Match Report

Leverstock Green’s run of clean sheets ended, but Fergus Moore’s side showed great spirit to fight back from a 2-0 half time deficit and keep their FA Cup hopes alive with a dramatic stoppage time equaliser. The stunning strike from Rio Beach means that Leverstock will travel to Hertford to face St Panteleimon in a Preliminary Round replay on Wednesday night.

There were few chances in the early stages, with Leverstock’s best effort coming in the 14th minute with a shot from Ryan Carruthers which keeper Diego Pereira couldn’t hold onto, but Pereira recovered to grab the rebound before Chris Blunden got to it. After 384 minutes without conceding a goal, Leverstock finally let one in as the visitors swung in a 24th minute corner and Clayton Afonso had a free header to put his side into a 1-0 lead.

There could have been a second goal three minutes later as Ayub Albadri had a run at goal, but man of the match Josh Mollison came off his line to make the first of a number of crucial saves. There was a chance for an equaliser on 29 minutes when Luke Beckwith’s cross found Lewis Collins in space, but his header was saved by Pereira, who also saved again five minutes later when Alvin Kyemereh got his head to a cross from Dan Weeks.

A minute later Mollison made another great save to keep out a shot from Albadri, but on 37 minutes a foul in the box by Brad Robinson gave St Panteleimon a penalty. Dean Morgan made no mistake from the spot to put the visitors 2-0 up and in control. Two more crucial saves from Mollison in the closing minutes of the half meant that Leverstock were at least still within touching distance as the half time whistle blew.

Leverstock had some promising attacks early in the second half, but the goal that got them back in the match in the 59th minute came from a free kick on the edge of the D. Blunden hit another great strike which was too hot for Pereira to hold onto, and Beckwith followed in to head the rebound over the keeper and pull the score back to 2-1.

There could have been an equaliser in the 67th minute when a cross from Lewis Collins found Kyemereh just outside the six yard box. The defender made great contact with his shot, but it was straight at Pereira. Leverstock suffered their first injury blow in the 77th minute when Ibrahim Nagheeb had to come off with a groin injury.

Morgan had a great chance to clinch the game for the visitors in the 82nd minute, but somehow hit his shot over the bar from close range. However Leverstock’s chances of saving the game suffered a further blow in the 88th minute when George Mitchell-Gears had to be carried off the pitch, and with all three subs already used they were down to ten men.

St Panteleimon still held their slender lead going into stoppage time, but Leverstock did not give up battling. As the game went into the fourth minute of stoppage time they had the ball in the visitors’ penalty area, but no-one could work a shooting chance, until it rolled out to the edge of the area, where Rio Beach met it with the sweetest of strikes that took a deflection off a defender’s shoulder on its way into the top corner of the net.

The jubilation was deserved for a much-improved second half display, and both teams will be in the hat for Monday’s First Round Qualifying draw before the replay on Wednesday night. Leverstock will go into the game with a stretched squad, with neither Nagheeb and Mitchell-Gears standing any chance of recovering in time.

Leverstock Green (0) 2 (Beckwith 59, Beach 90+4)
1. Josh Mollison, 2. Brad Robinson (18. Luke Durnin 54 mins), 3. Rio Beach, 4. Dan Weeks, 5. Alvin Kyemereh, 6. Ryan Carruthers, 7. Lewis Collins, 8. Ibrahim Nagheeb (20. Scott McGleish 77 mins), 9. Chris Blunden, 10. George Mitchell-Gears, 11. Luke Beckwith (12. Elgeniy Daalberg 67 mins). Subs not used: 14. Kai Stonnell, 15. Sean Walsh, GK. Darren Bonfield.
St Panteleimon (2) 2 (Afonso 24, Morgan 37 pen)
1. Diego Pereira, 2. Renzo Alves, 3. Brad Gilmaney (19. Clayton Afonso 14 mins), 4. Alex Androutsos, 5. Michael Frangeskou (13. Ben Dunkwu 84 mins), 6. Joao Praes, 7. Ahmed Doukhi, 8. Jonathan Moura, 9. Dean Morgan, 10. Guilherme Monti, 11. Ayub Albadri (18. Courtney Massay 68 mins). Subs not used: 12. Lucas Totti, 16. Emerson Silva, 17. George Androutsos, 20. Marco Gerimia.

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