Leverstock Green got their first league win of the season on the board, but they had to do it the hard way giving away two-goal lead before snatching victory with a late goal. Leverstock were without a number of first-choice players due to injury or unavailability, but the depth of the squad shone through as the players selected got the job done.

It was a nightmare first half for the home side, who had already lost a player due to injury in the warm-up, and were forced into three further changes within the first 32 minutes of the game.

Leverstock looked threatening from the early minutes of the game. In the second minute Joe McCarthy, playing his first competitive match of the season, got on the end of a great crossfield ball from Iker Noguera Leon and ran at goal, but his shot was blocked. Leon had a great chance himself in the 11th minute as a defensive mistake left him through on goal, but he didn’t get his shot away in time and was dispossessed by a great challenge. Three minutes later McCarthy got to the bye-line and pulled the ball back for Jeffrey Sekyere, whose shot went over the bar.

McCarthy threatened again in the 19th minute as a pass from John Gyabaah allowed him to get past keeper Liam Gooch, but with the route to goal blocked he played a square ball across goal which missed everyone. Leverstock were overdue a goal, and it finally arrived in the 36th minute. A defender sliced the ball into the path of Sekyere, and with Gooch coming out of his goal Sekyere sent a looping header over the stranded keeper into the empty net to open the scoring.

It got even better for Leverstock five minutes later when Nat Connolly was sent flying by a challenge as he darted into the box. The referee pointed to the penalty spot, and Leon sent Gooch the wrong way with the spot-kick to put Leverstock into a 2-0 lead.

However, Stotfold pulled a goal back in the 45th minute as a cross from the right found Luca Cardines in space in the box to hit a first time shot past Harry Way. The number of injuries during the first half meant there was seven minutes of stoppage time, and Leverstock should have scored again in the fourth of those minutes. McCarthy received a pass from Justin Dass and took the ball round Gooch, but his attempt at the empty net went into the side netting.

The second half was a more scrappy affair than the first, with Stotfold having the better of things for much of the half. Leverstock went close to a third goal in the 65th minute as a run from Sekyere set up Connolly for a shot which he hit well, but Gooch pulled off a good save.

The pressure from Stotfold began to grow, and in the 75th minute they drew level. A corner was headed away by Aldo Petagine, but the ball came straight back in and this time Dempsey Thomas connected with a header which flew into the net to make it 2-2.

Joel Onu replaced Connolly in the 79th minute, and the pacy striker didn’t take long to make an impact. In the 84th minute Onu’s pace took him past the Stotfold defence and he hit a superb low shot which came back off the base of the post. Leon went for the rebound but collided with a defender, and the loose ball broke for Sekyere, who made no mistake with a shot into the corner of the net to put Leverstock back in front at 3-2.

Leon was unable to continue after the collision, and Onu’s appearance was also sadly cut short. As he made another threatening run into the box he was nudged by a defender and collided badly with the metal pitch surround, sustaining a cut to the head. Onu’s injury meant that Scott McGleish was able to add another one to his mammoth number of career appearances, and his experience helped Leverstock to see out the four minutes of stoppage time and get the three points over the line.

Stotfold (1) 2 (Cardines 45, Thomas 75)
1. Liam Gooch, 2. Jack Brown (12. Dempsey Thomas 20 mins), 4. Alex Coppin, 5. James Peters, 6. Freddie Stanley (17. Lucas Titchmarsh 66 mins), 7. Codi Spavins (15. Cormac Clarke 32 mins), 8. Mitchell Gooch, 9. Joseph Chidyausiku (16. Daniel Kemp 9 mins), 10. Henry Snee, 11. Luca Cardines. Sub not used: 3. James Kosky.
Leverstock Green (2) 3 (Sekyere 36, 84, Leon 41 pen)
1. Harry Way, 2. Ethan Mooney, 3. Matt Forkin (14. Aldo Petagine 60 mins), 4. Josh Dooley, 5. Tunde Akinpelu, 6. Justin Dass, 7. Joe McCarthy, 8. John Gyabaah, 9. Jeffrey Sekyere, 10. Nat Connolly (19. Joel Onu 79 mins) (18. Scott McGleish 89 mins), 11. Iker Noguera Leon (12. Oliver Glimas 86 mins). Sub not used 15. Dan Pett.

Leverstock Green suffered a late defeat at Stotfold in a Boxing Day clash between two sides thereatened with relegation from Southern League Division One Central.

It was a scrappy game of few chances played on a soft pitch. The Leverstock side showed a number of changes from their last game, including in goal where there was a debut for Frankie Beckles, signed on a dual registration from Bedfont Sports and Wealdstone.

Leverstock made a promising start, with Jamie Breen making some threatening runs down the left, but there was little end product. Stotfold had a couple of near-misses, with Haroon Merial shooting wide from a good position on 18 minutes, and a header from Mitchell Gooch landing on the top of the bar in the 25th minute.

But the game was goalless at half time, with the second half continuing in a similarly scrappy fashion. Stotfold had more of the pressure but the Leverstock side battled well to keep them from having any clear shots at Beckles’ goal. The game looked like it would fizzle out into a goalless draw until three minutes from time when the ball dropped for Stotfold substitute Alex Coppin on the edge of the box, and Coppin made a good connection with a volley that beat Beckles and went in off the post to clinch the points.

Leverstock had to pick themselves up quickly with another game to come in two days at home to Aylesbury United.

Stotfold (0) 1 (Coppin 87)
1. Liam Gooch, 2. Tommy Reynolds, 3. Callum Kane, 4. Lewis Lynn (15. Ernest Njoroge 82 mins), 5. Dan Sears, 6. Luke Abraham (14. Matthew Ball 76 mins), 7. Codi-Lee Spavins (16. Robbie Buchanan 76 mins), 8. Mitchell Gooch, 9. Remell Sterling (17. Joziah Barnett 87 mins), 10. Haroon Merial, 11. Joe Sellers-West (12. Alex Coppin 82 mins).
Leverstock Green (0) 0
1. Frankie Beckles, 2. Adam Morley, 3. Rio Beach, 4. Dan Weeks, 5. Daniel Isaac, 6. Ryan Carruthers (17. John Gyabaah 89 mins), 7. Jamie Breen, 8. Dan Pett, 9. Rawn Seale, 10. Marcus Warren (14. Nat Connolly 75 mins), 11. Keanu Fleming (12. Ademide Baruwa 72 mins). Subs not used: 15. Callum Moore, 16. Oliwier Fusiek.