Leverstock Green were back to their fluent best as they produced a great attacking display to put six goals past Oxhey Jets in Saturday’s SSML Premier Division match at Pancake Lane. Jonathan Lacey celebrated his call-up to an England FA XI with two goals in this game.

Leverstock made a bright start to the match and went close in the second minute when a shot from Luke Preedy was turned round the post by former Green keeper Matt Evans. The scoring was opened in the 8th minute as the Green side mounted a classic counter-attack from an Oxhey corner. Alex Witham headed the ball away to Chris Blunden, who laid off to Jonathan Lacey on the halfway line. Lacey took the ball across the field before finding Luke Nugent on the right wing. Nugent ran with the ball and beat a defender before sending over a superb cross to find Lacey, who had continued his run and was there to score with a flicked header.

Four minutes later the lead was doubled as Mark Smith received the ball on the edge of the penalty area and drilled a low shot into the corner of the net for a great finish. Oxhey might have pulled a goal back on 21 minutes in a scramble following a corner, but Nick Kerley’s shot was kept out by a combination of Arvydas Kacinkevicius and Alex Condon before Nugent finally cleared to safety from the goal line. Three minutes later Leverstock went close themselves from a corner as Lacey found Jude Bell at the far post, but his header was cleared off the line by Luke Jones.

In the 30th minute Kacinkevicius went up to claim a free kick floated in by Jones, but didn’t hold onto the ball, however the Leverstock keeper saved a follow-up shot with his legs. Seconds later there was another sweeping counter-attack from the Green side. Smith brought the ball out and found Lacey on the halfway line, and Lacey then threaded a superb pass into the path of Witham, who finished coolly from the edge of the box for a 3-0 Leverstock lead.

The early stages of the second half were largely uneventful as the match continued in heavy rain, but things escalated quickly midway through the half. On 65 minutes Preedy was booked for a late challenge on Oxhey substitute Vass Mandeville, but Mandeville was also booked himself for his reaction. A minute later Mandeville went in for a challenge on Preedy, and received his second yellow card, being sent off just ten minutes after coming off the bench.

Preedy received treatment off the pitch, and as he came back onto the field the ball was played straight out to him. Preedy’s ball into the box just eluded Blunden, but Condon was coming in behind and slid in to stab home the fourth Leverstock goal in the 69th minute. Within a minute it was 5-0 as a blocked shot from Smith ran into the path of Blunden, who shot home from a very narrow angle.

The sixth goal in the 81st minute was Leverstock’s third goal to come from a swift counter-attack, and again it started with an Oxhey corner. Alex Yearwood got the ball out of the Green box to Bell, who ran from his own half into the Oxhey half, passing to Blunden, who in turn played the ball on to Lacey, who produced another of his composed finishes, slotting home from the edge of the box for his second goal of the game.

The win moves Leverstock up to 12th in the table, with games in hand on all the sides above them. With another clean sheet today they have the equal best defensive record in the division and the third best goal difference. However, they now take another break from league action with three cup ties coming up, the first of them away to London Colney in the Premier Division Cup on Tuesday night.

The first goal. pic.twitter.com/gUDTnp6eQr

— Leverstock Green FC (@levgreenfc) October 6, 2018