London Colney came to Pancake Lane having dropped to the bottom of the table on Tuesday night and in need of a result of some kind to stand a chance of avoiding relegation from the SSML Premier Division. In the end it was evident that they had much more to play for than the Leverstock Green side as they came away with a 3-1 win which was enough to see them leapfrog Holmer Green and clinch survival.

The visitors took the lead as early as the third minute, taking advantage of some too-casual defending from the Green side as Oscar Evans picked up a poor clearance and ran into the box to hit a shot past Alfie Bonfield at his near post.

Leverstock then had a spell of pressure, winning a series of corners. From one of them in the 10th minute a shot from Kian Wilkes was blocked on the line. However, in the 20th minute as a Leverstock attack broke down, London Colney broke away. Kambo Smith was allowed to run half the length of the field and eventually get to the bye-line where he pulled the ball back for Caleb Steele to slide in and score a simple second goal.

The nearest that the Green side came to pulling a goal back before the break was in the 28th minute when Rawn Seale got on the end of a Rio Beach free kick, but his header was saved by the keeper.

Early in the second half the Leverstock side looked much more of an attacking proposition. On 50 minutes Lewis Collins made a run into the box but his shot was blocked on the line. Four minutes later Seale was making a run into the box and was brought down. It looked like a penalty, but the referee awarded a free kick outside the box. Wilkes floated the ball into the six yard box, where Seale came in to shoot home from close range for his 18th goal of the season.

Leverstock were back in the game now and for a time looked capable of getting themselves back level, but on a rare attack from the visitors in the 67th minute, Smith was allowed to run at the defence again and shot home a third goal to put the visitors firmly back in control.

That was how the game ended, and the result proved to be enough for London Colney to stay up. It was a disappointing way for Leverstock to end an excellent season, but their final position of 8th is very much something to build on for next season.

Leverstock Green (0) 1 (Seale 56)
Team: 1. Alfie Bonfield, 2. Brad Robinson, 3. Rio Beach, 4. Temi Bankole (18. Scott McGleish 25 mins), 5. Paul Marks, 6. Kian Wilkes, 7. Lewis Collins, 8. Ryan Carruthers (14. Alfie Herd 79 mins), 9. Rawn Seale, 10. Nagheeb Ibrahim, 11. Elgeniy Daalberg (15. Sean Walsh 63 mins). Subs not used: 12. Jack Allen, 16. Callum Moore.
London Colney (2) 3 (Evans 3, Steele 20, Smith 67)
Team: 1. Harvey Simson, 2. Saeed Yusuf, 3. Jake Clarke, 4. Caleb Steele, 5. Aston Henry, 6. Jamel Rose, 7. Simeon Okora (12. Charles Opoku 64 mins), 8. Pijus Montvydas, 9. Kambo Smith (16. Julius Ilori 89 mins), 10. Oscar Evans, 11. Danny Fowler. Subs not used: 14. Maliki Brissett, 15. Conrad Holland, 17. Kentyn Calif.

After five league games without a win, Leverstock Green returned to winning ways with a hard-fought 1-0 result over Tring Athletic in Saturday’s Dacorum Derby at Pancake Lane. It was an evenly-contested game on a warm afternoon, and both sides hit the woodwork, but Leverstock secured the points with a goal from top scorer Rawn Seale 15 minutes from time.

The early stages of the game had the feel of an end-of-season affair, with little in the way of chances at either end. Leverstock keeper Alfie Bonfield made the game’s first save in the 23rd minute, turning away Ronan Hutchins’ shot from a narrow angle for a corner. Tring enjoyed something of a period of pressure at this time, with a goalline clearance from Rio Beach keeping them out three minutes later.

Leverstock’s first effort on target was a shot from Ethan Mooney in the 37th minute, but it was comfortably saved by Tring’s debutant keeper Ollie Keil. Five minutes later Rawn Seale showed some great footwork inside the box to carve out a shooting chance, but Keil pulled off a good save to turn it round the post. From the resulting corner Seale connected with a header that hit the bar, and the ball somehow stayed out in the ensuing scramble.

The game was goalless at half time and continued as a tight struggle in the second half. On 57 minutes Seale had a chance at a run into the box and pulled the ball back for Mooney, but his shot was blocked. Four minutes later Mooney had an even better chance when a pass from Dan Pett put him clean through, but Keil stood his ground and saved with his legs. At the other end two minutes later Bonfield had to turn a shot from Harrison Cornick round the post.

Leverstock had another golden opportunity on 67 minutes when a great pass from Kian Wilkes put Seale through, but his attempted lob over Keil failed to beat the keeper. However on 75 minutes Seale had another chance when he got on the end of a long kick from Bonfield to go through on goal. It looked as though the chance had gone away when he was surrounded by defenders, but Seale showed the persistance to carry on and stab the ball home to put his side 1-0 up.

Tring pressed for an equaliser and had a couple of near misses. On 82 minutes George Carbery shot across goal and wide from a good chance, and a minute later Charlie Miller hit the post with a shot from the edge of the box. A draw would probably have been a fair result on the balance of play, but Leverstock held out for the win, with the three points ensuring that they will finish at least eighth in the Premier Division table with two games to play.

Leverstock Green (0) 1 (Seale 75)
Team: 1. Alfie Bonfield, 2. Ollie Cox (16. Brad Robinson 54 mins), 3. Rio Beach, 4. Dan Weeks, 5. Paul Marks, 6. Kian Wilkes (12. Jack Allen 76 mins), 7. Ethan Mooney, 8. Dan Pett, 9. Rawn Seale, 10. Ryan Carruthers (17. Sean Walsh 66 mins), 11. Nagheeb Ibrahim. Subs not used: 14. Jamie Calvin, 15. Ethan Holt.
Tring Athletic (0) 0
Team: 1. Ollie Keil, 2. Harrison Cornick, 3. Adam Sawyer, 10. Adiel Mannion (6. Lenny Armstrong 68 mins), 12. Eli Hearn, 13. George Carbery, 14. Jack Stevens, 17. Leo Farruch, 18. Charlie Miller, 19. Godlove Oppong, 20. Ronan Hutchins. Subs not used: 8. Ali Mohiuddin, 16. James Doherty.

Leverstock Green were beaten at home by title-chasing Risborough Rangers, who clinched a promotion spot in the SSML Premier Division with Saturday’s three points. Fergus Moore was without several of his key players today, and although his side defended well to get to half time goalless, a dominant display from the visitors saw them well beaten in the second half. But for two penalty saves from keeper Alfie Bonfield, Leverstock could have suffered their worst defeat of the season.

Risborough had the game’s first chance with Ben Sturges hitting the ball over the bar, but three minutes later Rawn Seale had Leverstock’s best effort of the game, shooting just wide from outside the penalty area.

The last 15 minutes of the half saw heavy pressure from the visitors, with Sean Coles heading wide from a good chance on 33 minutes and the post being hit in a goalmouth scramble in the 39th minute. Good tackles from both Ryan Carruthers and Sean Walsh inside the penalty area prevented further chances as Leverstock reached the break with the game still goalless.

Eight minutes into the second half Risborough were awarded a penalty, a somewhat harsh handball decision against Ollie Cox, who had the ball hit at him from a couple of yards away. Wyllie stepped up to take the kick but Alfie Bonfield dived to his right to turn the ball round the post.

On 61 minutes Leverstock had their only real effort on goal of the half as Seale shot over the bar after a quick break started by Ethan Mooney. A minute later the ball was at the other end, and fell nicely at the feet of Wyllie, who hit a low shot from the edge of the box that Bonfield got a hand to, but couldn’t keep out as Risborough took the lead.

There was almost a spectacular second for the visitors on 72 minutes as Coles went for an overhead kick which struck the underside of the bar and bounced away. However, the second goal did arrive three minutes later. From a rare Leverstock corner, Wyllie picked the ball up on the edge of his own box and ran the length of the field into the Green box before squaring the ball for Alex Kedzierski to slot home.

As the game continued to be one way traffic, a third goal was added in the 87th minute by Joel Read with a shot from inside the box. In the second minute of stoppage time Risborough were awarded another penalty, this time for a foul by Kian Wilkes. Liam Enver-Marom stepped up to take this one, but again Bonfield guessed the right way and kept the penalty out.

Leverstock Green (0) 0
Team: 1. Alfie Bonfield, 2. Ollie Cox (17. Brad Robinson 85 mins), 3. Rio Beach, 4. Jack Allen, 5. Paul Marks, 6. Kian Wilkes, 7. Ethan Mooney (16. Ethan Holt 77 mins), 8. Ryan Carruthers (14. Lewis Collins 67 mins), 9. Rawn Seale, 10, Sean Walsh, 11. Nagheeb Ibrahim. Subs not used: 12. Temi Bankole, 15. Alfie Herd.
Risborough Rangers (0) 3 (Wyllie 62, Kedzierski 75, Read 87)
Team: 1. Jack Brooker, 3. Lewis Patrick, 4. Joel Read, 5. Josh Urquhart, 6. Alex Kedzierski, 8. Asher Yearwood, 10. Marcus Wyllie (2. Bertie Squires-Adams 84 mins), 11. Sean Coles, 16. Ben Sturges, 18. Gavin James (9. Liam Enver-Marom 79 mins), 19. Kieran Schmidt (21. Evans Lamboh 88 mins). Subs not used: 7. Adam Morris, 22. Bailey Osborne.

Leverstock Green were beaten by a second half goal in a scrappy, wind-affected contest against Flackwell Heath at Pancake Lane. It was a closely-fought game between the sides in 6th and 5th place in the division.

Fergus Moore was again without several of his attacking options due to injury and unavailability. The early stages of the game saw the visitors have more of the ball as Leverstock defended against the wind, but with no chances created. In the 18th minute Flackwell had the ball in the net but it was ruled out as the ball had gone out of play in the build-up. A minute later at the other end Dan Pett had a clear sight of goal on the edge of the box, but pulled his shot wide.

In the 23rd minute Flackwell had an attempt from a long-range free kick which deflected off the wall. A shot from the rebound brought a good save out of Alfie Bonfield, back in the Leverstock goal. Bonfield saved again from close ramge on 35 minutes when Jack Timberlake got on the end of a cross from Jamie Ayres. Three minutes later Pett went close for the Green side again with a shot that went just over the angle of post and bar.

Defenders were still on top as the game reached half time without a goal. The second half saw even fewer chances than the first half, and the goal that proved to be the winner was, as in the game at Tring on Tuesday, a result of a ball straight down the middle not being defended well. It was a hopeful punt forward towards substitute Aiden Higgs, which should have been cleared by Dan Weeks, but Weeks allowed the ball to bounce, and then his attempted clearance was blocked. The ball ran to Finbar King, whose shot was parried by Bonfield, but Higgs followed up to net the rebound.

Leverstock didn’t look much like getting back into the game until the last ten minutes when they switched to three at the back. Five minutes from time they had a free kick in a dangerous position outside the box, but Pett’s attempt rebounded off the wall. Three minutes into stoppage time Leverstock twice came close to snatching an equaliser, both chances coming from long throws into the box by Rawn Seale, and both were shots from Kian Wilkes. The first was cleared off the line by a combination of two defenders, and the second attempt took a deflection and brought a brilliant save out of Flackwell keeper Isaac Hay, who acrobatically tipped the ball over the bar.

Leverstock Green (0) 0
Team: 1. Alfie Bonfield, 2. Brad Robinson (19. Scott McGleish 79 mins), 3. Rio Beach, 4. Dan Weeks , 5. Paul Marks (12. Jack Allen 62 mins), 6. Kian Wilkes, 7. Ethan Mooney, 8. Dan Pett, 9. Rawn Seale, 10. Adam Page, 11. Ollie Cox (14. Ryan Carruthers 69 mins). Subs not used: 15. Callum Moore, 16. Kyle Williams.
Flackwell Heath (0) 1 (Higgs 67)
Team: 1. Isaac Hay, 2. Jack Shakespeare, 3. James Keeley (17. Sam Coles 58 mins), 4. Jamie Essex, 5. Ryan Avery (12. Marcus Ushiro-Lumb 30 mins), 6. Jack Taylor, 7. Ben Fraser, 8. Alan Ackerman, 9. Jack Timberlake (14. Aiden Higgs 60 mins), 10. Jamie Ayres, 11. Finbar King. Subs not used: 15. Tyler Gregory, 16. Fabian Driffill.