Match Report

It was a second straight win for Leverstock Green and a very impressive result against second-placed Hitchin Town in a see-saw game of three penalties. A superb finish from substitute Iker Noguera Leon late in the game proved to be the winner.

The visitors had the game’s first serious attempt on goal in the 19th minute when Kye Tearle hit a shot from the edge of the box just over the bar. Leverstock were unlucky not to take the lead in the 24th minute. As the ball came into the box, Joe McCarthy got in ahead of keeper Tyler McGregor and tried to take the ball around him, but McGregor scrambled back and pulled off a save to keep out McCarthy’s shot.

Hitchin went in front from the game’s first penalty in the 30th minute. Olusegun Adedipe was penalised for a late challenge just inside the box, and Taylor Rhiney made no mistake from the spot. Leverstock should have been level before the break. In the 41st minute Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica’s pass gave McCarthy a run at goal, and McCarthy laid off to set up Jeffrey Sekyere with a clear chance, but his shot went over the bar.

Hitchin took their lead into the break, but Leverstock fought back strongly in the second half. In the 59th minute Carmicheal Uchenna went on a solo run which took him past a number of defenders before laying off to Stefanoaica, who controlled the ball and drilled it into the bottom corner to level the scores and notch his second goal in two games.

It got better for Leverstock. In the 74th minute McGregor was adjudged to have fouled McCarthy as the two challenged for the ball, and the referee awarded the second penalty of the game. Sekyere sent McGregor the wrong way to put Leverstock into a 2-1 lead. It was a short-lived lead though, as two minutes later the referee was pointing to the spot again when a tackle from Dan Pett brought down a Hitchin player just inside the box. Rhiney stepped up again and was successful again to level the scores at 2-2.

In the 82nd minute Stefanoaica was replaced by Iker Noguera Leon, and the Spanish striker got his first touch of the ball two minutes later when a pass from Uchenna put him in behind the last defender, and Leon ran on to slot the ball past McGregor superbly to put Leverstock back in front at 3-2.

Once again the Leverstock faithful had to endure five minutes of stoppage time with a slender lead, and there was a nervous moment when a corner was given away and everyone including McGregor came up for it, but the danger was cleared and Leverstock held on for a fully-deserved win against a Hitchin side that didn’t really create a single clear-cut chance in open play or force a serious save out of Ashton Broome-Alexander. Leverstock’s unbeaten run extends to five games, and the three points takes them further clear of the relegation zone and moves them up a place in the Division One Central table.

Leverstock Green (0) 3 (Stefanoaica 59, Sekyere 74 pen, Leon 84)
1 Ashton Broome-Alexander, 2. Kombe Kawimbe, 3. Rio Beach, 4. Dan Pett, 20. Olusegun Adedipe (14. Dan Casey 64 mins), 6.Carmicheal Uchenna (15. Callum Donnelly 88 mins), 7. Joe McCarthy, 8. orge Mitchell-Gears, 9. Jeffrey Sekyere, 10. Marcus Warren (12. Ryan Carruthers 71 mins), 11. Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica (16. Iker Noguera Leon 82 mins). Sub not used: 18. Jack Allen.
Hitchin Town (1) 2 (Rhiney 30 pen, 76 pen)
1. Tyler McGregor, 2. Kye Tearle, 3. Callum Kane, 4. Brett Longden (12. Toby Syme 82 mins), 5. Charlie Briggs, 6. Ciaren Jones, 7. Liam Brooks (16. Diogo Freitas-Gouveia 83 mins), 8. Josh Coldicott-Stevens (15. Kavan Cotter 73 mins), 9. Taylor Rhiney, 10. Lewis Franklin, 11. Callum Nicolson. Subs not used: 14. Blue Joy, 17. Fernando Bell-Toxtle.