A poor second half saw Leverstock Green FC slide to a home defeat against Dunstable Town in a game which they ended with ten men. Leverstock failed to capitalise on a strong start to the game, and suffered their first home league defeat of the season.

After some promising buildup play early in the game, Leverstock took the lead in the 15th minute thanks to another combination of their front two. Chris Blunden played a great pass which allowed Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica to outpace the last Dunstable defender before taking the ball round the keeper and slotting home.

The visitors should have been level three minutes later when a misunderstanding between Austin Byfield and Callum Neal left Tolu Ikuyinminu with a shot at an empty net, but his shot went wide. However, on 30 minutes poor defending was punished when three chances were missed for Leverstock Green FC to clear the ball from the edge of their own penalty area before Kyle Faulkner took advantage to shoot home the equaliser.

Following the equaliser Leverstock’s play dropped off, and this continued into the second half as they seemed unable to get their forwards into the game. Dunstable had the ball in the net with a looping header in the 54th minute, but it was disallowed for offside.

A change in the 60th minute saw Lewis Collins replace Luke Beckwith, and four minutes later Collins produced Leverstock’s best moment of the half with a dipping long-range shot which was tipped over the bar by visiting keeper Connor Coulson. A minute later Stefanoaica went on a run into the box before putting over a low cross which just eluded Collins at the far post. The play switched straight to the other end, where Danny Webb was clean through on goal but hit his shot straight at Byfield.

Dunstable made their first change in the 70th minute, bringing on Kelvin Osei-Addo, who was on the pitch for less than a minute before putting his side into the lead. Receiving the ball on the edge of the six-yard box, Osei-Addo turned away from a defender before shooting past Byfield.

Leverstock Green FC made two further changes in the 77th minute to try and rescue the game, but less than a minute later it was 3-1 as Danny Webb struck from the edge of the box. Things went from bad to worse in the 86th minute as George Mitchell-Gears was shown a straight red card for a poor challenge less than ten minutes after coming off the bench. Any comeback was now out of the question as Dunstable came away with a deserved win.

Leverstock Green FC (1) 1 (Stefanoaica 15)
1. Austin Byfield, 2. Mikey Havill-Tierney (17. Brad Robinson 87 mins), 3. Rio Beach, 4. Dan Weeks, 5. Callum Neal, 6. Ryan Carruthers, 7. Luke Beckwith (14. Lewis Collins 60 mins), 8. Shaz Anwar, 9, Chris Blunden (15. George Mitchell-Gears 77 mins), 10. Nat Connolly (16. Ethan Mooney 77 mins), 11. Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica. Sub not used: 12. Ademide Baruwa.
Dunstable Town FC (1) 3 (Faulkner 30, Osei-Addo 71, Webb 78)
1. Connor Coulson, 2. Ethan Creary, 3. Dylan Baker, 4. Benji Crilley, 5. Robbie Goodman, 6. Alfie Osborne (15. Joe Reynolds 80 mins), 7. Ruairi Mills, 8. Harry Beaumont (16. Jimmy Doherty 87 mins), 9. Kyle Faulkner (18. Kelvin Osei-Addo 70 mins), 10. Danny Webb, 11. Tolu Ikuyinminu. Subs not used: 19. Isaac Olaleye, 20. Sam Scott.

Leverstock Green FC continued their promising start to their SSML league campaign as they registered an excellent 2-0 win against highly-fancied Harpenden Town on Tuesday night. This local derby attracted an impressive attendance of 118 to the Lords Builders Merchants Stadium.

There was action within the opening 20 seconds as Jayden Newman hit a shot which forced visiting keeper Emmanuel Olajide into a save. Harpenden then had a spell of pressure at the other end, winning a couple of corners which were punched away by Austin Byfield. Chris Blunden had a shot at goal in the sixth minute which went over the bar.

The game then settled down into an even contest between two well-matched teams. In the 28th minute Newman got his head to a Dan Pett corner but Olajide gathered the ball. Two minutes later Blunden swung in a free kick which Dan Weeks just failed to get enough of a touch on to divert into the net. In the 34th minute a move involving several players concluded with Blunden rolling a backheel into the path of Luke Beckwith, who ran onto take the ball around Olajide and slot into the net to put Leverstock into a 1-0 lead.

Two minutes later there was a scare at the other end as a Harpenden cross dropped onto the crossbar. A minute before the break Leverstock Green FC had another chance when a pass from Blunden put Beckwith in again, but this time his shot was kept out by a save from Olajide.

The second half was similarly evenly-contested. Harpenden had a good chance in the 50th minute when James Ewington received the ball six yards out but his shot went across goal and wide. In the 58th minute Leverstock Green FC should have extended their lead when a chipped pass forward from Rio Beach put Newman through on goal, but the ball ran just too far ahead of him and Olajide was able to come off his line and make the save.

Harpenden had a number of good opportunities during the half but they were either off-target or comfortably gathered by Byfield. With 20 minutes remaining, Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica made his return from injury, coming off the bench to replace Blunden. In the 77th minute Harpenden rolled the dice by bringing on their last three substitutes on, but it was Leverstock’s earlier sub that proved more effective. In the 81st minute Stefanoaica showed a dazzling turn of pace as he broke away down the right, outpacing the defenders before cutting in and slotting past Olajide for a second Leverstock Green FC goal.

As the visitors pushed forward during stoppage time there was almost a third Leverstock goal on the break. Stefanoaica ran clear down the right again and squared for Lewis Collins, but his shot was somehow deflected wide for a corner. The two goals proved to be enough as Leverstock’s all-round excellent team performance won them the three points.

Leverstock Green FC (1) 2 (Beckwith 34, Stefanoaica 81)
1. Austin Byfield, 2. Mikey Havill-Tierney (15. Ethan Mooney 83 mins), 3. Rio Beach, 4. Dan Weeks, 5. Callum Neal, 6. Danny May, 7. Ryan Carruthers, 8. Dan Pett, 9. Chris Blunden (17. Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica 70 mins), 10. Jayden Newman (12. Lewis Collins 88 mins), 11. Luke Beckwith (14. Nat Connolly 77 mins). Sub not used: 16. Brad Robinson.
Harpenden Town FC (0) 0
1. Emmanuel Olajide, 2. Jake Collins (17. James Younger 77 mins), 3. George Robinson (15. Curtis Dibley 77 mins), 4. Kyle Rahho, 5. Dan Palmer, 6. Mickey Shuttlewood, 7. Hadley Gleeson (12. Josh Kassaye 60 mins), 8. Dave Keenleyside, 9. James Ewington, 10. Harry Andic (14. Spencer O’Leary 57 mins), 11. Isaiah Hilaire (16. Ivan Machado 77 mins)

Next Game – Saturday 02nd September 2023 / Dunstable Town FC

Leverstock Green FC continued their winning start to the 2023/24 season as they recorded a comfortable 4-0 win over league newcomers Stansted FC in their opening home league match. Stansted have been transferred from the Essex Senior League, and last week registered a notable FA Cup win over last season’s SSML Premier Division runners-up Stotfold, but Leverstock were in control of this game from early on.

The game was a milestone for the club as it was the 100th competitive game in charge for Fergus Moore, Scott McGleish and Darren Bonfield.

As in last Saturday’s FA Cup win over White Ensign, Leverstock Green FC raced out to a 2-0 lead early on. In the 6th minute Nat Connolly went on a run down the right and crossed into the box, wher Chris Blunden laid the ball back for George Mitchell-Gears to shoot home from the edge of the box and open the scoring.

Five minutes later it was 2-0. This time it was Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica who ran clear down the right and sent over a cross which eluded Mitchell-Gears, but Chris Blunden was there to shoot home with another confident finish.

Further goals were threatened as Stefanoaica twice hit shots over the bar, and in the 36th minute Leverstock had another chance when they were awarded a free kick just outside the box, but Blunden’s kick was comfortably gathered by Stansted keeper Harrison Crowther. However, the third goal was not long in arriving. On 38 minutes Ryan Carruthers broke away from the halfway line before feeding the ball to Luke Beckwith, and it was another excellent composed finish as Beckwith fired home for a 3-0 Leverstock Green FC lead.

There were further chances late in the half as a run from Rio Beach set up Carruthers for a shot which was well saved by Crowther, and the keeper did well again a minute later, coming off his line to deny Stefanoaica after he had been put through by a pass from Mitchell-Gears.

Stansted made a triple substitution at half time, but it did not change the course of the game. The visitors had a chance in the 53rd minute when a defensive slip let Jack Marshall through on goal, but Loris Marcimain produced a good save to keep the shot out. That proved crucial, as a minute later at the other end, Rio Beach hit a shot from outside the box which Crowther could only parry away, and Mitchell-Gears followed up to squeeze home the rebound from a very tight angle and make it 4-0 to Leverstock Green FC.

With the game largely in the bag, Fergus Moore began making substitutions. The first of them saw Danny May replace Callum Neal, and within a minute May produced a superb goallline clearance after some sloppy play had given Stansted a shooting chance. All five substitutes were used, including first team debuts for two 17-year olds – Luc Dischamps and Connor McGinty, who had impressed with displays for the Under-18s and Development Team respectively in midweek. McGinty came closest to getting his name on the scoresheet with a shot just over the angle of post and bar in the 78th minute.

Leverstock Green FC maintained their clean sheet to the end of the game, although there was a scare in the 90th minute when Billy Gannon had a shooting chance but put it over the bar. Next up for the Leverstock side is a tough visit to FC Romania on Wednesday night.

Leverstock Green FC (3) 4 (Mitchell-Gears 6, 54, Blunden 11, Beckwith 38)
1. Loris Marcimain, 2. Mikey Havill-Tierney (17. Brad Robinson 68 mins), 3. Rio Beach, 4. Callum Neal (15. Danny May 63 mins), 5. Dan Weeks, 6. Ryan Carruthers, 7. Luke Beckwith, 8. Nat Connolly (16. Connor McGinty 68 mins), 9. Chris Blunden (14. Ryan Hennessy 75 mins), 10. George Mitchell-Gears, 11. Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica (12. Luc Dischamps 73 mins).
Stansted FC (0) 0
1. Harrison Crowther, 2. Tom Millett (13. Billy Coyne 63 mins), 3. Charlie Adams (14. Archie Hammond H/T), 4. Carl Conway, 5. John Clarke, 6. Freddie Burrell (15. Fin Gregory H/T), 7. Louis Monk, 8. Jake Barlow, 9. Cabhan Clarke, 10. Jack Mitchell (12. Billy Gannon 64 mins), 11. Stan Gurney (16. Samuel Adetiba H/T).

Our next SSML Premier League match is on Wednesday 16th August 2023 AWAY to FC Romania, 7:45pm.