Lords Builders Merchants Stadium

Leverstock Green F.C.

Pancake Lane,
Leverstock Green,
Hemel Hempstead,
Herts.
HP2 4NQ

(H) Cuffley

Leverstock Green Development ended up on the wrong side of an extraordinary 4-6 scoreline in Saturday’s home game against Cuffley in the Herts Senior County League Premier Division. The Leverstock side led 3-1 before being pulled back to 3-3, then briefly led 4-3 before the visitors scored three late goals to win the game.

The goalscorers were Ryan Hennessy, Michael Adriano with two, and Callum Moore.

Starting XI:
Daniel Gee
Alfie Herd
Toby Mandeville
Martin Kirov (subbed)
Endrit Krasniqi
Harry Herbert
Bobby O’Flynn (subbed)
Connor McGinty
Ryan Hennessy
Schilo Kanda (subbed)
Michael Adriano (subbed)

Subs used:
George Terry
Antonio Ivanov
Callum Moore
Jack Marshall

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(H) Dunstable Town U18

Leverstock Green U18 registered their first points and their first win of the season on Thursday night as they came from a goal down to beat Dunstable Town 4-1 in the SCFYL Corinthian Division.

Dunstable took the lead through a soft goal in the 22nd minute, but Leverstock equalised in impressive style in the 41st minute as Archie Roberts went on a solo run and struck a shot from 20 yards low into the corner of the net.

Leverstock went in front in the 67th minute. Breaking from their own half, Joe Sadler threaded a pass to Luc Dischamps, who slotted a shot past the keeper. Dischamps struck again in the 75th minute, chasing a long clearance from the Leverstock box and forcing a mistake out of the last defender before finishing confidently again. A fine performance was capped off by a fourth goal in the 87th minute, Kaashan Darr scoring direct from an outrageous free kick on the left side of the opposition penalty area.

Starting XI:
Sam Bignell
Levi Young
Archie Wood
Riley Noel-Williams
Shay Kelly
Kunashe Sithole
Tom Rutherford
Joe Sadler
Luc Dischamps
James Renton
George Edwards
Subs (all used):
Callum Maloney
Harvey Mogford
Oscar Martin
Kaashan Darr
Archie Roberts

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(H) Hatfield Town

The Development Team suffered a second loss to high-flying Hatfield Town in the space of two weeks as the visitors came away with a 6-0 win from Saturday’s game.

Starting XI:

Daniel Gee
Alfie Herd (subbed)
Toby Mandeville
George Terry (subbed)
Endrit Krasniqi
Harry Herbert (subbed)
Joe Sadler (subbed)
Connor McGinty
Ryan Hennessy
Bobby O’Flynn (subbed)
Michael Adriano

Subs (all used):

Martin Kirov
Antonio Ivanov
Shay Kelly
Stephen Norris
Callum Moore

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(H) Dunstable Town

A poor second half saw Leverstock Green FC slide to a home defeat against Dunstable Town in a game which they ended with ten men. Leverstock failed to capitalise on a strong start to the game, and suffered their first home league defeat of the season.

After some promising buildup play early in the game, Leverstock took the lead in the 15th minute thanks to another combination of their front two. Chris Blunden played a great pass which allowed Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica to outpace the last Dunstable defender before taking the ball round the keeper and slotting home.

The visitors should have been level three minutes later when a misunderstanding between Austin Byfield and Callum Neal left Tolu Ikuyinminu with a shot at an empty net, but his shot went wide. However, on 30 minutes poor defending was punished when three chances were missed for Leverstock Green FC to clear the ball from the edge of their own penalty area before Kyle Faulkner took advantage to shoot home the equaliser.

Following the equaliser Leverstock’s play dropped off, and this continued into the second half as they seemed unable to get their forwards into the game. Dunstable had the ball in the net with a looping header in the 54th minute, but it was disallowed for offside.

A change in the 60th minute saw Lewis Collins replace Luke Beckwith, and four minutes later Collins produced Leverstock’s best moment of the half with a dipping long-range shot which was tipped over the bar by visiting keeper Connor Coulson. A minute later Stefanoaica went on a run into the box before putting over a low cross which just eluded Collins at the far post. The play switched straight to the other end, where Danny Webb was clean through on goal but hit his shot straight at Byfield.

Dunstable made their first change in the 70th minute, bringing on Kelvin Osei-Addo, who was on the pitch for less than a minute before putting his side into the lead. Receiving the ball on the edge of the six-yard box, Osei-Addo turned away from a defender before shooting past Byfield.

Leverstock Green FC made two further changes in the 77th minute to try and rescue the game, but less than a minute later it was 3-1 as Danny Webb struck from the edge of the box. Things went from bad to worse in the 86th minute as George Mitchell-Gears was shown a straight red card for a poor challenge less than ten minutes after coming off the bench. Any comeback was now out of the question as Dunstable came away with a deserved win.

Leverstock Green FC (1) 1 (Stefanoaica 15)
1. Austin Byfield, 2. Mikey Havill-Tierney (17. Brad Robinson 87 mins), 3. Rio Beach, 4. Dan Weeks, 5. Callum Neal, 6. Ryan Carruthers, 7. Luke Beckwith (14. Lewis Collins 60 mins), 8. Shaz Anwar, 9, Chris Blunden (15. George Mitchell-Gears 77 mins), 10. Nat Connolly (16. Ethan Mooney 77 mins), 11. Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica. Sub not used: 12. Ademide Baruwa.
Dunstable Town FC (1) 3 (Faulkner 30, Osei-Addo 71, Webb 78)
1. Connor Coulson, 2. Ethan Creary, 3. Dylan Baker, 4. Benji Crilley, 5. Robbie Goodman, 6. Alfie Osborne (15. Joe Reynolds 80 mins), 7. Ruairi Mills, 8. Harry Beaumont (16. Jimmy Doherty 87 mins), 9. Kyle Faulkner (18. Kelvin Osei-Addo 70 mins), 10. Danny Webb, 11. Tolu Ikuyinminu. Subs not used: 19. Isaac Olaleye, 20. Sam Scott.

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(H) Harpenden Town

Leverstock Green FC continued their promising start to their SSML league campaign as they registered an excellent 2-0 win against highly-fancied Harpenden Town on Tuesday night. This local derby attracted an impressive attendance of 118 to the Lords Builders Merchants Stadium.

There was action within the opening 20 seconds as Jayden Newman hit a shot which forced visiting keeper Emmanuel Olajide into a save. Harpenden then had a spell of pressure at the other end, winning a couple of corners which were punched away by Austin Byfield. Chris Blunden had a shot at goal in the sixth minute which went over the bar.

The game then settled down into an even contest between two well-matched teams. In the 28th minute Newman got his head to a Dan Pett corner but Olajide gathered the ball. Two minutes later Blunden swung in a free kick which Dan Weeks just failed to get enough of a touch on to divert into the net. In the 34th minute a move involving several players concluded with Blunden rolling a backheel into the path of Luke Beckwith, who ran onto take the ball around Olajide and slot into the net to put Leverstock into a 1-0 lead.

Two minutes later there was a scare at the other end as a Harpenden cross dropped onto the crossbar. A minute before the break Leverstock Green FC had another chance when a pass from Blunden put Beckwith in again, but this time his shot was kept out by a save from Olajide.

The second half was similarly evenly-contested. Harpenden had a good chance in the 50th minute when James Ewington received the ball six yards out but his shot went across goal and wide. In the 58th minute Leverstock Green FC should have extended their lead when a chipped pass forward from Rio Beach put Newman through on goal, but the ball ran just too far ahead of him and Olajide was able to come off his line and make the save.

Harpenden had a number of good opportunities during the half but they were either off-target or comfortably gathered by Byfield. With 20 minutes remaining, Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica made his return from injury, coming off the bench to replace Blunden. In the 77th minute Harpenden rolled the dice by bringing on their last three substitutes on, but it was Leverstock’s earlier sub that proved more effective. In the 81st minute Stefanoaica showed a dazzling turn of pace as he broke away down the right, outpacing the defenders before cutting in and slotting past Olajide for a second Leverstock Green FC goal.

As the visitors pushed forward during stoppage time there was almost a third Leverstock goal on the break. Stefanoaica ran clear down the right again and squared for Lewis Collins, but his shot was somehow deflected wide for a corner. The two goals proved to be enough as Leverstock’s all-round excellent team performance won them the three points.

Leverstock Green FC (1) 2 (Beckwith 34, Stefanoaica 81)
1. Austin Byfield, 2. Mikey Havill-Tierney (15. Ethan Mooney 83 mins), 3. Rio Beach, 4. Dan Weeks, 5. Callum Neal, 6. Danny May, 7. Ryan Carruthers, 8. Dan Pett, 9. Chris Blunden (17. Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica 70 mins), 10. Jayden Newman (12. Lewis Collins 88 mins), 11. Luke Beckwith (14. Nat Connolly 77 mins). Sub not used: 16. Brad Robinson.
Harpenden Town FC (0) 0
1. Emmanuel Olajide, 2. Jake Collins (17. James Younger 77 mins), 3. George Robinson (15. Curtis Dibley 77 mins), 4. Kyle Rahho, 5. Dan Palmer, 6. Mickey Shuttlewood, 7. Hadley Gleeson (12. Josh Kassaye 60 mins), 8. Dave Keenleyside, 9. James Ewington, 10. Harry Andic (14. Spencer O’Leary 57 mins), 11. Isaiah Hilaire (16. Ivan Machado 77 mins)

Next Game – Saturday 02nd September 2023 / Dunstable Town FC

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(H) Ampthill Town

Leverstock Green FC progressed through to the next round of the Isuzu FA Vase, but it was a more nervy ending than it needed to be after the Leverstock side had established a three-goal lead in the second half. A late comeback from SSML Division One side Ampthill Town threatened to take the game into penalties.

Due to injury and unavailability Fergus Moore was without his usual forward line plus three other players. Two players signed on a dual registration with Hadley were brought in to plug the gap up front, and between them Jordan Edwards and Jayden Newman contributed the three goals that won the game.

Leverstock Green FC made a bright start to the game, and went close in the 2nd minute when a deflected shot from Ryan Carruthers went just wide of the post. Luke Beckwith had the ball in the net in the 10th minute but the offside flag was already up. However, Beckwith made a key contribution to the opening goal four minutes later. Newman made a strong run forward before Beckwith’s pass set up Edwards to shoot home into the corner of the net.

There should have been further goals in a first half that Leverstock Green FC dominated. On 25 minutes Newman went on a mazy run into the box and hit a shot which took a deflection, but keeper Ross Tompkins pulled off a great improvised save to keep the ball out. Three minutes later Beckwith showed some very nifty footwork in the box, and although he couldn’t get a shot away himself, he set up Edwards for a shot which went straight at Tompkins. On 37 minutes a pass from Beckwith set up a chance for skipper Dan Weeks, but his shot went across goal and wide. Leverstock keeper Austin Byfield had little to do during the half, but in stoppage time dived to save a shot from Sam Holmes at his near post.

Leverstock went into the break with just the single goal lead, but that was doubled in the 52nd minute. Rio Beach pushed forward before a pass from Edwards picked out Newman to clinically shoot home the second goal. The favour was returned in the 64th minute when Newman crossed from the right and Edwards got on the end of it to head home the third Leverstock goal.

It looked like a comfortable lead, but two minutes later the deficit was reduced as Ampthill pulled a goal back, with Holmes applying a neat finish to a cross from the left.

The three goal lead was almost re-established on 74 minutes as Newman hit a rasping shot from the edge of the box which struck the bar. Leverstock Green FC hit the woodwork again in the 84th minute as Mikey Havill-Tierney tried his luck from distance with a shot that struck the post. It still seemed inconceivable that Leverstock wouldn’t win the game, but in the 88th minute their lead was further reduced as they were caught out down the right. Byfield kept out a shot but could only parry it away, and Danny Watson followed up to net the rebound and make it 3-2.

Leverstock Green FC did their best to run out the clock during seven minutes of stoppage time, but there were still moments of danger as Ampthill threw everyone forward to try to take the game into an unlikely penalty shoot-out. Leverstock Green FC held out, though, and will now travel to fellow SSML Premier Division side Crawley Green in the Second Qualifying Round on Saturday 23rd September.

Leverstock Green FC (1) 3 (Edwards 14, 64, Newman 52)
1. Austin Byfield, 2. Mikey Havill-Tierney (15. Ethan Mooney 85 mins), 3. Rio Beach, 4. Dan Weeks, 5. Callum Neal (14. Connor McGinty 76 mins), 6. Danny May, 7. Ryan Carruthers, 8. Dan Pett, 9. Jordan Edwards, 10. Jayden Newman, 11. Luke Beckwith (12. Ademide Baruwa 79 mins). Subs not used: 16. Brad Robinson, 17. Darren Bonfield, 19. Scott McGleish, 20. Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica.
Ampthill Town FC (0) 2 (Holmes 66, Watson 88(
1. Ross Tompkins, 2. Jake Kissiedu, 3. James Sheridan, 4. Sam Burke, 5. Jack Kent, 6. Sam Holmes, 7. Kadeem Gutzmore (15. Michael Fullerton 75 mins), 8. Will Barrett (14. Charlie Cullen 75 mins), 9. Drew Roberts, 10. Tierlan Wilson, 11. Phil Draycott (16. Danny Watson 68 mins). Sub not used: 12. Mitch Howe.

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(H) Hinton

Leverstock Green Development’s tough start to life in the Herts Senior County League continued as they suffered their fourth defeat from four games. Goals from Ryan Hennessy and Shay Kelly were not enough to prevent a 4-2 home defeat to Hinton.

Lineup:

1. Jamie Donovan
2. Ayoub Enajar
3. Freddie Newing
4. George Terry
5. Bobby Armstrong (c)
6. Harry Herbert
7. Toby Head
8. Alfie Herd
9. Ryan Hennessy
10. Callum Moore
11. Erick Anderson
12. Shay Kelly (for Terry)
19. Mayar Hajousman (for Anderson)
14. Billy Airey (for Herd)
15. Bobby O’Flynn (for Moore)
16. Riley Noel-Williams (for Herbert)

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