Match Report

Leverstock Green began their pre-season schedule with an impressive 2-1 win over a Proformance Global XI at Pancake Lane on Saturday.

The Leverstock side, containing a number of new players, did not get off to the best of starts as they were behind after little more than a minute when former Levy player David Sobers was allowed to run through and score. The visitors should have been 2-0 up on 21 minutes when Jesper Horseinek was clean through, but hit the post.

Leverstock’s first sight of goal came in the 35th minute when Aaron Lewis had a run into the box before hitting a shot that was turned round the post. Shaun Owens headed wide from the resulting corner. However, three minutes later, skipper Curtis Donaldson floated in a free kick from near the right touchline that eluded everyone in the box and went straight into the net for the equaliser.

It was a better start to the second half for the Green side, with forward Bradley Hedges having a couple of great chances within three minutes of the restart, but both were saved by the keeper. Hedges hit another shot into the side netting on 55 minutes.

The second half saw a number of changes to the Leverstock side, but eventually the winner was scored by a player who had been on the pitch for the whole game and had impressed everyone throughout. 17 year old Jonathan Lacey, one of the stars of last season’s under-18 side, went on a solo run before shooting home the deciding goal in the 83rd minute.

Paul Hunt was happy with his side’s performance, especially as it was their first game together, and was particularly impressed with the under-18 players that featured. He still has several players to bring in, and the next warm-up game sees last season’s SSML Premier Division champions AFC Dunstable visiting Pancake Lane on Tuesday night, kick-off around 6.45 pm.