Leverstock Green finally put three points on the board as they produced an excellent performance to beat Stotfold 3-0 at Pancake Lane in Saturday’s SSML Premier Division game. With their previous win against Sun Sports having been deleted due to Sun’s resignation, this was a crucial win to ensure that the Green stayed off the bottom of the table.

The game could have turned out very differently were it not for a brilliant penalty save by Leverstock’s young goalkeeper Caolan Doyle-Creamer in the 8th minute. As Stotfold forward Meschach Hendrikson made a run into the box, Liam McCrohan put in a sliding tackle which appeared to win the ball, but the referee adjudged that he had gone through the player to get it. Kieran Barnes took the spot kick, which was well-aimed towards the bottom corner just inside the post, but Doyle-Creamer dived full-length to his left to turn it away.

Stotfold went close again in the 17th minute as they hit the post in a scramble following a corner, and Charlie Briggs lashed a shot just over the bar from another corner three minutes later. Leverstock’s first real chance came in the 22nd minute when a pass from Ross Adams put Matt Bateman in on goal, but he shot over the bar. However, a minute later a pass from Chris Marsh found Bateman again, and this time he squared into the six-yard box where David Lawrence put the ball away with a tidy finish to put Leverstock 1-0 up.

Bateman had another chance in the 30th minute when he received a throw from Lawrence with his back to goal, but his shot on the turn was deflected wide. Ten minutes later Lawrence flicked a pass on to Adams, who was through on goal but Stotfold keeper Matt Fallon came out to smother his shot. A minute before the break Bateman was in on goal again and elected to square the ball again rather than shooting, but this time a defender got there before Lawrence. In stoppage time Doyle-Creamer pulled off another good save to gather and hold onto a shot from Barnes.

Five minutes into the second half Leverstock got some crucial breathing space with a second goal. A pass from Adams found Lawrence on the edge of the box, and although Lawrence was initially stopped by a challenge from Anthony Araba, he got up again and was able to squeeze a shot over Fallon for his second of the match.

While Stotfold occasionally threatened on the break in the second half, it was always Leverstock that looked more likely to add further goals. On 69 minutes Luke Nugent put in a dangerous cross to the near post, but Fallon claimed the ball at the feet of Reynaldo Carbon. On 78 minutes Bateman took the ball off Araba and had a clear run at goal, but Araba did well to get back and block Bateman’s eventual shot wide. From the resulting corner Shane Wood came flying in at the far post to meet Carbon’s cross but his header went just wide. Two minutes later Nugent hit a good effort just wide, and shortly afterwards Bateman got on the end of a cross from Nugent but his shot was tipped onto the bar by Fallon.

Leverstock eventually got a deserved third goal a minute from time from a quickly-taken free kick near the halfway line. Brima Johnson floated in a cross which found Bateman on the angle of the six-yard box, and he turned and drilled a low shot under Fallon to finally notch his first goal in a Green shirt.

The win and the clean sheet should be a huge confidence-booster for Scott Dash’s side, who return to cup action on Tuesday night with a home tie against Welwyn Garden City in the first round of the Premier Division Cup.

Having dropped back down to zero points following the removal of Sun Sports from the SSML Premier Division table, Leverstock Green got back off the mark again on Saturday with a very hard-fought point from a 2-2 draw with Wembley at Pancake Lane.The visitors will feel that they had more than enough chances to have won the game, but Leverstock hung on and eventually found the goals to come from behind twice.

With skipper Shane Wood out due to the effects of a dead leg, Scott Dash brought in recently-signed twins Curtis and Mitchell Bird, previously with Luton Town Cedars, to play in the centre of defence, and they both acquitted themselves very well on their debuts.

Wembley had the first effort on goal with Alex Witham hitting a shot from the edge of the box just over the bar in the 4th minute. Three minutes later Leverstock went close when Ross Adams slid in to meet a cross from Sam Nair, but just failed to connect with the ball. In the 15th minute a free kick from Nair just eluded Curtis Bird at the far post.

For the rest of the half it was the visitors who were in control. In the 29th minute Zaied Sabti struck the bar from a free kick just outside the box. Five minutes later Charlie Weir rose unchallenged at a corner but headed over the bar. In the 37th minute Tresors-Jordy Mumbiny hit a shot just wide. For all their pressure Wembley didn’t force Green keeper Reuben Rabstein into a save until a minute before the break when Richard Brown hit a shot on target.

The second half started in similar fashion with Wembley pushing forward in numbers, while also making it difficult for the Leverstock forward line by closing down very quickly. Wembley finally took what for them was an overdue lead on the hour, as Alex Witham hit a shot from the edge of the box which beat the partially-unsighted Rabstein into the bottom corner of his net.

However, Leverstock finally started pressing their opponents and winning the ball in midfield, and began to play their way into the game. In the 70th minute Liam McCrohan did very well to get to the bye-line and pull the ball back into the penalty area. Ross Adams helped it on towards the far post where substitute Nick Jackson came in to sidefoot home the equaliser.

Parity was short-lived, however, as within a minute Wembley were back in front at 2-1, again through Witham who found the space on the left edge of the penalty area to hit a shot across goal and into the opposite corner of Rabstein’s net.

Leverstock were not be denied, though, and in the 77th minute from a disputed free kick near the left touchline, Chris Marsh curled in a cross which went all the way through to the Wembley keeper, who could only parry it away, and Curtis Bird pounced to shoot home the loose ball for a debut goal to level the scores at 2-2.

The game could have gone either way from that point, but in the end Leverstock were grateful to come away with a point from a game in which they had spent a lot of time on the back foot. The point keeps them off the bottom of the table, but they now take a two-week break from league action, with two cup games to come. The first of them is next Saturday when they travel to Leighton Town in the second qualifying round of the FA Vase.

Leverstock Green are still looking for their first league point after three games and a third 2-1 defeat. Visitors Crawley Green thoroughly deserved their win in a game that saw a very disappointing performance from the Leverstock side.

There were two more new signings in the squad, today, with Reuben Rabstein being the sixth player to feature in goal this season, and Jamie Gerrard playing up front. Gerrard had a chance of a debut goal in the 9th minute after Ross Adams puled the ball back from the bye-line, but his shot was saved by visiting keeper/manager Dean Bull. A minute later Rabstein had his first action, saving with his legs to keep out a shot from Aaron Browne.

The game had been evenly-contested in the early stages, but two quickfire goals put Crawley Green in control. In the 17th minute Charlie Clayton and Terry Billy combined on the right to send over a cross which deflected off a Leverstock defender and landed nicely for Lee Hawkes to volley home the opening goal from just inside the box. Two minutes later a long goal kick was poorly dealt with, and Martin Collins had time and space on the edge of the box to line up a curled shot into the corner of the net for a two-goal lead.

Leverstock were struggling to pass the ball around to their usual standard, and when they did get in a position to deliver a cross or a set-piece, the delivery was poor. There were a couple of chances to pull a goal back, with Luca DeMare shooting over from a pass by Ellis Routledge on 29 minutes, and Gerrard heading over the bar after Shane Wood had headed a Chris Marsh free kick back across goal on 37 minutes.

Scott Dash made a triple substitution at half time, bringing on Reece Fallon, Sam Nair and Alex McCarthy. Leverstock had more of the ball in the second half and pushed forward, but the passing and delivery still wasn’t there. Jonathan Lacey should have pulled a goal back in the 54th minute when Adams found him with a threaded pass into the box, but he shot into the side netting.

Crawley Green should have had a third goal on 74 minutes when substitute Liam Toomey had the goal at his mercy within a minute of coming off the bench, but Rabstein pulled off a great save to deflect the shot over the bar with his leg. Toomey went close again seven minutes later as he put the ball right across the face of the Leverstock goal.

Three minutes from time it became interesting when Leverstock finally pulled a goal back. Their first decent move of the game resulted in Liam McCrohan being put through to shoot home and reduce the arrears to 2-1. However, there were no further chances created and the visitors held on for their win.

In a change to the originally scheduled fixture, Leverstock are at home to Sun Sports in a league match next Saturday.