Leverstock Green suffered a second straight league defeat without scoring, after a disappointing performance against Leighton Town. The visitors went ahead in the first half and rarely looked like losing their lead for the remainder of the match.

The Green side made a lively start to the match with a few dangerous-looking balls forward, but Leighton keeper Charlie Jones was able to gather them. The first chance of the game was created by Leighton in the 18th minute. Ben Gallant played in Lewis McBride, whose cross found Tom Silford at the far post, but the former Leverstock striker’s shot was cleared off the line by Kane O’Neil. Three minutes later, though, McBride turned in the box and pulled back a low cross which was fired home by Aaron McKee to put Leighton in front.

The visitors were well on top by now and should have added further goals to their tally before the break. In the 27th minute a pass forward allowed Silford to get on the outside of O’Neil, but his shot went wide. On 31 minutes Gallant had the ball in front of goal but was denied by a tackle from Ethan Flanagan.

There was a lengthy stoppage for injury treatment to two players. Green keeper Rob Partington suffered an injury when diving at the feet of McBride to claim the ball, meanwhile Silford had gone down painfully on the edge of the box. Both players rejoined the game after treatment, but neither looked comfortable, Partington was able to turn away a shot from McBride on 41 minutes, but came down painfully again from another save two minutes later. Both players left the game at half time.

Partington’s place in goal was taken by Luke Preedy, while Jack Stevens came on to take Preedy’s place in midfield. Leverstock created some chances early in the half, with Salim Sahnoun having a shot cleared off the line from a 47th minute corner, while Alex Condon headed over the bar from a Sam Nair free kick on 54 minutes. Condon and Mark Smith both had shots blocked in a goalmouth scramble five minutes later.

In general, though, Leighton defended comfortably and were content to hold onto their lead, and Leverstock weren’t able to create enough clear-cut chances to get back into the game.

Leverstock now take another break from league action with a Herts Senior Cup 2nd Round tie at home to Watford on Tuesday night, before next weekend’s tough visit to Histon in the FA Vase Third Round.

Leverstock Green gained their second win of the week with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Wembley in Saturday’s SSML Premier Division game at Pancake Lane. Wembley were in the bottom three at start of play but kept the Leverstock defence busy with a lot of attacking play. Heavy rain before the game and throughout the second half made for difficult slippery conditions for both sides.

An injury during the warm-up led to a late enforced change as Brima Johnson came in for Casey Linsell. Leverstock had a sight of goal within the opening 20 seconds as Marcus Campbell worked the space for a shot from the edge of the box, but Wembley keeper Montel Joseph grabbed it out of the air. The opening goal came in the 8th minute. After some neat passing play, Luke Nugent took the ball on and hit a shot from the edge of the box which Joseph should have dealt with, but the keeper spilled the ball and Sam Nair had a simple tap-in from close range to put the Green into a 1-0 lead.

There was almost a second goal within two minutes as Johnson took on a defender on the edge of the box and hit a shot which Joseph had to dive down low to stop near the post. Wembley pushed forward in search of an equaliser, but good work at the centre of defence from Alex Condon and Ethan Flanagan kept them out. Flanagan went close to adding a second goal in the 28th minute when he got on the end of a free kick from Nair, but his header went just wide. Wembley’s best chance of the half came in the 37th minute as Alesandro Puerini turned and shot from the edge of the six-yard box, but Rob Partington saved. Four minutes later a pass from Mark Smith put Nair through, but his shot went wide as Joseph came racing out of his goal.

After a rain-free first half, the heavens opened again at half time and continued throughout the second half. Within five minutes of the restart Wembley were reduced to ten men as Hani Berchiche was shown a straight red card for a dangerous tackle. Despite their reduced ranks, and now playing up the slope, Wembley continued to have more of the attacking play. They finally got their equaliser in the 64th minute. Wayne Walters was allowed to run unchallenged into the Leverstock half and play a pass through to substitute Zaied Sabti, who slotted the ball past Partington to level the scores at 1-1.

However, parity only lasted for four minutes. Leverstock won a corner, which was taken by Nair. The cross was headed away, but only back to Nair, who crossed it in again, and this time it found its way to the far post where Alex Condon stabbed the ball home to put Leverstock back in front at 2-1.

There were few chances as conditions became ever more difficult towards the end of the game. Condon came closest to adding a third Leverstock goal two minutes from time when he won the ball and ran on to hit a shot just wide. Leverstock were content to see the game out, but there was still time for a couple of ugly incidents in stoppage time which saw three Leverstock players amongst four players booked. Eventually the referee blew the final whistle and Leverstock had their three points.

Next up for Leverstock is the rearranged Buildbase FA Vase Second Round tie away to Enfield, which is being played on Tuesday night at Harlow Town F.C.

Leverstock Green got back to winning ways with an excellent result on Tuesday night against a lively Harpenden side who had won their previous match 7-0 against Potton United.

There were two new signings making their debut in the Leverstock side. With regular keeper Arvydas Kacinkevicius having suffered a horrific hand injury last week which will keep him out for some time, former Oxhey Jets keeper Rob Partington has been drafted in. The other new face was striker Marcus Campbell, signed from Berkhamsted, and previously with Welwyn Garden City, Bedford Town, Leighton Town and AFC Dunstable among others.

Leverstock almost got away to the ideal start when they won a free kick in a dangerous position in the 2nd minute. Sam Nair curled his effort up and over the wall, but it struck the bar and bounced over. It was Harpenden who had the better of the early stages, though, with Archie McClelland going closest for them on 16 minutes, shooting just wide having been put clean through.

The scoring was opened in the 19th minute, and it was Leverstock who took the advantage. The goal owed a lot to skipper Mark Smith, who showed some good footwork by the right touchline to beat a defender before passing to Reynaldo Carbon, whose ball across the face of goal was turned in at the far post by Campbell, marking his debut with a goal.

Six minutes later the lead was doubled as Leverstock won a corner. Nair swung the ball into the near post where it was met by Jordon Goode with a bullet header to beat former Green keeper Carl Tasker.

It could have been 3-0 in the 28th minute when a cross from the right went over a defender and landed at the feet of Campbell in space, but having cut back inside, Campbell’s eventual shot was saved by Tasker. There was another chance on 34 minutes when Nair set up Alex Condon for a shot from the edge of the box which went just over the bar. The third goal eventually arrived in the 38th minute. Luke Nugent brought the ball out of defence and played it up to Campbell, who had the chance to lay off a pass either way as he headed for goal, but chose to go himself and struck a superb chip shot from just outside the box which left Tasker rooted to the spot as it found the top corner of the net.

Partington was brought into action in the 41st minute as he had to turn a free kick from McClelland round the post, and in the last minute of the half Partington saved a long-range shot from Kyle McLeish, but couldn’t hold onto it and McClelland followed up to net the rebound and put his side back into the game going into the break.

Harpenden started the second half well, and almost pulled a second goal back in the 50th minute when Jack Baker hit a goalbound shot, but Partington did well to get his fingertips onto it and tip it onto the woodwork. On 61 minutes Baker had another shot which Partington saved, and couldn’t hold onto at the first attempt, but recovered to claim at the second attempt with McClelland following in again.

Leverstock chances were few and far between in the second half, but on 66 minutes a cross from the left found Smith with a header in front of goal, but Tasker saved. Five minutes later Carbon beat a defender on the left side of the box before hitting a shot across goal and wide.

Leverstock began to slow the game down over the closing minutes, but Harpenden still had a couple of late chances to score. In the 88th minute a long throw into the box landed at the feet of McLeish six yards out, but his shot was kept out by Partington. Four minutes into stoppage time a volley from Baker was heading into the net, but Casey Linsell kept it out with an astonishing clearance, kicking it up and over the bar from the goal line. The final whistle sounded soon after to confirm a fine win against a good side.