 1-0 lead.

It got even better for the Green two minutes before the break. A shot from John Smith was saved by Harpur, but he couldn’t hold onto the ball. Griffiths picked up the loose ball and put it back across goal. Baldock defender Alex Coppin should have cleared off the line but got the ball struck between his feet and Jowle came in to make sure, shooting home from inches for a 2-0 Leverstock lead.

The Green side were under pressure in the early stages of the second half, not helped by a harsh decision from the referee who penalised Alex Ward for a back pass when all he did was get his boot on a cross and divert it towards Fallon a yard away. However, the Leverstock defence held strong and the resulting close-range indirect free kick was blocked. Fallon did well to turn a shot from James round the post in the 55th minute.

Having weathered that early storm, Leverstock then started looking like adding further goals. On 58 minutes a kick from Fallon was flicked on by Smith to give Griffiths a run at goal, but his eventual shot was blocked wide by a defender. From the resulting corner Stevens hit a shot which was goalbound, but was kept out by a deflection off his teammate Griffiths. In the 63rd minute Ovington broke forward from his own half to the edge of the Baldock box to set up Griffiths with a shot which was well-saved by Harpur. The rebound came back to Griffths but his second effort went wide.

However, Griffiths didn’t have to wait much longer to add his name to the scoresheet. Four minutes later Ovington lofted a great pass from his own half which put Griffiths clean through, and this time he showed the composure to finish well, drilling a shot into the bottom corner for a third Leverstock goal.

There were still further chances for the Green. On 70 minutes a cross from Stonnell was headed down by Smith to Mannion, who shot across goal and wide. On 82 minutes Conor Blake intercepted a stray Baldock pass and ran through, but his shot was saved. In the end the three goals proved to be more than enough to claim an excellent result.