Leverstock Green concluded their pre-season programme with a home defeat to SSML Division Two side Totternhoe. Varying degrees of player unavailability and injuries have meant that the pre-season preparation has been more disjointed than Fergus Moore would have liked, but there are still plenty of positives to take into their league opener against Risborough Rangers on Tuesday night, particularly the performance of centre back Luke Durnin in his first game.

Leverstock almost took the lead in the 20th minute when a free kick from Chris Blunden brought a save out of the visiting keeper. Luke Beckwith was first to the rebound but put it over the bar. Within a minute the ball was at the other end and Totternhoe had taken the lead. In the 29th minute a pass from Beckwith put Sean Walsh through on goal, but he was denied by the keeper. However, shortly afterwards Blunden found the space on the edge of the penalty area to hit a low shot that levelled the scores. Ethan Mooney hit the woodwork with a cross in the 36th minute.

Avoidable goals in the 47th and 65th minute put the visitors into a 3-1 lead, however a superb long-range strike from Ibrahim Nagheeb pulled a goal back in the 71st minute.

Starting XI: 1. Josh Mollison, 2. Alfie Herd, 3. Rio Beach, 4. Brad Robinson, 19. Luke Durnin, 6. Sean Walsh, 7. Ethan Mooney, 8. Ibrahim Nagheeb, 9. Chris Blunden, 10. George Mitchell-Gears, 11. Luke Beckwith. Subs used included: Lewis Nicholls, Ryan Carruthers, Callum Moore, James Collins, Billy Mardell-Smith, Kurainashe Musanhi.

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In their penultimate pre-season friendly, Leverstock Green faced Hadley, who start this season in the Southern League having been promoted from the Spartan South Midlands League last season. It was a tough game for Fergus Moore’s side, but after a mostly even start to the game a sloppy end to the first half saw them 3-0 down at the break.

Leverstock put some pressure on the Hadley goal in the opening five minutes, winning a couple of corners, but early injuries saw both Ollie Cox and Robin Emanuels replaced, which unsettled the side. Hadley took the lead in the 21st minute with a scorcher of a shot from long-range that flew past keeper Josh Mollison, playing his first game for the club.

Leverstock had their best chance of the game in the 27th minute when Luke Beckwith got on the end of a corner from Ibrahim Nagheeb, but shot just over the bar. Hadley scored a second goal in the 43rd minute when they were allowed too much space on the edge of the box to hit a low shot into the corner of the net. In the final minute of the half a free kick floated into the box went over the head of a Leverstock defender and allowed Hadley to shoot a third goal in off the post, leaving a half time score of 3-0 that didn’t reflect how the half had gone.

The second half saw Hadley well on top playing down the slope, but a backs-to-the-wall effort saw the Leverstock defence only concede one further goal, when Hadley broke away from a Leverstock corner in the 66th minute. All of the squad that were present saw some action, with 19 players used during the course of the game.

Leverstock’s final friendly is on Saturday at home to Totternhoe.

 

Leverstock Green played their first home pre-season friendly on Saturday, and earned a creditable 2-2 draw against Southern League side AFC Dunstable.

The kick-off had been brought forward to 11:00 am to avoid the expected hot conditions in the afternoon, but it was still played in very warm temperatures. The visitors took the lead in the 16th minute as a ball through the middle allowed Louie Collier to go through and send a lob over Leverstock’s trialist goalkeeper. Luke Beckwith had Leverstock’s first serious effort on goal in the 34th minute, shooting just wide after a solo run. The scores were levelled in the 40th minute as the AFC keeper parried a shot from Lewis Collins and Chris Blunden followed up to net the rebound.

The second half saw many changes from both sides. The visitors went back in front in the 53rd minute when Collier scored his second from a far post header. However, ten minutes later the Green side were back level again when Sean Walsh’s cross found George Mitchell-Gears, who sent a looping header over the keeper. Scott McGleish came closest to a third Leverstock goal, hitting a shot just wide in the 73rd minute, and six minutes from time Oscar Frost pulled off a great save to turn a long-range shot round the post.

The starting line-up included Rio Beach, Dan Weeks, Scott McGleish, Ibrahim Nagheeb, Lewis Collins, Dan Pett, Chris Blunden, George Mitchell-Gears and Luke Beckwith, while the subs included James Hall, Sean Walsh, Elgeniy Daalberg, Jack Allen and Oscar Frost.

The full match can be viewed below: