Leverstock Green suffered their biggest league defeat of the season at fourth-placed Dunstable Town, but it wasn’t for the want of trying by Fergus Moore’s patched-up squad.

There were further absences due to injury or unavailability from Tuesday’s game, where there were already nine players missing, so three further players were brought in on dual registrations for their debuts. Centre-backs Tom Smith and Jeremy Stewart came from Berkhamsted and Hanwell Town respectively, while midfielder Jedediah Brown-Johnson came from Welwyn Garden City.

In addition to the unfamiliar look to the side, the first half was made more difficult by the strong wind. The home side had more of the early pressure, with Austin Byfield saving a close-range header from Danny Webb in the 4th minute, and Smith heading off the line from a corner in the 17th minute.

Leverstock were holding their own until the half-hour mark where there was a flurry of goals. In the 30th minute Byfield did well to parry away a shot from Webb, but Tolu Ikuyinminu followed up to smash home the rebound.

Within two minutes there was a highly controversial second goal for Dunstable. Ikuyinminu hit a shot across goal which was put into the net by Joe Sellers-West, who was laying next to the goalline at the time it hit him and clearly in an offside position, but neither referee or assistant saw the need to disallow the goal.

Leverstock got themselves back into the game in the 37th minute. Luke Beckwith’s corner was not cleared from the six-yard box and John Shamalo applied the decisive touch to head into the net.

However, the two-goal cushion was restored within a minute from a long throw at the other end. It was another controversial goal as Ikuyinminu finished at the far post, but Smith was clearly being held and went down as the ball came over.

Leverstock could have got themselves back in at again on the stroke of half time as Chris Blunden got to the bye-line and pulled the ball back for Shamalo, but his shot went over the bar.

Early in the second half Byfield pulled off two good saves to keep out shots from Webb, but in the 60th minute he had no chance as Webb took advantage of some suicidal passing around their own box by the Green defence to shoot home the fourth goal.

Leverstock kept on pushing to get a goal back, and their effort could not be faulted, but with their makeshift side against full-strength opposition it was always going to be an uphill battle and Dunstable held onto their lead comfortably for the rest of the game.

Dunstable Town (3) 4 (Ikuyinminu 30, 38, Sellers-Est 32, Webb 60)
1. Connor Coulson, 2. Benji Crilley, 3. Kyle Davison-Gordon, 4. John Smith (15. Remell Stirling 79 mins), 5. Robbie Goodman, 6. Alfie Osborne, 7. Ruairi Mills, 8. Luke Dunstan, 9. Joe Sellers-West (19. Kelvin Osei-Addo), 10. Danny Webb (14. Harry Beaumont 68 mins), 11. Tolu Ikuyinminu (12. Ethan Creary 85 mins). Sub not used: 16. Dyman Baker.
Leverstock Green (1) 1 (Shamalo 37)
1. Austin Byfield, 2. Adrian Pitfield, 3. Kurainashe Musanhi, 4. Tom Smith, 5. Jeremy Stewart, 6. Ryan Carruthers, 7. Luke Beckwith, 8. Jedidiah Brown-Johnson (15. Ayomide Oke 85 mins), 9. Chris Blunden, 10. John Shamalo, 11. Elgeniy Daalberg (14. Raheem Khan 73 mins). Subs not used: 16. Rio Beach, 18. Bobby Armstrong, 20. Scott McGleish.

Leverstock Green staged a late comeback against Dunstable Town, but it wasn’t enough to pull back the two goals they had conceded earlier in the match. It was another match played in difficult conditions, despite the sunny weather, as the pitch was hard and there was still an awkward wind blowing down the pitch, and a game of few chances that never really got going.

Fergus Moore made a few changes to the side which won the cup tie at Harefield in midweek, and his side made a strong start to the game. In the 5th minute Ollie Cox had an ambitious effort from near the halfway line which flew only just over the bar. A minute later Cox had another effort at goal from just outside the box which went wide.

In the 8th minute a long ball out of defence from Nagheeb Ibrahim found Lewis Collins, who had a run at goal but hit his eventual shot over the bar. Two minutes later two Dunstable defenders got in a tangle with each other on the edge of their own box. Ibrahim picked up the loose ball but hit his shot inches wide.

The game became scrappy after that, with few chances being created. On 27 minutes Dunstable went close when a header from a corner was headed off the line by Brad Robinson. Four minutes later Dunstable took the lead when Daniel Trif got to the bye-line and pulled the ball back for Remell Stirling to sidefoot home from close range.

The second half saw even less goalmouth action than the first, with the game becoming disjointed due to frequent stoppages. After three substitutions and a change of shape Leverstock started to come back into the game in the closing stages, with Ethan Mooney going close to an equaliser on 81 minutes with a volley from the edge of the box that went just over the bar. Dunstable were denied a second goal in the 82nd minute when Alfie Bonfield came off his line to save from Terrence Muchineripi, who was clean through. However, a minute later they did add a second goal when Dylan Baker got on the end of a cross from Trif with a header that looped over Bonfield, although there was a feeling that Baker had pushed a defender out of the way before the header.

Leverstock got a lifeline back into the game in the 89th minute when Ibrahim was brought down in the box, and the referee awarded the penalty. Mooney was successful with his spot kick to pull the score back to 2-1. During a lengthy period of stoppage time the home side had chances to make the game safe through Kelvin Osei-Addo, but his first effort was wide and his second was saved by Bonfield.

In the sixth minute of stoppage time a foul on Mooney just outside the box gave Leverstock a free kick in a dangerous position and a chance to snatch a point, but Ibrahim’s effort was blocked by the wall and the chance went away.

Dunstable Town (1) 2 (R.Stirling 31, Baker 83)
Team: 1. Dan Gould, 2. Ethan Creary, 3. Daniel Trif, 4. Joe Mead, 10. Kyle Faulkner (19. Kelvin Osei-Addo 72 mins), 11. Dylan Baker, 13. Joe Parmley, 14. Terrence Muchineripi (7. Dan Naylor 88 mins), 15. Remell Stirling (8. Jamie Nicholls 79 mins), 17. J’Ardell Stirling, 18. Ruairi Mills. Subs not used: 16. Benji Gray, 20. Jack Percy.
Leverstock Green (0) 1 (Mooney 89 pen)
1. Alfie Bonfield, 2. Jack Allen, 3. Brad Robinson, 4. Dan Weeks, 5. Paul Marks, 6. Ryan Carruthers (15. Rawn Seale 60 mins), 7. Lewis Collins (12. Ethan Mooney 79 mins), 8. Ollie Cox (14. Dan Pett 69 mins), 9. Adam Page, 10. Nagheeb Ibrahim, 11. Elgeniy Daalberg. Subs not used: 16. Kian Wilkes, 18. Scott McGleish.