Match Report

Leverstock Green had to settle for a point from their home game against Potton United in the SSML Premier Division on Saturday. Leverstock dominated the first half and had enough chances to have built a comfortable lead, but they could only find the net once, and a spirited comeback by Potton in the second half saw them equalise and come away with a deserved point.

This game was the only SSML Premier Division fixture to go ahead on a grass pitch on Saturday, with all others falling due to frozen pitches. The Pancake Lane pitch was in superb condition, with the intermittent fog during the afternoon causing more problems than the freezing temperatures.

Leverstock went close to going in front in the 5th minute with a Rio Beach shot from the edge of the box going just wide. The goal arrived in the 10th minute. A corner was headed away, but only as far as Dan Pett, who hit a shot through a crowd of players that took a deflection and beat keeper James Hoskins.

There should have been a second goal in the 13th minute when a cross from Ethan Mooney found Luke Beckwith at the far post, but Beckwith’s shot was cleared off the line by a defender. A minute later a cross from Beach went through to Pett at the far post, but came to him too quickly to get a controlled shot away, and it went wide.

In the 18th minute a pass from Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica put Rawn Seale through on goal, but his shot was saved by Hoskins, who denied Leverstock again in the 27th minute by tipping a shot from Stefanoaica over the bar. In the 37th minute Stefanoaica made a solo run into the box but again he could not beat Hoskins, who turned the shot wide. From the resulting corner a header from Ryan Carruthers was headed off the line by a defender.

The slender nature of the Leverstock lead was shown in the 42nd minute as Potton went close to equalising with their first chance. James Smith got on the end of a free kick with a header that hit the bar.

The second half was played in difficult conditions as the fog made it hard to see from one side of the pitch to the other. Leverstock were unable to produce the same free-flowing football they had played in the first half, and the Potton defence stepped up a gear to limit their chances. Potton levelled the scores in the 63rd minute, with Smith coming in unmarked to head home a corner.

The remainder of the game was evenly-contested with Potton often looking the more likely to score, although Josh Bowler did not have a serious save to make. Nat Connolly had Leverstock’s best effort of the half in the 77th minute but his shot went just wide. Leverstock should have had a penalty for handball deep into stoppage time but the referee waved away the protests, and the game ended soon after as a 1-1 draw.

Leverstock Green (1) 1 (Pett 10)
1. Josh Bowler, 2. Ethan Mooney, 3. Rio Beach, 4. Paul Marks (17. Dan Weeks 31 mins), 5. Callum Neal, 6. Ryan Carruthers (12. George Mitchell-Gears 65 mins), 7. Luke Beckwith (15. Jayden Newman 74 mins), 8. Dan Pett, 9. Rawn Seale, 10. Nat Connolly, 11. Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica. Subs not used: 14. Danny May, 16. Joe Sadler.
Potton United (0) 1 (Smith 63)
1. James Hoskins, 2. Mike Evans, 3. Harry Forde, 4. Phil Payne (14. Josh Howard-Dobson 74 mins), 5. James Smith, 6. Richard Chadwick, 7. Nigel Chikamba (17. Fadil Padori 84 mins), 8. Michael King, 9. Lewis Lynn, 10. Victor Osobu, 11. Nathan Mullins. Subs not used: 12. Deshon Lewis-Burgess, 15. Neil Morris, 16. John Sonuga.