(H) Wembley

Leverstock Green made a fantastic start to their competitive season, as fans returned to Pancake Lane for the first time in six months to see them win their FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round tie against Wembley on Tuesday night and set up a home tie against Burnham in the next round.

A lot of work has been done off the field to ensure the ground was ready to receive supporters in a Covid-safe way, and the club was rewarded with a three-figure attendance, which made for a good atmosphere.

Leverstock made a bright start to the game with both Ollie Cox and John Smith having efforts over the bar in the opening three minutes. However, a whirlwind four minute period could have seen the game go either way. In the 11th minute Wembley were awarded a penalty when Ned Jones was fouled by Mickey Shuttlewood on a run into the box. Jones took the penalty himself, but Matt Fallon pulled off a great save to keep it out, and then an even better save to keep out Jones’ effort from the rebound. The second rebound came out to Felix Laws-Cochrane, who sent a header looping just over the bar.

Two minutes later the ball was in the net at the other end as Jamie Ovington got on the end of a free kick to head home, but the Leverstock celebrations were cut short by an offside flag.

However, a minute later Leverstock were attacking again, and Smith hit a shot which cannoned off the post. The rebound flew out to Adiel Mannion, who from 20 yards out connected with a superb shot directly into the corner of the net to put the Green into a 1-0 lead.

After a breathless few minutes the game settled down again, but in the 21st minute the visitors equalised, and it was a rare mistake from Fallon, who came out of his goal to collect a ball floated in from the halfway line, but did not get there before Sharif Ibrahim, who headed into the empty net from the edge of the box.

Leverstock were not to be denied, though, and had their lead back four minutes later. Ollie Cox delivered a corner to the edge of the box where Dan Weeks met it with a powerful header that angled into the top far corner of the net.

On 38 minutes it became 3-1. James Hall made a run down the left and put over a great cross which found two Leverstock players waiting at the far post. Smith left it to Sidney Gueye, whose shot was kept out by keeper Karl Beaumont, but the rebound fell to Smith, who calmly shot home the third.

After an all-action first half, the second half was more low-key, with Leverstock continuing to look promising going forward, but without forcing any saves out of Beaumont. At the other end Wembley put on quite a bit of pressure, and it was only a couple of superb point-blank saves from Fallon that prevented them from getting back into the game.

In the end it was a well-deserved win for Matt Harding’s side, who now face Hellenic League side Burnham on Saturday 12th September with the club £1,125 richer in prize money.

Leverstock Green (3) 3 (Mannion 14, Weeks 25, Smith 38)
Team: 1. Matt Fallon, 2. Brima Johnson, 3. Dan Weeks, 4. Jamie Ovington, 5. Mickey Shuttlewood, 20. Jack Stevens, 7. James Hall (16. Kian Wilkes 77 mins), 8. Ollie Cox (14. Elgeniy Daalberg 84 mins), 9. Sidney Gueye (12. Frank Jowle 84 mins), 10. John Smith, 11. Adiel Mannion.
Subs not used: 15. Luke Peerless, 17. Guiseppe Delgaudio, 18. Gary Wallace, 19. Adi Connolly.

Wembley (1) 1 (Ibraham 21)
Team: Karl Beaumont, 2. Kamari Messiah, 3. George Harsini, 4. Wayne Walters, 5. Alfie Bates, 6. Manuchim Oke-William (15. Femi Ogunsola 70 mins), 7. Ethan Tyrer, 8. Rowan Larrington, 9. Ned Jones, 10. Felix Laws-Cochrane (17. Zaid Sabti 61 mins), 11. Sharif Ibrahim (16. Yassine Fehmi-Gil 57 mins).
Subs not used: 12. Craig Elliott Adu-Adiel, 13. Samuel Addae, 14. Ronan Hutchins, 18. Dario Zavagno.

Leverstock Green

3 vs 1

Wembley

(H) Hitchin Town (No spectators allowed)

Leverstock Green faced a strong Hitchin Town side in their latest pre-season friendly at Pancake Lane on Tuesday night. The visitors largely dominated the game, although the Green side gave a good account of themselves and defended well, without creating much in the way of chances.

Hitchin took the lead in the 33rd minute with a shot from Luke Brown. Leverstock had a chance to level the scores on the stroke of half time after the referee awarded a penalty for a push on Adiel Mannion, but Luke Peerless’s spot kick was saved by keeper Charlie Horlock.

Brown added the second Hitchin goal in the 54th minute with a long-range effort which seemed to move in the air and sent Adi Connolly the wrong way, and Brown completed his hat-trick in the 62nd minute by drilling home a free kick from the edge of the box.

Starting XI: Adi Connolly, Brima Johnson, Mickey Shuttlewood, Jamie Ovington, Dan Weeks, John Smith, Luke Peerless, Jack Stevens, James Hall, Ollie Lawford, Adiel Mannion.
Subs used: Steve Hawes, Elgeniy Daalberg, Tom Carter, Ryan O’Sullivan, Will Bisney, Ollie Cox, Trialist.

Leverstock Green

0 vs 3

Hitchin Town

(H) Marston Shelton Rovers (No spectators allowed)

Leverstock Green continued their pre-season build-up with a home friendly against Bedfordshire County League side Marston Shelton Rovers, which ended as a 2-2 draw. In a complete contrast to the weather last Saturday, this game was played on a damp, overcast afternoon.

The Leverstock side that played the first half produced some excellent football, creating a number of chances, and taking the lead in the 22nd minute when a corner from Shiblu Miah was powerfully headed home by Sidney Gueye. Adiel Mannion and Luke Peerless both had shots saved in the closing minutes of the half as Leverstock went into the break strongly.

Six changes were made at half time, with a further three coming during the second half, and in general the performance was more disjointed and less impressive than that in the first half. The visitors equalised in the 57th minute when their forward was allowed to run into the box and shoot home from a narrow angle. However, Leverstock were back in front within a minute as Gueye went on a run before crossing for Ollie Lawford to hook the ball home.

The visitors were looking the better side late in the game, and equalised with a superb strike in the 83rd minute.

Starting XI:
Adi Connolly, Tyler Martin, Jamie Ovington, Gary Wallace, Dan Weeks, Steve Hawes, Luke Peerless, Elginey Daalburg, Shiblu Miah, Sidney Gueye, Adiel Mannion.
Subs used:
Paplamin Jawara, Ollie Cox, Frank Jowle, Kian Wilkes, Ollie Lawford, John Smith, Tom Carter, James Hall, Trialist.

Leverstock Green

2 vs 2

Marston Shelton Rovers

(H) Hemel Hempstead Town (No spectators allowed)

Leverstock Green played their second pre-season friendly on Saturday, as new Hemel manager Lee Bircham brought a squad to Pancake Lane. It was a good game to watch on a very warm afternoon, with Hemel coming out on top with two goals late in the game.

The first ten minutes of the game were dominated by the visitors, with Mason Hall heading over from a corner in the 2nd minute and Joel Rollinson hitting a shot wide in the 10th minute. Adiel Mannion had Leverstock’s first shot of the game in the 12th minute, and a minute later Jamie Ovington headed just wide from a Frank Jowle corner. John Smith made an early attempt for Goal of the Season with a free kick taken from the halfway line that tried to catch the keeper off his line, but he just got back to tip it over the bar.

Both sides had much-changed sides out for the second half, and there were fewer chances until the later stages of the game. In the 72nd minute a volley from Ryan O’Sullivan brought a save out of the Hemel keeper, but two minutes later at the other end Sydney Ibie put Hemel in front with a close-range shot in off the underside of the bar.

In the 77th minute James Hall had a shot parried away by the keeper, and as Hemel broke away, Ibie squared for Ibrahim Lukulay to add a second goal.

Leverstock Green: (0) 0

Starting XI: Matt Fallon, Brima Johnson, Mickey Shuttlewood, Jamie Ovington, Dan Weeks, John Smith, Kian Wilkes, Paplamin Jawara, Frank Jowle, Adiel Mannion, Sydney Gueye.

Subs used: Ollie Cox, Tom Carter, Ryan O’Sullivan, Jack Stevens, Gary Wallace, James Hall, Elginey Daalburg, Will Bisney, Ollie Lawford.

Hemel Hempstead Town: (0) 2 (Ibie 74, Lukulay 77)

Starting XI: Jake Alley, Jayden Randell, Kyle Ajayi, Richie Whittingham, Charlie Briggs, Mason Hall, Rondel Gordon, Charlie Edwards, Deon Moore, Joe Leslie, Joel Rollinson.

Subs used: Danny Boness, Jack Bartram, Junior Wiltshire, Ibrahim Lukulay, Ola Olajubo, Tayshan Hayden-Smith, Alie Bangura, Sydney Ibie, Connor Ferguson.

Leverstock Green

0 vs 2