Leverstock Green’s bid to stay in the Southern League took a blow on Tuesday night with a home defeat against playoff-chasing Barton Rovers. It was a good effort by a Leverstock side further depleted with three players missing from Saturday’s lineup, and they finished the game strongly but could not find an equaliser.

The first half was dominated by Barton, and Leverstock were somewhat fortunate that they only had one goal to show for it. Barton went close with early efforts from Alfie Warman and Markel Cousins, and in the 14th minute Taylor Rhiney was through on goal but Ryan North saved. Barton’s goal came in the 37th minute from a corner, which was driven low towards the near post. The ball went under Nat Connolly’s feet and Rhiney bundled the ball home from close range. Matthew Moloney should have added a second in the 42nd minute but missed a sitter from close range.

The early stages of the second half saw the visitors continue to have the upper hand, with North having to make two quick saves in the 49th minute. Rhiney was through on goal again in the 61st minute, but his shot hit the post, perhaps with a faint touch from North.

Leverstock’s first serious effort on goal was a Kyle Connolly shot from the edge of the box that went just wide in the 62nd minute. There was another chance in the 69th minute when a shot from Keanu Fleming was saved by keeper Dylan Thompson, and Luke Beckwith’s effort from the rebound was blocked wide.

In the 80th minute a corner from Kyle Connolly was heading directly for goal but was headed off the line by a defender. Another Connolly corner in the 88th minute caused a goalmouth scramble in which the Leverstock players were convinced that Ryan Carruthers had put the ball over the line, but it was not given. Over the final minutes Barton were hanging on as Leverstock continued to push forward, but could not find the goal that their play over the last 30 minutes had deserved.

Leverstock Green (0) 0
1. Ryan North, 2. Oliwier Fusiek (14. Josh Dooley 53 mins), 3. Kyle Connolly, 4. Dan Weeks, 5. Nat Connolly, 6. Ryan Carruthers, 7. Lewis Collins, 8. Rawn Seale, 9. Guiseppe Delgaudio, 10. Marcus Warren (16. Keanu Fleming 66 mins), 11. Luke Beckwith. Subs not used: 12. Jose Costa, 16. Lucas Georgiou, 17. Callum Moore.
Barton Rovers (1) 1 (Rhiney 37)
1. Dylan Thompson, 2. Josh Flanagan, 3. Cameron Hyde, 4. Martel Powell, 5. Robbie Goodman, 6. Charlie Mliton, 7. Ashton Grant (12. Saul Williams 87 mins), 8. Alfie Warman (15. Kian Wilkes 75 mins), 9. Matthew Moloney, 10. Markel Cousins (16. Thomas Baggaley 87 mins), 11. Taylor Rhiney (14. Albie Hall 66 mins). Sub not used: 17. Mason Watkins.

Leverstock Green were within sight of another precious win, but again they were unable to hold onto the lead they had held for much of the game against Biggleswade F.C., having to settle for their tenth draw of the season in the Southern League Division One Central.

There were a number of changes from the midweek defeat at Kings Langley, with starts in the back four for youngsters Lucas Georgiou and Oliwier Fusiek, and Ryan North playing his second game of the season in place of the injured Reuben Rabstein. After a quiet start to the game, Leverstock went close in the 22nd minute when Georgiou delivered a great cross which found the head of Guiseppe Delgaudio, but his glancing touch wasn’t enough to divert the ball inside the post.

Five minutes later a superb pass from Dan Pett allowed Luke Beckwith to run through the middle of the Biggleswade defence, and go clean through. Visiting keeper Jasper Briggs slipped as Beckwith approached, allowing Beckwith to go round him and slot into the empty net to put Leverstock into a 1-0 lead.

The visitors had a chance to equalise in the 38th minute with Luke Oswick having a clear shooting chance, but North did very well to keep out Oswick’s shot with his legs and Leverstock held their slender lead until the break.

Leverstock had a chance to extend their lead in the 50th minute when a pass from Pett gave Ademide Baruwa a run at goal, but Baruwa’s attempted square ball to Delgaudio was cut out by a defender. Three minutes later there was a golden opportunity for Biggleswade to equalise when Fusiek was adjudged to have brought down an opponent inside the box and a penalty was awarded. Dan Bond stepped up to take it, but it wasn’t the best penalty and North pulled off the save to keep Leverstock in front.

North saved again in the 61st minute, turning a header from Lawrie Marsh round the post. The pressure from the visitors was building up, though, and in the 78th minute Biggleswade won two corners in quick succession. From the second of those Dan Carey-Evans got up highest to head the ball past North for the equaliser.

The best chance Leverstock had to go back in front came in the 84th minute when Rawn Seale set up a clear shooting opportunity for Kyle Connolly, but his effort went wide. The win wasn’t to be, but Leverstock held out to claim another point.

Leverstock Green (1) 1 (Beckwith 27)
1. Ryan North, 2. Callum Neal, 3. Lucas Georgiou (15. Marcus Warren 85 mins), 4. Oliwier Fusiek (16. Dan Weeks 89 mins), 5. Gary Connolly, 6. Ryan Carruthers, 7. Kyle Connolly, 8. Dan Pett, 9. Guiseppe Delgaudio (12. Lewis Collins 70 mins), 10. Luke Beckwith (14. Rawn Seale 70 mins), 11. Ademide Baruwa. Sub not used: 18. Scott McGleish.
Biggleswade F.C. (0) 1 (Carey-Evans 78)
1. Jasper Briggs, 2. Adam Hunt, 3. Luke Oswick, 4. Dan Carey-Evans, 5. Adam Wedd, 6. Charlie Hayford, 7. Lawrie Marsh, 8. Rio Martucci, 9. Dan Bond, 10. Lee Northfield (16. Alex Penn 89 mins), 11. Temi Akinbusoye. Subs not used: 12. Ethan Kessel, 14. Laim Chadwick, 15. Michael Simpson, 17. Prince Nzinga.

Leverstock Green are in need of some wins to get themselves out of the relegation zone in the Southern League Division One Central, but they got another hard-earned point in a goalless draw with Hertford Town on Tuesday night.

Leverstock had some near-misses during the first half. In the 13th minute a nicely-worked move set up a chance for Lewis Collins, but his shot from a narrow angle was blocked by visiting keeper James Callan. Two minutes later Zac Hawker hit a shot from the edge of the box which was parried away by Callan. Closer still was a screamer from distance from Guiseppe Delgaudio in the 18th minute which looked from some angles as though it had flown into the top corner but in fact had gone just over the bar and hit the top of the net.

There was another chance in the 36th minute as Delgaudio’s pass put Collins in on goal, but his shot went across the face of goal, as did a cross from Kyle Connolly in the 44th minute that no-one could get on the end of.

Leverstock keeper Reuben Rabstein pulled off the save of the match in the opening minute of the second half, tipping a shot from Adeniyi Gbolahan over the bar. The loss of Rawn Seale to injury robbed Leverstock of one of their attacking threats in the 55th minute.

In the 57th minute Sudayisi Sendege worked a chance inside the Leverstock box but shot across the face of goal. Rabstein had to pull off another couple of saves later in the game, and a great tackle inside his own box from Collins in the 79th minute prevented a Hertford player from running clean through on goal.

Two minutes from time Ademide Baruwa had a shot from distance, but it was saved by Callan, and deep into stoppage time Leverstock thought they had a shout for a penalty when Nat Connolly appeared to be fouled inside the box, but the referee waved away any appeals, even though Connolly was clearly injured and had to limp off the field at the end of the game.

In the end a draw was a fair result, and not an unexpected one as these two sides have drawn more games than any other teams in the division. Leverstock now face a tough visit to top of the league Real Bedford on Saturday.

Leverstock Green 0
1. Reuben Rabstein, 2. Ademide Baruwa, 3. Kyle Connolly, 4. Dan Weeks, 5. Gary Connolly, 6. Zac Hawker (12. Ryan Carruthers 72 mins), 7. Lewis Collins, 8. Dan Pett (17. Marcus Warren 84 mins), 9. Rawn Seale (14. Callum Neal 55 mins), 10. Nat Connolly, 11. Guiseppe Delgaudio. Subs not used: 15. Oliwier Fusiek, 16. Lucas Georgiou.
Hertford Town 0
1. James Callan, 2. Ryan Bernal, 3. Liam Crutchett, 4. Albert McGregor (15. James Doherty 66 mins), 5. Roman Chapps, 6. Ben Herd, 7. Riley Carr (17. Marcus Painter 72 mins), 8. Billy Mardell-Smith, 9. Adeniyi Gbolahan, 10. Archie O’Brien (14. Brian Garzon 83 mins), 11. Sudayisi Sendege. Subs not used: 12. George Devine, 16. Jedediah Brown-Johnson.