Leverstock Green were unable to follow up their impressive midweek win against Ware as they fell to a home defeat against Beaconsfield Town on Saturday.

They made a bright start to the game and took the lead in the 13th minute as Iker Noguera Leon scored his fourth goal in three games, hitting a shot on the run from the edge of the box which bounced in front of keeper Ezekiel Ifekoya and went into the net. They had chances to extend their lead. In the 20th minute Ifekoya couldn’t hold onto a free kick floated in by Marcus Warren, and the ball dropped at the feet of Timi Bada, but Ifekoya recovered to save Bada’s shot. In the 31st minute a shot from Joe McCarthy was saved by Ifekoya and hit the post, but fortunately for the keeper rebounded back into his hands.

Leverstock had been on top up to this point, but in the 35th minute the scores were levelled as Blaaze Lawrence pounced on a loose ball on the edge of the Green box to shoot home the equaliser past Ryan North. There was another great chance for Leverstock in the 42nd minute as McCarthy was through on goal, but Ifekoya saved well to keep out McCarthy’s shot.

Having played well in the first half, Leverstock’s performance in the second half was somewhat disappointing. Beaconsfield looked like they had taken the lead in the 52nd minute as North spilled a routine shot from Freddie Ford and Mekhai Bessasa-Grant netted the loose ball, but the offside flag was up. Two minutes later Leverstock had a chance as a long ball allowed McCarthy to get the wrong side of the last defender, but instead of finishing himself McCarthy opted to square to Bada, and the ball didn’t get there.

Beaconsfield were looking the more dangerous side, and they were given the chance to go in front in the 71st minute when George Mitchell-Gears’ challenge brought down an attacker in the box, and the referee awarded the penalty. Lawrence netted the spot kick for his second goal of the game.

Leverstock tried to put pressure on the Beaconsfield goal over the closing minutes, but the visitors defended very well, always finding the vital block or header away. A cross from Dan Pett in the 75th minute went across the face of goal but Jack Allen couldn’t get his boot on it. By the end of the game Leverstock had two 16 year olds on the pitch, with Ashton Corder being joined by Lucas Hammer, another of the under-18 side to have stepped up to the first team. Deep into stoppage time a shot from Corder was blocked and the rebound came to Hammer, but he couldn’t keep his shot under the bar.

Leverstock Green (1) 1 (Leon 13)
1. Ryan North, 2. Callum Neal, 3. Vladyslav Karuchok, 4. George Mitchell-Gears, 5. Kombe Kawimbe, 6. Ryan Carruthers (12. Nat Connolly 81 mins), 7. Timi Bada (18. Jack Allen 63 mins), 8. Dan Pett, 9. Joe McCarthy (14. Ashton Corder 68 mins), 10. Marcus Warren (16. Lucas Hammer 89 mins), 11. Iker Noguera Leon. Sub not used: 15. Callum Donnelly.
Beaconsfield Town (1) 2 (Lawrence 35, 71 pen)
1. Ezekiel Ifekoya, 2. Alex Peapell, 3. Mack Miskin, 4. Giulio Marroni, 5. Charlie Smith, 6. Dan Hill, 7. Blaaze Lawrence, 8. Corey Hart, 9. Joel Onu (12. Alfie Anderson 70 mins), 10. Freddie Ford, 11. Mekhai Bessasa-Grant (14. Mohamed Gamal 84 mins). Subs not used: 15. Uthman Hassan, 16. Mirko Jovanovic, 17. Taran Sohi.

Leverstock Green finally put their first league win of the season on the board at the eighth attempt, and they did it in style with an outstanding team performance and a 5-0 win over Ware, who earlier in the season had put five past Leverstock in an FA Cup tie.

The two teams went into the game as the only remaining teams in the division without a win, and it was a slow start to the game before the chances started coming. The visitors went close with a glancing header in front of goal that went wide in the 20th minute, while Ademide Baruwa had a run at goal in the 30th minute but shot straight at keeper Fred Burbidge. Three minutes later Burbidge pulled off a great save at his near post to keep out a shot from George Mitchell-Gears, and at the other end Ryan North did well to turn a flick from Josh Hutchinson over the bar.

In the 35th minute Marcus Warren’s pass gave Iker Noguera Leon a run at goal, and the Spaniard took the ball past several defenders and Burbidge before slotting home to put Leverstock into a 1-0 lead.

Two minutes before the break Ware were reduced to ten men when Max Granville was shown a straight red card, not for the tackle that brought down Ademide Baruwa but for words said afterwards.

Leverstock took their lead into the second half, and in the 55th minute a pass from Leon to Joe McCarthy should have been dealt with, but confusion between Burbidge and a defender allowed McCarthy to take the ball past both and run it into the empty net for a 2-0 lead, the first time Leverstock had scored twice in a league game this season.

North produced another good save in the 59th minute to keep out a Ware free kick, with Kombe Kawimbe blocking an effort from the rebound, producing shouts for handball from the Ware players but nothing from the referee.

There could have been a third goal in the 74th minute when McCarthy broke away from his own half before laying off to Leon, but his shot was blocked by a defender. The third goal arrived in spectacular style in the 80th minute when substitute Timi Bada received a pass from Warren and hit a superb strike from the edge of the box to notch his first goal for the club within two minutes of coming off the bench.

It got even better for Leverstock as the game ticked into stoppage time. Firstly Leon notched his second of the night, controlling the ball and squeezing in a shot at the near post after Burbidge had parried a shot from Ashton Corder, and a minute later Jack Allen added his name to the scoresheet with an emphatic finish from six yards to complete a superb 5-0 result.

Leverstock Green (1) 5 (Leon 35, 90+2, McCarthy 55, Bada 80, Allen 90+3)
1. Ryan North, 2. Callum Neal (15. Aldo Petagine 83 mins), 3. Vladyslav Karuchok, 4. George Mitchell-Gears, 5. Kombe Kawimbe, 6. Ryan Carruthers, 7. Ademide Baruwa, 8. Nat Connolly (18. Jack Allen 63 mins), 9. Joe McCarthy (12. Timi Bada 78 mins), 10. Marcus Warren (14. Ashton Corder 83 mins), 11. Iker Noguera Leon. Sub not used: 16. Dan Pett
Ware (0) 0
1. Fred Burbidge, 2. Finley Titchmarsh, 3. David Sota (12. Theophilus Ofori 64 mins), 4. Max Granville , 5. Jay Rolfe, 6. Jack Grosvenor, 7. Khale Da Costa (15. Gucci Soulya 70 mins), 9. Josh Hutchinson, 10. Rechan Esprit, 11. Samuel Mayuma, 19. Anthony Wordsworth (16. Reece Beckles-Richards H/T). Subs not used: 14. Josh Okotcha, 17. Ekow Coker.

Leverstock Green added another point to their total, but they are still looking for their first league win of the season after a 1-1 draw against MK Irish on Saturday.

It was a game that offered few clear-cut chances for either side. In the 18th minute Leverstock keeper Ryan North did well to gather a cross from Cairo Taylor that took a deflection in the six yard box. At the other end two minutes later a long throw from George Mitchell-Gears was headed back across goal by Joe McCarthy to Jack Allen, who couldn’t get a clean strike on the ball.

The visitors took the lead in the 26th minute from a free kick that was given away unneccesarily. The ball into the box was caught by North but he couldn’t hold onto it and as the ball fell from his hands it hit MK’s Clinton Zawe and deflected back into the net.

The equaliser came from another free kick in the 41st minute. Carmicheal Uchenna delivered to ball towards the far post where Callum Neal came in unchecked to head home his third goal of the season, making him currently Leverstock’s top scorer.

The second half saw Leverstock have most of what chances there were. In the 48th minute Ademide Baruwa put the ball across the face of goal but it just eluded McCarthy sliding in. Three minutes later Iker Noguera Leon made a run into the box but his shot was over the bar. North made a good save in the 63rd minute when Nathaniel Emond was through on goal for MK, deflecting the shot over the bar.

There was almost a second goal for Neal in the 79th minute when he got a glancing header at the near post from Uchenna’s corner, but it was cleared off the line. In the 85th minute Ashton Corder got on the end of a cross from Neal with a volley that looked like it was heading in but took a deflection off a defender to go wide.

Leverstock Green (1) 1 (Neal 41)
1. Ryan North, 2. Callum Neal, 3. Vladyslav Karuchok, 4. George Mitchell-Gears, 5. Kombe Kawimbe, 6. Ademide Baruwa (15. Nat Connolly 82 mins), 7. Joe McCarthy (12. Timi Bada 82 mins), 8. Dan Pett (14. Ryan Carruthers 79 mins), 9. Jack Allen (17. Enoch Folorunsho 72 mins), 10. Carmicheal Uchenna, 11. Iker Noguera Leon (16. Ashton Corder 65 mins).
Milton Keynes Irish (1) 1 (Zawe 26)
1. Tom Ladyman, 2. Clinton Zawe, 3. Freddy Joyce, 6. Nathan Smith, 7. Nathaniel Emond (20. Carter Nevin 65 mins), 8. Ryan Smith, 9. James Meadows, 10. Cairo Taylor (14. Tom Macdonald 57 mins), 15.Ben Farrell (4. Callum Hirst 79 mins), 16. Matthew Haworth, 18. Nat Beecher. Subs not used: 5. Oliver Kalek, 12. Keelan Shand.