It was three more points for Leverstock Green FC on Tuesday night, but it was also another unnecessarily tense finish as visitors Aylesbury Vale Dynamos pulled back two late goals to take the game to the wire after Leverstock had apparently been cruising at 3-0 up.

After a quiet start to the game the visitors had the first chance in the 13th minute from a free kick in a dangerous position just outside the box, but Alfie Anderson curled his effort just wide. Four minutes later Dynamos had another chance as Leverstock were caught on the break from their own corner. Abu Khan went on a powerful run through the Green defence and set up Sam Olawele, but his shot was cleared off the line.

Leverstock’s first effort on goal came in the 25th minute when Luke Beckwith hit an effort from the edge of the box which went just wide. Leverstock were forced into a chance in the 28th minute when Mikey Havill-Tierney went down injured and had to be replaced by Callum Neal. In the 34th minute the visitors were penalised for a foul by Nathan Brownsword near the corner flag. Brownsword’s protests earned him a sin-bin which reduced his side to ten men for the next ten minutes.

Leverstock Green FC made the most of their period of numerical advantage. Dan Pett delivered the free kick into the box, finding Callum Neal to head home his first goal for the club just six minutes after coming off the bench. It got even better for Leverstock in the 41st minute as Neal turned provider, sending over a cross from the right which found Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica with a header which went in off the post to put Leverstock 2-0 up.

Leverstock continued their good form into the second half. In the 51st minute Jayden Newman showed some good footwork on the edge of the penalty area before hitting a shot which deflected wide off a defender. The resulting corner was only headed away as far as the edge of the penalty area, where Beckwith met it with a low drive into the bottom corner of the net for a 3-0 Leverstock lead.

Leverstock Green FC were well on top at this point, and with Stefanoaica causing havoc on the wing further goals looked likely. However, a lapse of concentration at the back allowed the visitors back into the game in the 72nd minute. Jake Baldwin won the ball on the edge of the Leverstock box and hit a shot which Josh Bowler did well to turn away, but was helpless as Jonathan Pascal followed up to net the rebound.

Still Leverstock Green FC were looking the more likely side. In the 82nd minute Stefanoaica tried his luck from a free kick just outside the box but was denied by a save from keeper Charlie Jones. A minute later Stefanoaica hit a screamer from 30 yards which rattled the crossbar. The game was still in the balance, and even more so in the second minute of stoppage time when the Green defence was caught out again as Abu Khan ran through two challenges before hitting an unstoppable shot from the edge of the box to pull the score back to 3-2.

Four further minutes of stoppage time were played as Aylesbury pushed everyone forward, and there were a few moments of panic in the Leverstock box, but they just about held out for another crucial win which takes them within sight of the division’s top five. On Saturday they face one of the sides above them with a visit to Biggleswade United.

Leverstock Green FC (2) 3 (Neal 34, Stefanoaica 41, Beckwith 53)
1. Josh Bowler, 2. Mikey Havill-Tierney (15. Callum Neal 28 mins), 3. Rio Beach, 4. Dan Weeks, 18. Ryan Carruthers (14. Connor McGinty 87 mins), 6. Danny May, 7. Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica, 8. Dan Pett, 9. Jayden Newman (17. Rawn Seale 68 mins), 10. Nat Connolly, 11. Luke Beckwith (12. Lewis Collins 68 mins) (16. Joe Sadler 79 mins).
Aylesbury Vale Dynamos FC (0) 2 (Pascal 72, Khan 90+2)
1. Charlie Jones, 2. Dino Bonwick (15. Harvey Matthews 70 mins), 3. Mamadou Maiga, 4. Dale Brown, 5. Terry Griffiths, 6. Nathan Brownsword, 7. Alfie Anderson (17. Jake Baldwin 61 mins), 8. Fabian Garcia (14. Alfi Touceda 61 mins), 9. Sam Olawale, 10. Abu Khan, 11. Jonathan Pascal. Subs not used: 12. Princewill Madu, 16. James Young.

Leverstock Green FC added another three points to their tally, but it proved to be an unexpectedly tense finale to a game in which Leverstock very much dominated the possession. The outcome was in the balance until the final seconds when the third goal was scored.

Visitors Sawbridgeworth Town arrived at the Lords Builders Merchants Stadium bottom of the league and without a league win, but Leverstock had to work very hard to break them down. The early stages saw the Green side with plenty of the ball, playing it around nicely, but lacking the penetration to get through a defence that was often able to stick a boot or a block in to prevent a clear-cut chance developing. Leverstock’s first clear sight of goal came in the 19th minute when a pass from Dan Pett gave Ethan Mooney a run at goal, but a block from the chasing defender took the sting out of Mooney’s shot and allowed keeper Ethan Gannon to save.

There was another good chance in the 31st minute when Pett put Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica away down the right to deliver a cross which found Jayden Newman on the edge of the six-yard box. Newman had his back to goal, but managed to turn and get in a shot which took a deflection and went just wide. The resulting corner was not adequately cleared by the visitors, and in the resulting scramble Dan Weeks got the ball to Newman, and he found the net with a shot from close range to put Leverstock into a long-overdue 1-0 lead.

Chances started to come more readily. On 34 minutes Stefanoaica showed some nifty footwork inside the box before laying off to Ryan Carruthers, whose shot went inches wide. Two minutes later a pass from Danny May put Stefanoaica in on goal, but he didn’t catch his shot properly and Gannon gathered. The second goal arrived in the 37th minute, but it was something of a bolt from the blue as Mooney hit a thunderbolt from distance that left Gannon standing as it flew into the net.

Leverstock Green FC appeared to be in total control of the game, but in the last minute of the half, they found their lead cut in half. A pass from Kyron Mitchell put Torie Ndongala through to shoot past Josh Bowler, who had been a spectator for most of the half, and reduce the half-time deficit to 2-1.

There should have been a third goal within two minutes of the restart. A rare mistake from the visitors’ defence left Newman with a clear run at goal, but Gannon managed to get a faint touch to Newman’s shot and deflect it wide. The danger of only having a single-goal lead was shown in the 57th minute when Sawbridgeworth’s Wesley Santos won the ball on the halfway line and went on a run through the Leverstock defence before slotting a shot past Bowler which was only kept out by a superb sliding last-ditch clearance from Danny May.

Another chance came and went in the 64th minute as Stefanoaica exchanged passes with Nat Connolly but hit the resulting shot over the bar. Four minutes later there was another huge let-off as Austin Garrod ran through the middle of the Leverstock defence before hitting a shot which went just wide.

In the dying minutes Santos went on another run through the defence and went down under challenge on entering the penalty area, but the referee waved away appeals for a penalty. It wasn’t until the fourth minute of stoppage time that Leverstock Green FC finally clinched the game, with two substitutes combining as Luke Beckwith got to the bye-line and pulled the ball back for Lewis Collins, who netted from close range. The final whistle was blown soon after the restart and Leverstock had their three points, but Sawbridgeworth deserve huge credit for a battling performance throughout and may be considered unlucky to get nothing from the game.

Leverstock Green FC (2) 3 (Newman 32, Mooney 37, Collins 90+4)
1. Josh Bowler, 2. Mikey Havill-Tierney, 3. Rio Beach, 4. Dan Weeks, 18. Ryan Carruthers, 6. Danny May, 7. Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica, 8. Dan Pett, 9. Jayden Newman (17. Rawn Seale 62 mins), 10. Nat Connolly (14. Lewis Collins 79 mins), 11. Ethan Mooney (12. Luke Beckwith H/T). Subs not used: 15. Callum Neal, 16. Joe Sadler.
Sawbridgeworth Town FC (1) 1 (Ndongala 44)
1. Ethan Gannon, 2. Wale Adedeji, 3. George Spillane, 4. Danny Palmer (19. Joe Cloake 88 mins), 5. Jeremy Ebelebe, 6. Jacob Lodge, 7. Kyron Mitchell (12. Lewis Wicker 82 mins), 8. Austen Garrod, 9. Torie Ndongala (16. Billy Wise 80 mins), 10. Leandro Alva (14. Georgie Fairhead 61 mins). Sub not used: 17. Declan Lambe.