Hot on the heels of winning their first home league game for months last Saturday, Leverstock Green won another one. Again a single goal was enough to win the game, but this week it came early in the game. It turned out to be a hard-fought three points in difficult wet and windy conditions, against a Milton Keynes Irish side that played very well and had the bulk of the chances in the game.

Manager Fergus Moore was away at the wedding of goalkeeping coach Darren Bonfield, and Leverstock’s regular goalkeeper Alfie Bonfield was also at his father’s wedding, so there was a debut in goal for new signing Tautis Poniskaitis from Burnham. The Lithuanian gave an outstanding display, keeping out a number of good efforts from the visitors, and was named man of the match. Assistant manager Scott McGleish was also unavailable today, so coaches Paul Marks and AJ Findlay took charge of the team and had a successful debut in management.

The only goal of the game came in the 10th minute, originating from an MK defender unwisely trying a backheeled flick in his own half. The ball went straight to Rawn Seale, who spotted the run of Adam Page, and Seale threaded the ball perfectly into the path of Page, who slotted past keeper Jack Taylor to notch his first goal for the club.

The goal had been somewhat against the run of play, with the visitors having had the bulk of the play, although not yet producing anything to trouble Poniskaitis. MK had a good chance in the 33rd minute when a square ball from the left found Dominic Lawless six yards out, but he shot over the bar. Three minutes later at the other end a cross from Elgeniy Daalberg caused some problems in the MK box, but neither Dan Pett nor Seale could force the ball home.

On 41 minutes Poniskaitis made his first great save of the game, an acrobatic dive to keep out a shot from Steve Brooks one-handed. Two minutes later Leverstock were denied at the other end as Taylor dived down low to turn away a glancing header from Dan Weeks. In first half stoppage time Poniskaitis was in action again, dealing well with a long-range effort from Oliver Coleman.

Leverstock were attacking down the slope in the second half, but with the strong wind and the rain against them it gave them little advantage. Again it was the visitors who were playing most of the football, winning numerous corners, but being unable to break the dogged Green resistance. In the 51st minute a header from a corner was heading for the top corner of the net but Jack Allen got up to head it over the bar. Five minutes later Coleman had a effort from a free kick outside the box which was looping up towards the top corner after a deflection off Paplamin Jawara, but Poniskaitis pulled off another great save to tip it over the bar.

A pass from Jawara gave Daalberg a clear sight of goal in the 69th minute, but he couldn’t keep his shot under the bar. Three minutes later Seale had an effort from a narrow angle which brought a save out of Taylor. However, for the most part Leverstock were very much on the back foot in the closing stages, but kept their concentration and shape to the end to claim another important three points that lifts them back up to 5th place in the league. Further plus points were the return of both Lewis Collins and Ethan Mooney from injury, both coming off the bench in the second half.

Leverstock Green (1) 1 (Page 10)
Team: 1. Tautis Poniskaitis, 2. Brad Robinson, 3. Rio Beach, 4. Dan Weeks, 5. Jack Allen, 6. Kian Wilkes, 7. Elgeniy Daalberg (14. Lewis Collins 80 mins), 8. Dan Pett, 9. Rawn Seale, 10. Adam Page (17. Ethan Mooney 64 mins), 11. Paplamin Jawara (18. Sean Walsh 84 mins). Subs not used: 12. Ryan Carruthers, 16. Paul Marks.
Milton Keynes Irish (0) 0
Team: 1. Jack Taylor, 3. Eddie Richardson, 18. Nat Beecher, 4. Liam Smyth, 5. Steve Brooks, 6. Nathan Smith, 17. Oliver Coleman, 11. Robert Macdonald (15. Ollie Lemon 57 mins), 8. Andre Olukanmi (9. Jack Clarkson 70 mins), 10. George Boland (2. Ryan Coyles 80 mins), 12. Dominic Lawless.

Leverstock Green ended a run of seven home league games without a win as they finally claimed three points from a game at Pancake Lane. And just like their last league win at Broadfields three weeks ago, it was a goal deep into stoppage time that won the game.

Before the game, Leverstock skipper Dan Weeks was presented with the Respect award for January, presented by Mike Taylor from the Spartan South Midlands League. It is the second time this season that the Green side has won this award.

Fergus Moore had Ollie Cox missing through suspension to add to the list of injuries in the squad, but new signing Adam Page made his debut up front. Leverstock almost took a very early lead in the game. A pass from Rawn Seale put Elgeniy Daalberg in on goal, and although keeper Freddie Lapworth got a hand to Daalberg’s shot, it was still heading for the corner of the net until a defender scrambled back to clear off the line with just thirty seconds played.

Despite the bright start, it was actually a game of few chances between two evenly-matched teams. In the 36th minute Leverstock went close again as a shot from Dan Pett was deflected and saved by Lapworth, and Seale’s effort from the rebound was blocked. Paplamin Jawara hit the post from a free kick with the last kick of the first half.

There was another chance in the opening minute of the second half as a free kick from Rio Beach found Seale with his back to goal, but his hooked shot went just wide of the goal. A great save from Alfie Bonfield in the 63rd minute denied Ardley a goal, as Bonfield dived down to his right to turn away a shot from the edge of the box through a crowd of players. Two minutes later the visitors went close again as a shot from Declan Benjamin went just wide.

Leverstock should have gone in front with six minutes to play. Beach made a run into the Ardley half before laying off to Daalberg, who showed his pace before hitting a shot that came off the inside of the post. The ball rebounded across goal to where Scott McGleish was coming in with the goal at his mercy, but somehow his header managed to hit the underside of the bar and rebound to safety.

It looked as though Leverstock had missed their chance for the win, but there was still one chance to come two minutes into stoppage time. Jack Allen won the ball on the right touchline and played a long pass forward which Seale ran onto, and after showing the composure to sidestep a defender, Seale planted a shot into the corner of the net to break the deadlock. With barely a minute to play after the restart, the Green side held onto their lead to claim an important three points which moves them back up to sixth place in the Premier Division table.

Dan Weeks receiving the Respect award.

Leverstock Green (0) 1 (Seale 90+2)
Team: 1. Alfie Bonfield, 2. Brad Robinson, 3. Rio Beach, 4. Dan Weeks, 5. Paul Marks (12. Jack Allen 66 mins), 6. Kian Wilkes, 7. Elgeniy Daalberg, 8. Dan Pett, 9. Rawn Seale, 10. Adam Page (16. Scott McGleish 68 mins), 11. Paplamin Jawara. Subs not used: 14. Ryan Carruthers, 17. Adrian Pitfield, 18. Sean Walsh.
Ardley United (0) 0
Team: 1. Freddie Lapworth, 2. Jordy Ngathe, 3. Lewis Gabbidon, 4. Liam Talboys, 15. Ben Gascoigne, 6. Hayden McConnell (16. Leam Howards 59 mins), 7. Declan Benjamin (5. James Casbieri 83 mins), 8. Lewis Gabbidon, 9. Joshua Tooke (12. Anaclet Odhiambo 75 mins), 10. Elliott Osborne-Ricketts, 11. Morgan Williams. Subs not used: 14. Rayon Haye, 17. Mason Courtney.

Leverstock Green’s run of three league games against sides in the top four opened with a home defeat against New Salamis, who climbed to the top of the league with this result. It was a game of few chances, and Leverstock played some good football at times, but were unable to create many clear-cut chances against an experienced and well-organised defence.

Thinags could have been different if a decision had gone their way in the 6th minute. Rawn Seale chased a through ball and was bumped off the ball by visiting keeper Sam Soutar, who was way out of his goal. It looked as though the foul occurred just inside the angle of the penalty area, but the linesman insisted it was outside, and Leverstock were awarded a free kick just outside the box instead of a penalty. Ollie Cox’s shot took a deflection but Soutar gathered the ball.

Soutar was in action again three minutes later as Seale ran onto a through ball but couldn’t get a shot away before the keeper dived at his feet to claim the ball.

Leverstock had seen more of the ball in the early stages, but it was New Salamis who took the lead in the 22nd minute with their first real effort of the game. A cross from the right found Elijah Ogunseye, whose shot looped over Alfie Bonfield into the corner of the net.

The Green side almost found a response within two minutes. Elgeniy Daalberg made a great run into the box and put the ball across the face of goal where Seale was coming in at the far post, but defender Freddy Tandon got there just ahead of Seale to clear the ball. In the closing minutes of the half Seale had another half chance when the ball dropped for him on the edge of the six yard box, but his shot was blocked by a defender.

The second half was similarly short on chances, with Leverstock still struggling to get any change out of the New Salamis defence. Their task was made even harder when the visitors added a second goal in the 73rd minute, a disappointing goal to concede as Charne Lemba rose unchallenged at the far post to head home a corner.

Lewis Collins and Paplamin Jawara both came off the bench to make their return from injury, and with Scott McGleish coming on for the last 15 minutes there was a flurry of late chances. In the 78th minute two successive corners had to be cleared off the line, and there was a clear chance for skipper Dan Weeks, who suddenly found himself furthest forward and with only the keeper to beat, but a defender recovered quickly to charge down Weeks’ shot. In the 82nd minute a long throw into the box was flicked on to Collins at the far post, but he rushed his shot and ballooned it over the bar. Two minutes later Jack Allen got on the end of a free kick but headed over. In the 87th minute Leverstock had a free kick in a dangerous position outside the box, but Jawara couldn’t keep his effort under the bar.

Having survived the spell of pressure unscathed the visitors almost added a third in the 88th minute, but Derek Asamoah’s shot was kept out by the post. Their two goals proved to be enough to claim the three points.

Leverstock Green (0) 0
Team: 1. Alfie Bonfield, 2. Bead Robinson, 3. Rio Beach, 4. Dan Weeks, 5. Jack Allen, 6. Kian Wilkes, 7. Elgeniy Daalberg (17. Scott McGleish 76 mins), 8. Dan Pett, 9. Rawn Seale, 10. Ryan Carruthers (14. Paplamin Jawara 56 mins), 11. Ollie Cox (12. Lewis Collins 66 mins). Subs not used: 16. Paul Marks, 18. Fergus Moore.
New Salamis (1) 2 (Ogunseye 22, Lemba 73)
Team: 1. Sam Soutar, 2. Andreas Chambi, 20. Charne Lemba, 6. Freddy Tandon, 3. Luke Foster, 4. Ryan Hervel, 8. Jordan Sanderson, 10. Antonio Michael, 11. Elijah Ogunseye, 9. Charlie Georgiou, 7. Harrison Georgiou. Subs used: 15. Deniz Mehmet, 16. Derek Asamoah, 17. Joseph Staunton. Not used: 12. Steven Wade, 14. Arti Krasniqi.

Leverstock Green’s poor home form continued as they went down to a disappointing defeat to Aylesbury Vale Dynamos in Saturday’s SSML Premier Division game. Fergus Moore’s side have not won a home league game since October and have only picked up one point at home in that time.

The Leverstock side was unchanged from that which performed so impressively at Harpenden last week, and at times they produced football approaching that display, but were unable to convert their chances and were beaten by a goal in each half.

The opening stages of the game saw little of note from either side. In the 15th minute there was a glimmer of a chance for Leverstock when a pass from Ollie Cox gave Rawn Seale a chance to run at goal, but his shot was blocked by a defender. The Green side won their first corner in the 18th minute, and Kian Wilkes got on the end of Cox’s cross but headed wide. There was another spell of goalmouth action in the 24th minute as Elgeniy Daalberg had a shot parried away by keeper Dan McAteer. As the ball was recycled, a pass from Wilkes put Rio Beach through on goal but his shot was wide.

Daalberg was involved again in the 31st minute as he ran onto a pass from Paul Marks and got past several defenders on a run into the box, but his eventual shot from a narrow angle was saved by McAteer. Five minutes later Brad Robinson sent over a low cross which McAteer missed, but no-one was there to convert as the ball flew across the face of the empty net.

Leverstock had been well on top, but in the 41st minute they found themselves behind against the run of play. An Aylesbury free kick was flicked on, and Brian Haule finished with a well-struck shot into the corner of the net. The visitors almost added a second on the stroke of half time as Jake Baldwin headed just wide.

As the second half progressed it looked more likely that Aylesbury would extend their lead. A great save from Alfie Bonfield on 53 minutes prevented Haule from scoring when clean through, however three minutes later a cross from the right found Baldwin all alone in front of goal to shoot home the second goal.

Just after the hour Leverstock made a change as Ollie Lawford came off the bench, and within a minute a flick from Lawford put Seale through on goal, but Seale was unlucky as his rasping shot rattled the post. On 70 minutes Leverstock went close again as a corner from Dan Pett was almost forced over the line.

The remainder of the game was disjointed due to both the time-wasting tactics of the visitors, and some strange decisions by the referee leading to some unneccessary exchanges between players. Leverstock kept pushing, and had several efforts at goal, including ambitious overhead efforts from both Daalberg and Lawford, but nothing that seriously threatened McAteer’s goal.

Leverstock Green (0) 0
Team: 1. Alfie Bonfield, 2. Brad Robinson, 3. Rio Beach, 4. Dan Weeks, 5. Paul Marks, 6. Kian Wilkes, 7. Elgeniy Daalberg, 8. Dan Pett, 9. Rawn Seale, 10. Paplamin Jawara (16. Ollie Lawford 61 mins), 11. Ollie Cox (17. Scott McGleish 66 mins). Subs not used: 12. Jack Allen, 14. Ryan Carruthers, 18. Kyle Williams.
Aylesbury Vale Dynamos (1) 2 (Haule 41, Baldwin 56)
Team: 1. Dan McAteer, 2. Alex Mitchell, 3. Will Mullarkey, 4. Alfi Touceda, 5. Terry Griffiths, 6. Jack Hodgins, 7. Callum Shortt, 8. Dave Brown, 9. Brian Haule, 10. Chris Stapleton (16. Marley Hamilton 81 mins), 11. Jake Baldwin (12. Montel Brown 87 mins). Subs not used: 14. Gabby Adelowo, 15. Luke Nugent, 17. Roy Byron.

Leverstock Green’s home form continues to let them down as they followed up last week’s spectacular comeback at Tring with a disappointing defeat to Holmer Green. After taking a deserved lead early in the second half Fergus Moore’s side were unable to build on it and were hit by two late goals from a Holmer Green side that worked very hard throughout.

With goalkeeper Alfie Bonfield absent through Covid, under-18s keeper Oscar Frost made his first team debut. In the 2nd minute of the game a long kick from Frost gave Lewis Collins a run at goal, but he couldn’t get a shot away, laying off to Kian Wilkes, whose shot was blocked. Seconds later Ryan Carruthers spotted the keeper off his line and tried a chip from 20 yards, but it bounced off the top of the crossbar. Carruthers had another long-range effort in the 9th minute but it was turned round the post by the keeper.

Leverstock were having more of the ball, but often losing it while attempting while attempting to go past defenders on the edge of the box. In the 29th minute Brad Robinson nodded the ball through to put Rawn Seale through on goal, but again keeper Mattao Giacobbe was in the way, saving Seale’s shot. On 35 minutes Kian Wilkes was denied by a goalline clearance from defender Reece McKenzie. Two minutes later Ollie Lawford was brought down just outside the box and took the free kick himself, but again Giacobbe got down low to his left to turn the ball round the post.

Having had all the chances in the first half, Leverstock almost went in at half time behind, but Frost pulled off a great save in the last minute of the half to tip over a shot from Kudzai Chunga.

Lewis Collins was struggling with an injury, and only lasted a minute of the second half before being replaced by Ethan Mooney. Leverstock again started the half brightly, and finally got their deserved goal in the 49th minute. A through ball from the back was flicked on by Lawford into the path of Seale, who ran clear of the chasing defenders and shot past Giacobbe to open the scoring.

The Leverstock side continued to push forward, but were still finding it difficult to create clear-cut chances to press home their advantage. Holmer were starting to threaten on the break, and Frost had to save a close-range header in the 57th minute. On another break in the 74th minute, Holmer won a corner out of nothing. They took full advantage of it as Jamie Mitchell got away from his marker to head home at the near post for the equaliser.

Holmer could have gone in front in the 79th minute but Frost pulled off another good save to keep out a shot from Oskar Evans. In the closing minutes of the game it could have gone either way. Scott McGleish flashed a shot just over the bar in the 87th minute, and Lawford had another good chance but couldn’t get a shot away. In the 90th minute it was Holmer that broke away and scored as Jose Daio slotted the ball past Frost.

Even in stoppage time Leverstock had a chance to rescue a point as Lawford got on the end of Mooney’s cross, but his header was saved again by Giacobbe. That proved enough for Holmer to take three crucial points in their battle against relegation and leave Leverstock five points adrift of the top four.

Leverstock Green (0) 1 (Seale 49)
Team: 1. Oscar Frost, 2. Brad Robinson, 3. Rio Beach, 4. Dan Weeks, 5. Paul Marks, 6. Kian Wilkes, 7. Lewis Collins (14. Ethan Mooney 47 mins), 8. Ryan Carruthers (16. Scott McGleish 75 mins), 9. Ollie Lawford, 10. Ollie Cox (12. James Hall 69 mins), 11. Rawn Seale. Subs not used: 17. Dan Pett, 18. Kyle Williams.
Holmer Green (0) 2 (Mitchell 74, Daio 90)
Team: 1. Mattao Giacobbe, 2. James Jarrott (14. Kai Morgan 69 mins), 3. Bailey Page, 4. Luke Ryll, 5. Reece McKenzie, 6. Luke Williams, 7. Jose Daio, 8. Oskar Evans, 9. James Bent (12. Jamie Mitchell 57 mins), 10. Denis Pepelyarski, 11. Kudzai Chunga. Subs not used: 13. Daniel Clements, 15. Matt Wooster.