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Leverstock Green F.C.

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

(H) Totternhoe

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(H) Caddington

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(H) Bedford Town

Leverstock Green continued their buildup to their first season at Step 4 with a home friendly against Bedford Town, newly-promoted to Step 3 and managed by former Levy skipper Lee Bircham.

Just as in Tuesday night’s Herts Charity Cup tie, the Green side started slowly and conceded an early goal. There was only just over a minute played when the ball was played to forward to Leon Lobjoit, who placed a lob over the Leverstock keeper.

However, Leverstock began to settle down, and in the 18th minute Rawn Seale cut in from the left and hit a shot which brought a good save out of the Bedford keeper. The visitors doubled their lead in the 22nd minute when Carl Mensah had a free header from a corner, but two minutes later Leverstock reduced the deficit. A foul on Seale inside the box resulted in a penalty award for Leverstock, and Alie Bangura netted the spot kick to make it 2-1.

The remainder of the game was entertaining and closely-fought, although there were no further goals. Jaden Newman had Leverstock’s best effort on the hour mark, turning neatly inside the box but having his shot blocked wide a defender.

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(H) Hadley

Leverstock Green played their first competitive match as a Step 4 club as they faced Hadley in the first round of the Herts Charity Cup, and it was a harsh lesson in what football at this level will be like. Hadley will be one of Leverstock’s opponents in the Southern League Division One Central, and they were two goals up before the Green side had even begun to find their feet.

Right from the kick-off Leverstock lost the ball and were instantly punished as Billy Hayes played Isaac Stones in to put Hadley into the lead with just 15 seconds on the clock. The lead was doubled in the 5th minute as Leverstock gave the ball away in the opposition half and were quickly hit by a counter-attack. Finlay Aldridge broke down the left and delivered a cross which found Stones all alone in front of goal to shoot home the second goal.

Leverstock were unlucky not to pull a goal back in the 11th minute as a hooked shot from Alie Bangura hit the post, and for a while it looked as though they were settling into the game. However, in the 36th minute another sloppy piece of play at the back was ruthlessly punished as the ball was played forward to Stones, who took on and beat a player on the edge of the box before shooting home to complete his hat-trick in impressive style.

Hadley made two changes at half time, with Stones leaving the game, but it was only a good save from Leverstock keeper Alex Desmond that prevented them adding a fourth early in the second half. However, the second half was an improvement from the Leverstock side, who seemed to have taken some lessons on board in moving the ball around quicker, and did not concede any further goals. Nat Connolly hit a good effort from distance over the bar, and Jayden Newman went close from a corner in the final minutes, but the Green side were unable to pull a goal back.

It’s still relatively early in pre-season, and Leverstock had a number of key players missing this evening, so there is no cause for alarm and there were positives to take from the second half display.

Leverstock Green (0) 0
1. Alex Desmond, 2. Cem Poyraz (12. Jamie Breen 65 mins), 3. Rio Beach, 4. Dan Weeks, 18. Sam Doolan (17. Gary Connolly 49 mins), 6. Ryan Carruthers (15. Callum Neal 49 mins), 7. Alie Bangura, 8. Ademide Baruwa, 9. Guiseppe Delgaudio (16. Jaden Newman 72 mins), 10. Nat Connolly, 11. Luke Beckwith (14. Lewis Collins 58 mins).
Hadley (3) 3 (Stones 1, 5, 36)
1. Charlie Taylor, 2. George Alfieri (12. Billy Baird 56 mins), 3. Caoilan McGettigan, 4. Stefan Powell, 5. Tommy Boxer (14. Panny Boxer H/T), 6. Peter Rosemin, 7. Billy Hayes (16. Herbie Townsend 56 mins), 8. Solomon Sambou, 9. Isaac Stones (18. Cameron Ferguson H/T), 10. Jordan Edwards, 11. Finley Aldridge (17. Zack Uribarri 50 mins).

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(H) Leighton Town Development

The reserves played their opening friendly at home to Leighton Town Development, who are newly promoted to Step 6. It was a good game with both sides creating lots of chances, but neither side was able to put the ball in the net, leaving the result as a 0-0 draw.

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(H) FC Romania

Leverstock Green are celebrating promotion to Step 4 for the first time ever after a 3-0 win over FC Romania in Monday’s SSML Premier Division playoff final in front of a bumper crowd of 914.

Constant rain from mid-morning through the afternoon meant that playing conditions were very difficult. On a normal day the game would probably have been postponed or abandoned early on with surface water splashing up from the start, but the game went ahead and both sides did their best to cope with the conditions.

Leverstock had a chance in the 6th minute when a defender missed the ball to leave Rawn Seale through on goal, but his run was stopped when the ball got caught in the surface water, and his attempted layoff to Ethan Mooney didn’t get there. Three minutes later a flick-on from Seale put Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica through, but his first time shot was saved by keeper Elgi Fejzo.

The visitors threatened in the 15th minute when a shooting chance opened up for Zenon Styliandes, but his shot went across goal and wide. Two minutes later Dan Pett had an effort from 20 yards which went inches over the bar. In the 20th minute a cross from Stefanoaica just eluded Seale sliding in at the far post.

The game was goalless at the break, but Leverstock made a breakthrough early in the second half. A superb cross from Callum Neal found Pett to head home and put Leverstock into a 49th minute lead.

The Leverstock defence was once again sturdy and discliplined, allowing FC Romania little in the way of chances. Leverstock increased their lead in the 77th minute. A free kick from Pett was not cleared by the visitors’ defence, and the ball rolled out to the edge of the area where Neal met it with a low shot drilled through a crowd of players which beat Fejzo and made it 2-0.

Three minutes later it was 3-0. As a cross came in from the left, it looked as though skipper Dan Weeks was set to score, but his shot was blocked. The rebound fell for Seale, and his shot hit a defender but still found its way into the corner of the net to put Leverstock within touching distance of promotion.

There were no further goals, and the final whistle triggered scenes of celebration as Leverstock lifted the playoff trophy. It is a reward that is truly deserved for Fergus Moore and Scott McGleish’s side as they have been outstanding all season and pulled out two great performances in the playoffs to clinch a promotion that would have been considered unlikely at the start of the season.

Leverstock still have the chance for further glory this season with both the Gladwish Challenge Trophy and St Mary’s Cup finals to come.

Leverstock Green (0) 3 (Pett 49, Neal 77, Seale 80)
1. Josh Bowler, 2. Callum Neal (16. Josh Dooley 90 mins), 3. Rio Beach, 4. Dan Weeks, 5. Gary Connolly, 6. Ryan Carruthers (12. Ademide Baruwa 82 mins), 7. Ethan Mooney (14. Luke Beckwith 85 mins), 8. Dan Pett, 9. Rawn Seale (17. George Mitchell-Gears 88 mins), 10. Nat Connolly, 11. Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica (15. Guiseppe Delgaudio 72 mins).
FC Romania (0) 0
1. Elgi Fejzo, 2. Zivonimir Lopes (15. Ioneu Ilies 83 mins), 3. Johan Becka, 4. Phil Lowen (18. Ridwan Hussein 77 mins), 5. German Petrov, 6. Jay Jay Goncalves, 7. Jesse Friend (17. Flavio Kyem 54 mins), 8. Tobi Coker (19. Luke Abraham 83 mins), 9. Tomas Mendes (16. Stefan Balev 69 mins), 10. Zenon Styliandes, 11. Malik Nosike.

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(H) Apsley Argyle

Leverstock Green Development’s final Herts Senior County League fixture of the season was unplayed and awarded as a walkover after opponents Apsley Argyle were unable to raise a side.

The three points awarded means that Leverstock remain in 8th place, which is a remarkable achievement since the appointment of Andy Murray and Steve Newing as managers, given that the side was near the foot of the league at the time. There are two sides who could possibly overtake them with a lot of wins from their remaining games, but a top-half finish looks likely.

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