Match Report

Leverstock Green led three times in Monday night’s game away to Biggleswade FC, but they had to be content with a point and will be quite grateful for that point after the home side came very close to snatching the win at the death.

The Leverstock side was boosted by the return of both Dan Pett and top scorer Guiseppe Delgaudio from injury, and they thought they had taken the lead in the third minute. Lewis Collins was put clear down the right and crossed into the box where Luke Beckwith put it away from close range, however the goal was disallowed for a questionable offside decision. In the 21st minute it was the turn of the home side to put the ball in the net, only for it to be ruled out by an offside flag.

Two minutes later a pass from Rio Beach put Beckwith in behind the defence and through on goal. Beckwith looked set to finish, but instead squared across goal where Delgaudio came in at the far post to finish, and this time there was no flag as Leverstock took a 1-0 lead. In the 32nd minute Delgaudio might have had a second when he spotted the keeper off his line and launched a chip from distance, but it landed just wide.

Three minutes before half time the scores were level as Amir Hadi made something out of nothing with an outstanding finish from a very narrow angle.

Leverstock were back in front in the 63rd minute, and it was a second goal for Delgaudio, whose low shot from the edge of the penalty area wasn’t the hardest but left the home keeper standing and watching it go in.

The 2-1 lead lasted seven minutes, as Biggleswade substitute Ethan Kessel finished from close range to level the scores at 2-2. However, almost straight from the restart Collins won the ball and headed for goal before squaring for Beckwith to score and put Leverstock back into an immediate lead at 3-2.

In the 74th minute Alfie Bonfield produced a great save to keep out a shot from Hadi, with Eyituoyo Akinbulumo completing the clearance with a header off the line. With a couple of minutes to go Isaiah Hilaire might have added a further Leverstock goal, but had the ball taken off his toe by a defender when just about to shoot. As the game went into five minutes added time Leverstock were still holding their lead, but the home side’s persistence paid off in the second added minute when Dan Carey-Evans volleyed home from inside the box to level the scores at 3-3.

Biggleswade certainly weren’t settling for the point, and piled pressure on the Leverstock goal over the remaining minutes, hitting the bar on one occasion, but Leverstock held out for a very well-deserved point from a very entertaining game of football.

Biggleswade FC (1) 3 (Hadi 42, Kessel 70, Carey-Evans 90+2)
1. George Rose, 2. Adam Hunt, 3. Adam Wedd, 4. Lawrence Marsh, 5. Adam Tilson (16. Dan Carey-Evans 60 mins), 6. Charlie Hayford (17. Lee Northfield 67 mins), 7. Amir Hadi, 8. Luke Oswick (15. Ben Ellison-Tope 67 mins), 9. Daniel Bond (14. Ethan Kessel 67 mins), 10. Patrick McCafferty (12. Michael Simpson H/T), 11. Peter Holmes.
Leverstock Green (1) 3 (Delgaudio 23, 63, Beckwith 71)
1. Alfie Bonfield, 2. Ethan Mooney, 3. Rio Beach, 4. Dan Weeks, 5. Gary Connolly (19. Scott McGleish 75 mins), 18. Eyituoyo Akinbulumo, 7. Lewis Collins (12. Ademide Baruwa 87 mins), 8. Dan Pett (6. Ryan Carruthers 68 mins), 9. Guiseppe Delgaudio (15. Isaiah Hilaire 75 mins), 10. Lewis Croucher (14. Nat Connolly 77 mins), 11. Luke Beckwith.