Leverstock Green moved closer to safety with three more crucial points from Saturday’s Division One Central fixture against Flackwell Heath. The win takes them to 40 points, one more than last season’s final points total with six games remaining.

The visitors made the stronger start to the game, with striker Jack Shakespeare being denied twice early on, firstly by a save from Ashton Broome-Alexander in the 6th minute, and again by a goalline clearance from Olusegun Adedipe in the 13th minute.

However, it was Leverstock that took the lead in the 18th minute from their first real attack of the game. Nat Connolly had the ball in a threatening position 30 yards out and played it wide to Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica, and when Stefanoaica beat his man and crossed from the bye-line, Connolly had continued his run into the six-yard box to meet the cross with a shot that slipped under the body of keeper Henry Upstell. It was only Connolly’s second goal for the club in 122 appearances.

Leverstock had their tails up now and should have had the game put away by half time. In the 28th minute a pass from Carmicheal Uchenna put Iker Noguera Leon through on goal, but Leon’s chip over Upstell went wide of the target. Within a minute a pass from Stefanoaica put Leon in again with an even better chance, and his low shot beat Upstell but again went just wide. In the 35th minute Jeffrey Sekyere went on a solo run into the box which took him clean through against Upstell, but again his shot went wide of the same post.

The lead was still a single goal as the second half started, but Flackwell had a chance to level in the 50th minute when a pass found Shakespeare with space to shoot, but Broome-Alexander pulled off a great save to keep the shot out with his right leg. For much of the second half Leverstock were pinned in their own half, and Flackwell went close again in the 74th minute when a header from Larry Kagwa went just wide.

A second goal was needed, and it finally arrived in the 88th minute. Substitutes Jack Allen and Joe McCarthy were both involved as the ball was cleared upfield. McCarthy and Marcus Warren both tried to carve out shooting chances on the edge of the box, but eventually the ball went to Sekyere, whose shot was parried by Upstell. Allen’s effort from the rebound was also saved, but at the second attempt Allen forced the ball home to ensure that Leverstock would be taking all the points.

Leverstock Green (1) 2 (Connolly 18, Allen 88)
1. Ashton Broome-Alexander, 2. Kombe Kawimbe, 3. Rio Beach, 4. Dan Pett, 20. Olusegun Adedipe (15. George Mitchell-Gears 56 mins), 6. Ryan Carruthers, 7. Iker Noguera Leon (18. Jack Allen 78 mins), 8. Carmicheal Uchenna, 9. Jeffrey Sekyere (12. Callum Donnelly 89 mins), 10. Nat Connolly (16. Marcus Warren 70 mins), 11. Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica (14. Joe McCarthy 66 mins).
Flackwell Heath (0) 0
1. Henry Upstell, 2. Ryan Avery (16. Neilon Pascall 66 mins), 3. Lewis Patrick, 4.Harry Mepham, 5. Sean McGuinness, 6. Lewis Pegg (14. Matt Roberts 64 mins), 7. Jamie Ayres (17. Josh Sapwell 82 mins), 8. Ben Stallard, 9. Lindell Stewart (15. Larry Kagwa 59 mins), 10. Jack Shakespeare, 11. Eli Grant (12. Bruce Nsang 55 mins).

Leverstock Green could have put themselves 12 points clear of the relegation zone with a win tonight, but they had to settle for a draw against Enfield, which maintains their nine-point gap above the drop zone. It wasn’t a great performance by the Leverstock side, but a point was a reasonable return in a nervy game of high stakes.

It was a bright start for the Green side, with Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica twice getting in behind his defender early on, the second time running on into the box to bring a good save out of visiting keeper George Edgeworth in the 7th minute. However, Leverstock found themselves a goal down in the 16th minute with a rare mistake from keeper Ashton Broome-Alexander, allowing a soft effort from Bradley McClenaghan into the net.

For the next 20 minutes the Leverstock side were struggling to put anything together and didn’t look like getting back into the game. However, in the 39th minute there was more good work from Stefanoaica, who got in behind the defence again and crossed into the six-yard box, where Marcus Warren was on hand to finish from close range for the equaliser.

The goal lifted the Green side, and they might have gone in front before the break. In the 43rd minute Dan Pett’s header from a free kick was deflected wide, and in the goalmouth scramble from the ensuing corner, Stefanoaica had an effort turned round the post by Edgeworth.

The second half was a somewhat scrappy affair with neither side creating much in the way of clear-cut chances. Enfield were unlucky when Kieran Southgate hit the bar with a curling shot in the 82nd minute, but Leverstock should have won the game in stoppage time. A through pass put substitute Iker Noguera Leon through on goal, and Leon took the ball past Edgeworth, but then hit his shot into the side netting.

Leverstock Green (1) 1 (Warren 39)
1. Ashton Broome-Alexander, 2. Kombe Kawimbe, 3. Rio Beach, 4. Dan Pett, 20. Olusegun Adedipe (14. Dan Casey 76 mins), 6. Ademide Baruwa, 7. Joe McCarthy, 8. Carmicheal Uchenna (12. Ryan Carruthers 33 mins), 9. Jeffrey Sekyere, 10. Marcus Warren, 11. Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica (16. Iker Noguera Leon 78 mins). Subs not used: 15. Callum Donnelly, 18. Jack Allen.
Enfield (1) 1 (McClenaghan 16)
1. George David Edgeworth, 2. Aundre Wholas-Spencer (15. Tajuddin Bello 67 mins), 3. Charlie Anderson, 4. Sam Coombes, 5. Matthew Hurley, 6. Toib Adeyemi, 7. Joni Vukaj, 8. Nathan Brathwaite (18. Izuchuckwu Okafor 73 mins), 12. George Sykes (11. Kieran Southgate 80 mins), 14. Samir Ali (10. Joe Gregory 69 mins), 20. Bradley McClenaghan (16. Freddy Moncur 66 mins).

Prior to this match Leverstock Green had won their last four home matches, but they were unable to make it five in a row as a disappointing performance saw them go down 2-0 to Hertford Town in Tuesday night’s Southern League fixture.

It was a generally scrappy match, with few chances for either side. Leverstock had the game’s first clear chance in the 15th minute when a pass from Carmicheal Uchenna put Jeffrey Sekyere through on goal, but his eventual shot was straight at keeper James Callan. Two minutes later Iker Noguera Leon made a run into the box and hit a rasping shot from a narrow angle, but Callan turned it wide.

Hertford had a great chance to open the scoring in the 40th minute, but a shot from point-blank range was deflected wide of the post off one of their own players. However, within a minute they did find the net, as Marcus Painter found space on the edge of the box to hit a low shot past Ashton Broome-Alexander.

The second half was equally low on quality, with Leverstock being unable to hang onto the ball or do anything with it in the last third of the field. They were still in the game until the 76th minute when Hertford broke away down the right. Zen Cunningham’s cross found Painter, whose shot was saved, but Noah Mosanya bundled the rebound home to put Hertford 2-0 up, a lead that was not threatened in the remaining minutes of the game.

Leverstock Green (0) 0
1. Ashton Broome-Alexander, 2. Kombe Kawimbe (14. Dan Casey 79 mins), 3. Rio Beach, 4. Dan Pett, 20. Olesegun Adedipe, 6. Nar Connolly (12. Ryan Carruthers 66 mins), 7. Iker Noguera Leon (16. Callum Neal 79 mins), 8. Carmicheal Uchenna, 9. Jeffrey Sekyere, 10. Ademide Baruwa, 11. Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica (18. Jack Allen 61 mins). Sub not used: 15. Callum Donnelly.
Hertford Town (1) 2 (Painter 40, Mosanya 76)
1. James Callan, 2. Albert McGregor, 3. Isaac Evans, 4. Kieran Barnes, 5. Nader Zeddini, 6. Ben Herd, 7. Jesus Mendoza (14. Zen Cunningham 67 mins), 8. Reiss Webber, 9. Noah Mosanya, 10. Billy Mardell-Smith, 11. Marcus Painter. Subs not used: 12. Lene Burden, 16. George Evans, 17. Finley Lynch, 18. Jamal Obeng.