Leverstock Green added another crucial three points to their total with an impressive win over bottom side AFC Dunstable in Tuesday night’s Southern League Division One Central fixture.

An early goal was vital for the Leverstock side to settle their nerves, and it took just six minutes for them to open the scoring, as Iker Noguera Leon had a shooting chance on the edge of the box and hit a low shot out of the reach of keeper Noah Vaughan into the corner of the net. The second goal was not long arriving, as George Mitchell-Gears fired home a half-volley from just inside the box to notch the first goal of his current spell at the club.

There could have been a third in the 23rd minute as a neat passing move put Leon through on goal, but Vaughan got a hand to his shot to tip it round the post. Five minutes later Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica made a run into the box but his shot from a narrow angle was kept out by Vaughan’s legs. Leon had another shooting chance in the 38th minute but hit it straight at Vaughan.

The young AFC Dunstable side came more into the game in the last ten minutes of the half, and a foul from Olusegun Adedipe gave them a free kick just outside the box, but the shot was saved by Ashton Broome-Alexander.

Leverstock struggled to make any further ground early in the second half, and Broome-Alexander had to make another good save in the 59th minute to keep out a shot from a narrow angle. A double substitution on the hour saw Jack Allen and Luke Beckwith introduced, and added some pep to the Leverstock side.

Broome-Alexander made another crucial save in the 68th minute to punch away a dangerous cross, and within a minute Leverstock had their third goal. Allen hit a shot from the edge of the box which took a deflection off a defender and looped up over Vaughan’s head into the net as the big striker scored his first goal for the club.

Leverstock were playing with more freedom now, and top scorer Jeffrey Sekyere added his name to the scoresheet in the 78th minute, cutting in from the left on a solo run before drilling home a low shot from a narrow angle. There was more to come in the first minute of stoppage time as Allen went on a solo run into the box before firing home his second of the night and completing Leverstock’s biggest ever win in the Southern League.

Leverstock Green (2) 5 (Leon 6, Mitchell-Gears 11, Allen 69, 90+1, Sekyere 78)
1. Ashton Broome-Alexander, 2. Kombe Kawimbe, 3. Rio Beach, 4. Dan Pett, 6. Ryan Carruthers (15. Nat Connolly 65 mins), 7. Iker Noguera Leon (18. Jack Allen 61 mins), 8. Carmicheal Uchenna, 9. Jeffrey Sekyere, 10. George Mitchell-Gears (16. Marcus Warren 70 mins), 11. Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica (12. Luke Beckwith 61 mins). Sub not used: 14. Dan Casey.
AFC Dunstable (0) 0
1. Noah Vaughan, 2. Aaron Addy (12. Tyrelle Joseph 80 mins), 3. Wallace Clark, 4. James Doherty, 5. Mohibur Rahman, 6.Jamie De Beer, 7. Alfie Carrington (12. Jeffery Yeboah H/T), 8. Jeremy Amissah (14. Benjamin Burt 51 mins), 9. Shea Greene, 11. Cyril Mensah (17. Christopher Carter 69 mins), 15. Jake Cowley (16. Jude Slough 89 mins).

It was a second straight win for Leverstock Green and a very impressive result against second-placed Hitchin Town in a see-saw game of three penalties. A superb finish from substitute Iker Noguera Leon late in the game proved to be the winner.

The visitors had the game’s first serious attempt on goal in the 19th minute when Kye Tearle hit a shot from the edge of the box just over the bar. Leverstock were unlucky not to take the lead in the 24th minute. As the ball came into the box, Joe McCarthy got in ahead of keeper Tyler McGregor and tried to take the ball around him, but McGregor scrambled back and pulled off a save to keep out McCarthy’s shot.

Hitchin went in front from the game’s first penalty in the 30th minute. Olusegun Adedipe was penalised for a late challenge just inside the box, and Taylor Rhiney made no mistake from the spot. Leverstock should have been level before the break. In the 41st minute Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica’s pass gave McCarthy a run at goal, and McCarthy laid off to set up Jeffrey Sekyere with a clear chance, but his shot went over the bar.

Hitchin took their lead into the break, but Leverstock fought back strongly in the second half. In the 59th minute Carmicheal Uchenna went on a solo run which took him past a number of defenders before laying off to Stefanoaica, who controlled the ball and drilled it into the bottom corner to level the scores and notch his second goal in two games.

It got better for Leverstock. In the 74th minute McGregor was adjudged to have fouled McCarthy as the two challenged for the ball, and the referee awarded the second penalty of the game. Sekyere sent McGregor the wrong way to put Leverstock into a 2-1 lead. It was a short-lived lead though, as two minutes later the referee was pointing to the spot again when a tackle from Dan Pett brought down a Hitchin player just inside the box. Rhiney stepped up again and was successful again to level the scores at 2-2.

In the 82nd minute Stefanoaica was replaced by Iker Noguera Leon, and the Spanish striker got his first touch of the ball two minutes later when a pass from Uchenna put him in behind the last defender, and Leon ran on to slot the ball past McGregor superbly to put Leverstock back in front at 3-2.

Once again the Leverstock faithful had to endure five minutes of stoppage time with a slender lead, and there was a nervous moment when a corner was given away and everyone including McGregor came up for it, but the danger was cleared and Leverstock held on for a fully-deserved win against a Hitchin side that didn’t really create a single clear-cut chance in open play or force a serious save out of Ashton Broome-Alexander. Leverstock’s unbeaten run extends to five games, and the three points takes them further clear of the relegation zone and moves them up a place in the Division One Central table.

Leverstock Green (0) 3 (Stefanoaica 59, Sekyere 74 pen, Leon 84)
1 Ashton Broome-Alexander, 2. Kombe Kawimbe, 3. Rio Beach, 4. Dan Pett, 20. Olusegun Adedipe (14. Dan Casey 64 mins), 6.Carmicheal Uchenna (15. Callum Donnelly 88 mins), 7. Joe McCarthy, 8. orge Mitchell-Gears, 9. Jeffrey Sekyere, 10. Marcus Warren (12. Ryan Carruthers 71 mins), 11. Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica (16. Iker Noguera Leon 82 mins). Sub not used: 18. Jack Allen.
Hitchin Town (1) 2 (Rhiney 30 pen, 76 pen)
1. Tyler McGregor, 2. Kye Tearle, 3. Callum Kane, 4. Brett Longden (12. Toby Syme 82 mins), 5. Charlie Briggs, 6. Ciaren Jones, 7. Liam Brooks (16. Diogo Freitas-Gouveia 83 mins), 8. Josh Coldicott-Stevens (15. Kavan Cotter 73 mins), 9. Taylor Rhiney, 10. Lewis Franklin, 11. Callum Nicolson. Subs not used: 14. Blue Joy, 17. Fernando Bell-Toxtle.

Leverstock Green opened up a three-point gap between themselves and the relegation zone with a crucial 2-1 win over Welwyn Garden City in Tuesday night’s Southern League Division One Central fixture. It was another nervous finish for the Leverstock faithful as the visitors pulled a goal back late in the game, but this time there was to be no last-gasp equaliser.

Leverstock could have opened the scoring in the 12th minute when a pass from Jeffrey Sekyere put Joe McCarthy through on goal, but Welwyn keeper Lamar Johnson came off his line to save with his legs. They only had to wait another minute for their goal, though. George Mitchell-Gears’ crossfield pass found Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica with space to run at goal, and Stefanoaica drilled a shot home from the edge of the box into the corner of the net for his first goal of the season.

Welwyn though they had equalised five minutes later with a header from a corner, but the referee disallowed it for a foul on Leverstock keeper Ashton Broome-Alexander. In the 22nd minute Broome-Alexander saved well from a Remel Larwood shot, and in the 33rd minute Broome-Alexander batted the ball away after a long throw had been flicked on across goal. A minute later Leverstock doubled their lead. Carmicheal Uchenna went on a run into the Welwyn half and played a one-two with Stefanoaica before hitting a shot from the edge of the box towards the bottom corner of the net. It wasn’t the hardest shot but Johnson couldn’t get to it and the ball went in off the post as Uchenna scored his first goal for the club.

There should have been a third goal in first half stoppage time. McCarthy was through again, Johnson saved again and the rebound fell for Stefanoaica, but he didn’t get his shot away quickly enough and the chance went away.

The second half saw Leverstock defending the slope and coming under heavy pressure from the visitors, but they were not able to create much in the way of clear-cut chances. Leverstock occasionally threatened on the break, and came closest to scoring in the 59th minute when Stefanoaica went on another run, kept the ball after a challenge and squared it across goal, but it was just behind the incoming McCarthy.

Leverstock were still holding onto their two-goal lead towards the end of the game, but in the 86th minute a free kick was given away in a dangerous position. The ball was delivered into the box and Evaristo Mendes applied the finishing touch to pull a goal back. Leverstock supporters then had to face the prospect of five minutes of stoppage time during which Welwyn continued to pump the ball forward, but this time the Green side were able to see the game out and claim the three points from an excellent and very hard-working performance.

Leverstock Green (2) 2 (Stefanoaica 13, Uchenna 34)
1. Ashton Broome-Alexander, 2. Kombe Kawimbe, 3. Rio Beach, 4. Dan Pett, 5. Olusegun Adedipe, 6. Carmicheal Uchenna (12. Dan Casey 87 mins), 7. Joe Mccarthy (16. Jamal Yates 79 mins), 8. George Mitchell-Gears (15. Aldo Petagine 79 mins), 9. Jeffrey Sekyere, 10. Marcus Warren, 11. Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica (18. Jack Allen 64 mins). Sub not used: 14. George Eldridge.
Welwyn Garden City (0) 1 (Mendes 86)
1. Lamar Johnson, 2. Adam Pollock, 3. Layne Eadie, 4. Jack Green, 5. Aiden Read (15. Evaristo Mendes H/T), 6. Panny Boxer, 7. Remel Larwood (12. Ethan Rookard 59 mins), 8. Isaac Pedro, 9. Steve Cawley, 10. Eddie Corbit, 14. Lewis Taaffe. Sub not used: 17. Donny Green.