Match Report

Leverstock Green were beaten by a second half goal in a scrappy, wind-affected contest against Flackwell Heath at Pancake Lane. It was a closely-fought game between the sides in 6th and 5th place in the division.

Fergus Moore was again without several of his attacking options due to injury and unavailability. The early stages of the game saw the visitors have more of the ball as Leverstock defended against the wind, but with no chances created. In the 18th minute Flackwell had the ball in the net but it was ruled out as the ball had gone out of play in the build-up. A minute later at the other end Dan Pett had a clear sight of goal on the edge of the box, but pulled his shot wide.

In the 23rd minute Flackwell had an attempt from a long-range free kick which deflected off the wall. A shot from the rebound brought a good save out of Alfie Bonfield, back in the Leverstock goal. Bonfield saved again from close ramge on 35 minutes when Jack Timberlake got on the end of a cross from Jamie Ayres. Three minutes later Pett went close for the Green side again with a shot that went just over the angle of post and bar.

Defenders were still on top as the game reached half time without a goal. The second half saw even fewer chances than the first half, and the goal that proved to be the winner was, as in the game at Tring on Tuesday, a result of a ball straight down the middle not being defended well. It was a hopeful punt forward towards substitute Aiden Higgs, which should have been cleared by Dan Weeks, but Weeks allowed the ball to bounce, and then his attempted clearance was blocked. The ball ran to Finbar King, whose shot was parried by Bonfield, but Higgs followed up to net the rebound.

Leverstock didn’t look much like getting back into the game until the last ten minutes when they switched to three at the back. Five minutes from time they had a free kick in a dangerous position outside the box, but Pett’s attempt rebounded off the wall. Three minutes into stoppage time Leverstock twice came close to snatching an equaliser, both chances coming from long throws into the box by Rawn Seale, and both were shots from Kian Wilkes. The first was cleared off the line by a combination of two defenders, and the second attempt took a deflection and brought a brilliant save out of Flackwell keeper Isaac Hay, who acrobatically tipped the ball over the bar.

Leverstock Green (0) 0
Team: 1. Alfie Bonfield, 2. Brad Robinson (19. Scott McGleish 79 mins), 3. Rio Beach, 4. Dan Weeks , 5. Paul Marks (12. Jack Allen 62 mins), 6. Kian Wilkes, 7. Ethan Mooney, 8. Dan Pett, 9. Rawn Seale, 10. Adam Page, 11. Ollie Cox (14. Ryan Carruthers 69 mins). Subs not used: 15. Callum Moore, 16. Kyle Williams.
Flackwell Heath (0) 1 (Higgs 67)
Team: 1. Isaac Hay, 2. Jack Shakespeare, 3. James Keeley (17. Sam Coles 58 mins), 4. Jamie Essex, 5. Ryan Avery (12. Marcus Ushiro-Lumb 30 mins), 6. Jack Taylor, 7. Ben Fraser, 8. Alan Ackerman, 9. Jack Timberlake (14. Aiden Higgs 60 mins), 10. Jamie Ayres, 11. Finbar King. Subs not used: 15. Tyler Gregory, 16. Fabian Driffill.