It was a disappointing afternoon for Leverstock Green as they fell to their second straight league defeat, going down 2-0 at home to Edgware Town in Saturday’s SSML Premier Division game.

Continuing rain through the week had left the Pancake Lane pitch in a muddy state, and it was the visitors who played the conditions better than the Leverstock side, who often got bogged down trying to play intricate football on an unsuitable surface. In general the performance was below the standard that had been set by the last few games.

Edgware had a chance to go in front with just over a minute played, but Scott McGleish lashed a shot over the bar from a corner. Leverstock’s first effort on goal came in the 10th minute, Steve Hawes shooting over the bar after the ball had been passed around the edge of the penalty area. In the 18th minute Cass Grant and Frankie Jowle combined down the left to set up a shooting chance for John Smith, but the Green skipper passed up a couple of opportunities to get his shot away while trying to work a better position and eventually lost the ball.

Matt Fallon, who returned to the Leverstock goal this afternoon from injury, saved a shot from Danny Taylor in the 21st minute. Seven minutes later it looked like Leverstock had escaped again when a shot from Steve Benavides was cleared off the line by Zak Howells, but the ball went back to Benavides, who found the net at the second attempt to put Edgware into a 1-0 lead.

The visitors doubled their lead in the 35th minute as Rio Beech lofted a pass from his own half which went over the head of Jack Stevens to leave Adam Page clean through on goal, and he ran on to slot home past Fallon for the second Edgware goal.

Leverstock needed to get a goal back quickly to get back into the game, but Smith’s shot on 38 minutes went over the bar, and an attempt from Grant on 42 minutes may have been goalbound but was nodded wide by a defender. In the last minute of the half both keepers were in action as Adiel Mannion was denied by a save from Fraser Siddall, and Fallon turned a shot from McGleish wide.

Three minutes into the second half Chris Gosling floated a free kick into the box that Dan Weeks got on the end of, but his header went over the bar. On 50 minutes Edgware were unlucky not to get a third when an effort from Taylor hit the post, while seconds later at the other end Hawes hit Leverstock’s best effort of the game so far, a dipping shot from distance that cleared the bar by inches.

Three substitutions could not turn the game around, although one of the subs Luke Peerless produced a great volley in the 82nd minute that brought a good save out of Siddall. The Green side battled to the end, but Edgware held on comfortably for a deserved win.

A late header from Adiel Mannion brought Leverstock Green another three points as they came from behind to beat North Greenford United 2-1 on a very wet and sticky Pancake Lane pitch in Saturday’s SSML Premier Division game.

The pitch was already soft after a game on it on Thursday, and further rain during the morning and during most of the game itself made for a very difficult surface for both teams.

Leverstock were missing Chris Gosling and Cass Grant, who were both starting two-game suspensions after their red cards last week, plus Alex Ward through illness and Jack Stevens, who was added to the injury list last week. Worse was to follow during the pre-game warm-up when keeper Matt Fallon had to pull out through injury. With no other keeper available, top scorer Frankie Jowle took over the gloves and gave an excellent display between the sticks.

The visitors are bottom of the league without a win so far, but they battled well throughout the game. After a chance for Leverstock in the opening minute when Mannion shot over the bar, it was North Greenford who had the better of the game for a while. Jowle had to pull off a save from a free kick in the 4th minute, and they had a few efforts at goal which were off-target.

Leverstock went close in the 15th minute when Jamie Ovington played a long ball forward which visiting keeper Sam House could only punch away. The ball went as far as John Smith, who shot over the bar as House was scrambling back towards his goal. North Greenford were still looking dangerous when coming forward, and it certainly wasn’t against the run of play when they took the lead in the 23rd minute. Conor Molyneaux found space in the Green box and eventually drilled the ball past Jowle from a narrow angle for an impressive finish.

Leverstock stepped up their efforts, with Kai Stonnell curling a shot just wide on 28 minutes. Two minutes later a pass from Zak Howells gave Louie Griffiths a run at goal. Griffiths put over a cross which found Mannion at the far post, but he couldn’t divert his header on target. However, in the 31st minute Stonnell launched a long throw into the Greenford box which was not cleared, and in the ensuing scramble Griffiths hit an effort which went in off the underside of the bar for the equaliser.

The Green side should have gone in front in the 35th minute. Mannion’s pass put Griffiths through to put a ball across the face of goal that somehow eluded Conor Blake at the far post. Seconds later a shot from Mannion was deflected over the bar by a defender’s boot.

The rain continued to make the pitch even stickier in the second half. There was an early chance in the 48th minute when a pass from Howells found Griffiths, who turned and shot across the face of goal and just wide. Dogged defending by the visitors prevented much in the way of clear chances for most of the half. The best chance came in the 76th minute when Leverstock were awarded a free kick in a dangerous position just outside the box, but John Smith’s effort went over the bar.

There were a couple of late goalmouth scrambles in which Greenford somehow kept the ball out, but it looked as though Leverstock were going to have to settle for the draw against stubborn opponents. However, in the 88th minute Howells delivered a superb angled cross into the box from midway into the visitors’ half, and Mannion got on the end of it to nod the ball past House into the corner of the net for a dramatic late winner.

It was tough on North Greenford, whose battling display would have deserved a point, but Leverstock overcame their own adversity with a top performance from everyone, especially Jowle in goal.