Leverstock Green F.C.
Pancake Lane,
Leverstock Green,
Hemel Hempstead,
Herts.
HP2 4NQ
The under-18s were beaten in a nine-goal thriller on Thursday night. The goals were scored by Frankie Bircham, David Emiloju (2) and Lewis Nicholls.
Starting XI:
Alfie Atkins
Alfie Bigg
Frankie Bircham
Ethan Bradbury
David Emiloju
Dylan Jones
Lawrence Knowles
Lewis Nicholls
Aidan O’Connor
Alfie Osborne
Ben Payne
Substitutes:
Deryn Fowler
Callum Gerrard
Ben Humphrey
Leo Broom
4 vs 5 
LangleyLeverstock Green bounced back from their midweek disappointment at Colney Heath to score a late winner of their own, clinching a come-from-behind victory against a strong Newport Pagnell Town side. The visitors are likely to be one of the title contenders this season, and the Green side put in a very determined and hard-working performance, soaking up a lot of pressure but coming out on top.
There was a debut in the Leverstock line-up today for Oran Swales who has joined for a month-long loan from Berkhamsted, and it proved to be a very impressive debut.
Leverstock made a good start to the game as they attacked down the slope, but it was the visitors who took the lead in the 12th minute. After Josh Crawley’s free kick from just outside the box had been deflected wide by the Green wall, the resulting corner was crossed into the six yard box where Christian Smail headed home.
However, their lead only lasted five minutes. Brima Johnson played a short free kick to Swales, who ran on with the ball before cracking a low drive from outside the box into the bottom corner of the net for the equaliser.
Newport Pagnell went close again from a corner in the 36th minute as Crawley flicked the ball onto the roof of the net, while Leverstock had a near miss just before the break when Luke Peerless curled a shot from a narrow angle just wide.
The visitors were attacking down the slope in the second half, and had a couple of chances in the opening five minutes with James Sage heading over from a corner, and Crawley shooting over the bar after being set up by a good move. On 52 minutes they came even closer when Jimmy Burnside hit a rasping shot which cracked against the crossbar after Matt Fallon got fingertips to it.
Newport Pagnell continued to dominate possession, with Leverstock at times struggling to keep the ball out of their own half for more than a few seconds. However, the Green side was in no mood to give anything away, and their determination plus some calm and composed defending meant that the visitors did not get any further direct strikes at Fallon’s goal.
With eight minutes to play and the game still tied at 1-1, Sidney Gueye was brought down by a challenge on the edge of the “D”. The result was a free kick in a dangerous position, and Luke Peerless took full advantage as he hit a shot which took a deflection off the wall and flew into the net to put Leverstock into the lead.
Cass Grant had a chance to make the game safe in the 90th minute, but his shot went wide. However, the 2-1 lead proved to be enough for Leverstock to take the three points. There were outstanding performances all across the pitch, particularly from Jamie Ovington and Connor Church in his first full game of the season, but the star performer was 17-year-old Kian Wilkes in midfield.
Leverstock Green (1) 2 (Swales 17, Peerless 82)
Team: 1. Matt Fallon, 2. Brima Johnson, 3. Connor Church, 4. Jamie Ovington, 5. Dan Weeks, 6. Steve Hawes (14. James Hall 70 mins), 7. John Smith (17. Sidney Gueye 73 mins), 8. Kian Wilkes, 9. Luke Peerless, 10. Oran Swales, 11. Frank Jowle (16. Cass Grant 61 mins). Subs not used: 12. Mickey Shuttlewood, 15. Will Bisney.
Newport Pagnell Town (1) 1 (Smail 12)
Team: 1. Charlie Jones, 2. Adam Pryke, 3. Jack Menday (14. Ben Shepherd 64 mins), 4. Leigh Stevens (17. Ben Ford 64 mins), 5. Christian Smail, 6. James Sage, 7. Sam Olawale, 8. Luke Dunstan, 9. Jimmy Burnside, 10. Josh Crawley, 11. Mo Ahmed (15. Aaron Murrell 85 mins). Subs not used: 12. Michael Lyon, 16. Tom Guiney.
2 vs 1 
Newport Pagnell TownThere was heartbreak for Leverstock Green’s under-18s as they exited the FA Youth Cup on penalties, having only been denied the win by a Wealdstone equaliser in stoppage time, and despite scoring seven penalties in the shootout.
Wealdstone dominated the early stages of the game, attacking down the slope, although the Green side looked promising on the break. They had the ball in the net in the 30th minute, but Nana Yeboah’s goal was chalked off by the offside flag. Two minutes later Wealdstone were gifted a goal as Leverstock keeper Lawrence Knowles misjudged the bounce of the ball inside his own penalty area, and was helpless as the ball went over his head to leave the visitors with a tap-in to take the lead.
The second half saw a much better display from the Leverstock side, and they deservedly levelled the scores in the 58th minute. Alfie Bigg’s long throw into the box was not cleared, and David Emiloju pounced on the loose ball to shoot home the equaliser.
Midway through the half Knowles, who appeared to be suffering a lack of confidence after his earlier error, was replaced by sub keeper Joe Pinnock. Eight minutes from time Leverstock put themselves within touching distance of a place in the next round. Yeboah’s run into the box was ended by a foul challenge, and Lewis Nicholls netted the resulting penalty to put the Green side 2-1 up.
There was almost a third goal straight afterwards when Yeboah got on the end of a cross from Bigg but couldn’t keep the ball under the bar from close range. As the game went into stoppage time Leverstock were still leading, but as a result of not taking care of the ball as much as they should have, they conceded a free kick in a dangerous position just outside their own box. Wealdstone took full advantage of the opportunity as Tecane Shrowder blasted the free kick straight into the bottom corner of the net to level scores at 2-2 in the second minute of stoppage time.
The tie then went into a penalty shoot-out, and it started well for Leverstock as Pinnock saved Wealdstone’s first kick from Rauri O’Connor. The next six penalties were all scored, with Nana Yeboah, Alfie Atkins and Ben Payne scoring for Leverstock. However, David Emiloju put Leverstock’s fourth penalty over the bar to leave the score at 3-3 after four penalties each. The next eight penalties were scored, with Alfie Bigg, Ethan Bradbury, Jaylan Hector and Dylan Jones all scoring for Leverstock to make it 7-7 after eight kicks each. Wealdstone then scored again and thought they had won when their keeper saved Leverstock’s ninth penalty from Aidan O’Connor. However, the referee ordered a retake as the keeper moved too soon. O’Connor wasn’t able to take advantage of his reprieve, though, as his second attempt hit the bar on its way over, leaving Wealdstone the winners by 8-7 on penalties.
Team: Lawrence Knowles (Joe Pinnock 71 mins), Jaylan Hector, Ethan Bradbury, Aidan O’Connor, Alfie Atkins, Frankie Bircham (Dylan Jones 71 mins), David Emiloju, Lewis Nicholls (Ben Payne 90+2 mins), Leo Broom, Alfie Bigg, Nana Yeboah. Subs not used: Wasi Naqvi, Keelan Ricketts.
2 vs 2 
WealdstoneLeverstock Green got their first league points on the board with a hard-fought win against a competitive North Greenford United side on Tuesday night.
The goal which proved to be the winner came very early in the match. In the 3rd minute, Will Bisney – making his competitive debut for the club – crossed from the left side of the penalty area, and Luke Peerless came in at the far post to sweep the ball home.
The visitors had a clear target man in their side, with big veteran centre forward Melford Simpson up front, and in the 6th minute Simpson rose at the far post to meet a cross but his header was just wide. Simpson was close again in the 19th minute with a shot wide, but for the most part the Leverstock defence did a very good job in keeping him quiet.
Leverstock had a chance for a second goal on 28 minutes when a pass from Steve Hawes gave Sidney Gueye a run at goal, but keeper Sam House saved with his legs, and Frank Jowle’s effort from the rebound went over the bar. The visitors went close again five minutes before the break when a chip from Conor Molyneaux landed on the crossbar, and in the closing minutes of the half both James Hall and Adiel Mannion got on the end of free kicks from Peerless, but neither could get their headers on target.
The second half proved equally evenly-contested, with Leverstock being somewhat fortunate to survive an almighty goalmouth scramble following an NGU corner in the 56th minute. Leverstock went close again on 60 minutes when Frank Jowle’s corner was flicked on by Gueye and Hall came in with a diving header, but House somehow kept the ball out.
A second goal looked certain four minutes from time when Peerless hit a shot that was heading for the top corner, but Kojo Agyemang made a great clearance to head it off the line. Still there might have been a second goal two minutes later when Jowle was put through on goal, but shot over the bar.
The game was still in the balance going into stoppage time, but Leverstock held out for a very welcome three points, well-deserved for a very determined performance all round but particularly in the defence and midfield.
Leverstock Green (1) 1 (Peerless 3)
Team: 1. Matt Fallon, 2. Brima Johnson, 3. Will BIsney, 4. Dan Weeks, 5. Jamie Ovington, 6. Steve Hawes (12. John Smith 56 mins), 7. James Hall, 8. Luke Peerless, 9. Sidney Gueye (14. Connor Church 76 mins), 10. Adiel Mannion (16. Guiseppe Delgaudio 69 mins), 11. Frank Jowle. Subs not used: 15. Kian Wilkes, 17. Gary Wallace.
North Greenford United (0) 0
Team: 1.Sam House, 2. Ethan Relf, 3. Sam Molyneaux (14. Kojo Agyemang H/T), 4. Callum Rogers, 5. Ryan King, 6. Andrew Manitou, 7. Charlie Mitchell, 8. Joseph Mills, 23. Melford Simpson, 10. Conor Molyneaux (15. Billy Leonard 70 mins), 11. Daniel Clifton (16. Kai Brosnan 60 mins). Subs not used: 12. Tolowalaju James, 17. Simon Wright.
1 vs 0 
North Greenford UnitedLeverstock Green’s FA Vase hopes were ended at the first hurdle as a poor display saw them well beaten at home by Combined Counties League side AFC Hayes.
The first half was evenly-contested, with both sides having a number of half-chances. Matt Fallon made a couple of saves in the opening 15 minutes to keep the visitors out. Miickey Shuttlewood headed just wide from a corner in the 22nd minute after Sidney Gueye had threatened down the right. Three minutes later Luke Peerless got on the end of another corner but his header also went wide. On 31 minutes Adiel Mannion won the ball from a defender and ran on to square the ball into the six yard box, but Gueye couldn’t quite get to it before the keeper. Mannion had the ball in the net with a great finish on 41 minutes, but the linesman had already put the offside flag up.
It looked like the teams would go into the break deadlocked, but deep into stoppage time Leverstock were attacking with a long throw into the AFC Hayes box, but were then caught short at the back as the visitors broke away quickly, and Shawn Wheeler connected with a cross from the left to shoot home a crucial goal on the stroke of half time.
The second half was a major disappointment as Leverstock seldom looked like getting back into the match. The task became even harder on 58 minutes when they were caught on the break again from their own free kick, and Trey Ponder-Brown shot home a second goal for AFC Hayes. A third goal struck by Wheeler on 64 minutes ended the tie as a contest, although AFC Hayes ended the tie with ten men after Theo Alexander was sent off for a second yellow card in the 90th minute.
After three straight defeats, Leverstock now have ten days before their next match, which is a home league match against North Greenford United on Tuesday week.
Leverstock Green (0) 0
Team: 1. Matt Fallon, 2. Brima Johnson, 3. Dan Weeks, 4. Gary Wallace, 5. Mickey Shuttlewood, 6. John Smith (16. Guiseppe Delgaudio 60 mins), 7. James Hall, 8. Luke Peerless, 9. Sidney Gueye, 10. Frank Jowle (14. Elgeniy Daalberg 60 mins), 11. Adiel Mannion.
Subs not used: 15. Steve Hawes, 17. Cass Grant, 18. Jamie Ovington, 19. Will Bisney.
AFC Hayes (1) 3 (Wheeler 45+4, 64, Ponder-Brown 58)
Team: 1. Tom Clark, 2. Shane Kettle (17. Harry Smith 78 mins), 3. Harry Bishop (15. Theo Alexander 40 mins), 4. George Harmes (12. Charlie Quinnell 69 mins), 5. Charlie Howes, 6. Mason Yorke, 7. Bruno Manuel, 8. Jordan Mukasa, 9. Mourad Jarraz, 10. Shawn Wheeler, 11. Trey Ponder-Brown.
Subs not used: 14. Sean Inkpen, 16. Harry Linehan.
0 vs 3 
AFC HayesThe under-18s won 3-1 at home to Harpenden Town in their opening SCFYL Corinthian Division fixture on Thursday night.
Lewis Nicholls followed up his hat-trick in last week’s FA Youth Cup tie with two more goals, while David Emiloju scored the other.
Starting XI:
Alfie Atkins
Alfie Bigg
Frankie Bircham
Ethan Bradbury
David Emiloju
Jaylan Hector
Lawrence Knowles
Lewis Nicholls
Aidan O’Connor
Ben Payne
Nana Yeboah
Subs used:
Callum Gerrard
Dylan Jones
Blaaze Lawrence
Wasi Naqvi
Leo Broom
3 vs 1 
Harpenden TownLeverstock Green’s run in the FA Cup ended in disappointing fashion as they were beaten at home by Hellenic League side Burnham in Saturday’s Preliminary Round tie. A couple of injury time goals made the scoreline a little flattering for the visitors, but overall they looked the better side against a Leverstock side that didn’t create enough today.
Burnham had the first attempt on goal, with Manny Williams bringing a save out of Matt Fallon in the 13th minute, but two minutes later it was Leverstock who took the lead. Brima Johnson’s ball into the box found Ollie Cox, who finished well with a shot from a narrow angle which beat the keeper and went in off the far post.
However, the lead only lasted for three minutes, as Burnham equalised through Rashid Hamid, who was allowed too much space to turn and hit a shot from distance that flew past Fallon.
The remainder of the first half saw more fouls than scoring chances as the game became increasingly competitive and reached the break with the scores still level.
There continued to be little in the way of chances as the second half progressed, with the referee often being busy as the game threatened to boil over. Burnham had more of the ball going forward, but they had only produced one save from Fallon in the second half before taking the lead in the 72nd minute. Manny Williams got on the end of a cross from the right to head home from close range.
Leverstock forced a few corners as they pushed for an equaliser, but they were unable to force the Burnham keeper into any kind of save. They were still in the game as the match went into stoppage time, but Gavin James put the game beyond their reach as he ran unchallenged through the Green defence to shoot home the third goal in the second minute of stoppage time, and there was a virtual action replay three minutes later as James ran through again to score the fourth.
Leverstock Green (1) 1 (Cox 15)
Team: 1. Matt Fallon, 2. Brima Johnson, 3. Dan Weeks, 4. Jamie Ovington, 5. Mickey Shuttlewood, 6. Jack Stevens, 7. James Hall (15. Tom Carter 69 mins), 8. Ollie Cox (17. Elgeniy Daalberg 80 mins), 9. Sidney Gueye (16. Guiseppe Delgaudio 60 mins), 10. John Smith, 11. Adiel Mannion.
Subs not used: 12. Frank Jowle, 14. Kian Wilkes, 18. Gary Wallace, 19. Adi Connolly.
Burnham (1) 4 (Hamid 18, Williams 72, James 90+2, 90+5)
Team: 1. Carl Dennison, 2. Kian Duncan, 3. Melvy Nsomi (16. Wade Burton 53 mins), 4. Joey Gritt, 5. Ryan Tackley, 6. Dan Malloy, 7. Rashid Hamid, 8. Aaron De Rama (17. Joe Blount H/T), 9. Gavin James, 10. Luke Fanstone, 15. Manny Williams.
Subs not used: 12. James Selby, 14. Jack Petrovic, 18. Adam Bernard, 19. Kingsley Etifia, 20. Bradley Holland.
1 vs 4 
Burnham