Match Report

It was another heartbreaker for Leverstock Green as they were beaten by the last kick of a game that they did not deserve to lose. They competed with Hitchin Town all the way and had chances to win the game themselves, but a scrambled goal from a corner sealed their fate.

Leverstock came under heavy pressure from the home side in the opening ten minutes, with two great saves from Harry Way and the post keeping them from going behind early. Hitchin won a number of corners during this early period of the game, but Leverstock defended well and then took the lead from their first corner of the game in the 17th minute. Rio Beach curled the ball to the far post, when Joe McCarthy met it with a header that just squeezed inside the post past former Leverstock keeper Alfie Bonfield.

It should have been 2-0 in the 27th minute. Jeffrey Sekyere won the ball off a defender and raced clear before crossing to the far post where Jack Allen was coming in, but he couldn’t keep his header from very close range under the bar. Hitchin had a chance to equalise in the 32nd minute when there was a coming together in the box and the referee awarded a penalty, but Way produced another great save to turn away Stephen Gleeson’s spot kick. However, in the 41st minute the equaliser arrived when a cross was headed back across goal and Lewis Franklin netted from close range to make it 1-1.

Jack Allen suffered an injury at the end of the first half which meant he had to be replaced by Iker Noguera Leon for the second half, and Leon hit a shot which brought a save out of Bonfield in the 52nd minute. Way pulled off another great save in the 68th minute to turn a shot round the post.

Leverstock had another chance in the 77th minute as Sekyere pressured a defender to win the ball and ran on to hit a shot which was parried by Bonfield. Leon gathered the ball from the rebound and hit a shot which was cleared off the line by a defender. Two minutes later Sekyere was running clear again from the halfway line until he was brought down from behind by Charlie Briggs, for which the defender received a straight red card to reduce his side to ten men.

Sekyere was running at goal again two minutes into stoppage time, but was thwarted by a tackle, and Leon was unable to make anything from the loose ball. The game looked to be heading for a draw, and five minutes of stoppage time had been indicated by the referee, but it was the sixth minute of stoppage time when Hitchin won a corner. The ball was not cleared, and in the ensuing scramble Josh Jackman put the ball in the net. The referee blew for time instantly after the restart, and it was another cruel finish for Leverstock in a season that has been full of them.

Hitchin Town (1) 2 (Franklin 41, Jackman 90+6)
1. Alfie Bonfield, 2. Josh Jackman, 3. Callum Kane, 4. Blue Joy (15. Toby Syme 80 mins), 5. Charlie Briggs, 6. Ciaren Jones, 7. Josh Coldicott-Stevens, 8. Stephen Gleeson, 9. Kye Tearle (17. Ade Gbolahan 62 mins), 10. Lewis Franklin, 11. Callum Nicolson (14. George Morrall 84 mins). Subs not used: 12. Taylor Rhiney, 16. Will Mcneill.
Leverstock Green (1) 1 (McCarthy 17)
1. Harry Way, 2. Callum Neal, 3. Rio Beach, 4. Josh Dooley, 5. Thomas Georgiou, 6. Nat Connolly (17. Marcus Warren 68 mins), 7. Joe Mccarthy (16. Juan Pablo Velasco 73 mins), 8. Dan Pett, 9. Jeffrey Sekyere, 10. Ethan Mooney (12. Ryan Carruthers 58 mins), 19. Jack Allen (14. Iker Noguera Leon H/T). Sub not used: 15. Dan Casey.