Leverstock Green FC finally have their first win in the Southern League on the board, and they did it in style against a mid-table AFC Dunstable side at the Lords Builders Merchants Stadium on Saturday.

Top scorer Guiseppe Delgaudio was still out injured after picking up a knock last week, but Rawn Seale returned from suspension to take up the number nine shirt, and got Leverstock off to a great start. In the 5th minute of the game a cross from Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica was spilled by goalkeeper Seb Stacey under pressure from Ethan Mooney, and Seale pounced to shoot home the loose ball and put Leverstock 1-0 up.

The visitors had little to offer in the first half other than a couple of shots well over the bar, and Leverstock had two great opportunities to extend their lead in the closing minutes of the half. In the 38th minute Mooney put the ball across goal to find Seale coming in at the far post, but he scooped his shot over the bar from close range. Three minutes later Stefanoaica went on a run from his own half into the AFC penalty area. Stacey got a touch on the ball to knock it off of Stefanoaica’s toe, but he got the ball back, only for his shot at goal to be cleared off the line by a defender.

AFC made a triple substitution at half time in an attempt to turn their fortunes around, but it was Leverstock Green FC that continued to impress. In the 55th minute they added a second goal on the break. Seale got up on the halfway line to nod the ball into the path of Stefanoaica, who was onside and clean through. It looked as though Stefanoaica might have run the ball too far forward as he approached the penalty area, but he got to it before Stacey and slotted it under the keeper to make it 2-0.

Things got even better five minutes later. A pass from Stefanoaica gave Nat Connolly a run at goal, and Connolly squared the ball to Seale, who tried to work a shooting position but in the end deferred to Mooney, who was running in at the perfect angle to shoot into the top corner and make it 3-0 to Leverstock.

It should have been four in the 67th minute when Stefanoaica was brought down in the box by a clumsy challenge from Kwadwo Bugyei-Kyei for a Leverstock penalty, but Stefanoaica’s spot kick was saved by Stacey. The visitors went close to pulling a goal back in the 68th minute when Enrico Greco was through on goal, but his shot hit the post. In the 87th minute a great pass from Stefanoaica put Luke Beckwith through on goal, but Stacey tipped his shot over the bar. However, four minutes into stoppage time a pass from Lewis Collins put Beckwith into another one-on-one situation with Stacey, and this time he slotted it past the keeper to score his first goal of the season and complete a superb 4-0 win for the Leverstock Green FC side.

Leverstock Green FC (1) 4 (Seale 5, Stefanoaica 55, Mooney 60, Beckwith 90+4)
1. Alfie Bonfield, 2. Callum Neal, 3. Rio Beach, 4. Dan Weeks, 5. Gary Connolly (18. Eyituoyo Akinbulumo 76 mins), 6. Ryan Carruthers, 7. Ethan Mooney (14. Jamie Breen 79 mins), 8. Ademide Baruwa (17. Tyrone Kumi 89 mins), 9. Rawn Seale (12. Luke Beckwith 63 mins), 10. Nat Connolly, 11. Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica (15. Lewis Collins 87 mins).
AFC Dunstable (0) 0
1. Seb Stacey, 2. Ben Lynch (16. Callum Martin H/T), 3. Khyan Frazer-Williams (14. Kwadwo Bugyei-Kyei H/T), 4. Kyle Lynch, 5. Stanley Georgiou, 6. Archie Long Nicholls (18. Bruce Ovbiye-Nsang H/T), 7. George Joyce (12. Daniel Tagoe 63 mins), 8. Hayden Beadle, 9. Russell Berko (17. Andrei-Eric Frunza 63 mins), 10. Enrico Greco, 11. Kyle Brooks.

Leverstock Green are still looking for their first win in the Southern League after suffering a home defeat to their fellow SSML promotees Real Bedford on Saturday. Leverstock produced a shock win in the corresponding fixture last season, but a repeat performance seldom looked like materialising against a slick, skilful Real Bedford side who took their chances clinically.

Leverstock could have taken an early lead in the third minute when a cross from Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica found Guiseppe Delgaudio in front of goal, but the big centre-forward couldn’t get a proper contact on his shot under pressure from a defender. The opening 15 minutes of the game were reasonably even with the visitors not having a serious effort on goal until the 17th minute when Ben Stevens hit a shot over the bar. The Bedford side began to look more of a threat after this, though, with Stevens shooting wide on the break in the 20th minute. A minute later Joey Evans was threatening on the break but was denied by a block from Eyituoyo Akinbulumo. Evans had an even better chance when through on goal in the 32nd minute, but couldn’t get a shot away.

Eventually the pressure from the visitors told, as four minutes later Evans and Isaac Galliford combined in a slick one-touch move to set up a chance for Shaheim Ward to shoot open the opening goal from close range. Leverstock might have got back in the game five minutes later when Ethan Mooney won the ball in the opposition half and put Delgaudio through, but he tried to lay off back to Mooney instead of shooting himself and the chance was gone.

The second half saw the visitors continue to be on top, with Alfie Bonfield having to keep out a point blank effort from Lee Watkins in the 48th minute. Leverstock had a great chance to level the game in the 57th minute. A clipped pass from Callum Neal put Stefanoaica away down the right, and he squared the ball into the box towards substitute Rawn Seale, but it was cut out by a defender.

Instead it was the visitors who scored the next goal two minutes later in similar style to their first. More slick one-touch play around the box set up Evans to calmly slot home from six yards for a 2-0 lead. It was a similar story ten minutes later. Stefanoaica put another ball across the face of goal in the 67th minute that no-one could finish off, and two minutes later Jack Morrell scored a third Real Bedford goal with a glancing near post header from a corner.

Leverstock should have pulled a goal back in the 84th minute, but Seale headed over the bar from close range after getting on the end of a cross from Jamie Breen. Four minutes later Leverstock were reduced to ten men as Seale was shown a straight red card for hitting out at an opponent.

Leverstock Green (0) 0
1. Alfie Bonfield, 2. Callum Neal (16. Cem Poyraz 76 mins), 3. Rio Beach, 4. Josh Dooley, 18. Eyituoyo Akinbulumo, 6. Ryan Carruthers, 7. Ethan Mooney (15. Lewis Collins 65 mins), 8. Dan Pett (14. Jamie Breen 63 mins), 9. Guiseppe Delgaudio (17. Rawn Seale 65 mins), 10. Nat Connolly (12. Luke Beckwith 70 mins), 11. Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica.
Real Bedford (1) 3 (Ward 36, Evans 59, Morrell 69)
1. Tyler McGregor, 2. Drew Richardson, 3. Jacques Kpohomouh, 4. Jack Morrell, 5. Brett Longden, 6. Lee Watkins (15. Tyriq Ward 90 mins), 8. Callum Nicolson (14. Ed Corbit 85 mins), 17. Shaheim Ward (18. Harrison Knight 90 mins), 9. Joey Evans (12. Tom Hitchcock 83 mins), 10. Ben Stevens, 11. Isaac Galliford (7. Anthony Agemoh-Davies 78 mins).