Match Report

Leverstock Green ended 2019 in disappointing fashion as they fell to a 3-0 home defeat to Crawley Green in Saturday’s SSML Premier Division game. On a very sticky Pancake Lane pitch, the Leverstock side created little, while the visitors were clinical in taking their chances.

The first effort on goal came in the 6th minute, an ambitious attempt by Jamie Ovington to lob the visiting keeper George Rose from the halfway line, Rose gathering the ball comfortably. Two minutes later the visitors were ahead. A through ball found striker Danny Watson ahead of the last Leverstock defender. The view of most in the crowd had been that Watson was offside, but the linesman’s flag stayed down and Watson ran on to take the ball past Matt Fallon and slot into the empty net.

Leverstock had some chances to level the scores. In the 13th minute Louie Griffiths made a good run before squaring for Conor Blake, who got a shot away, but it was saved by Rose. In the 19th minute a free kick from Frankie Jowle found Griffiths, but his header was blocked. The closest Leverstock came to scoring was in the 25th minute. A fine cross from Jowle found Ovington, whose header came down off the underside of the bar but was palmed away by Rose. Jack Stevens made an attempt at the loose ball but was flagged offside.

Leverstock continued to push forward, but as was the case for much of the game, they were unable to find the final ball to create the clear-cut chances. The state of the pitch certainly didn’t help, but as in their previous home game against Edgware, they were playing a side whose home turf is artificial, but who coped with the muddy conditions better. A second Crawley Green goal in the final minute of the half made it an even tougher task for the Leverstock side, and it was a well-worked goal with Billy Lobjoit threading a pass to Glenn Cooksley, who slotted the ball past Fallon with one touch.

The second half saw plenty of effort from the Leverstock side, but again little was created, and it was the visitors who came closest to scoring a couple of times on the break before they finally did add a third goal in the 83rd minute. Leverstock twice missed the chance to clear the ball before Phil Draycott shot home from the edge of the area.

Draycott’s joy was short-lived, as within two minutes he had been shown a second yellow card and sent off, but the ten men had no difficulty holding onto their three-goal lead over the final minutes.