Leverstock Green fell to a disappointing home defeat to London Tigers in Saturday’s SSML Premier Division fixture. Leverstock failed to produce their usual fluent football, while the frequent gamesmanship of the visitors ensured that the game never really got going as a spectacle.

The Green squad continues to have problems at the centre-back position, with Jude Bell the only one of the regular centre-backs fit to play, until another injury took him out of the game midway through the second half. There was little to write about in the early stages of the game, other than a free kick from Chris Blunden which went just wide in the 10th minute. In the 22nd minute a poor kick by the Tigers keeper gave Mark Smith a chance to send a lob from distance over the stranded keeper, but it went over the bar. Two minutes later Leverstock were behind as a mistake by keeper Arvydas Kacinkevicius gifted the visitors an opening goal.

Tigers then started to play some good football, with a shot from Dayaan Salifou going across the face of goal and wide after a quick breakaway. Three minutes later Paulo Alves threaded a pass through to Joel Ramos, but his shot from a narrow angle was saved by Kacinkevicius. On 37 minutes Leverstock had a chance when Jonathan Lacey’s free kick was put back across the face of goal by a defender, but Jordon Goode’s shot was over the bar. Two minutes later Smith had another effort from distance which went over the bar. Having not played well at all for the first half, Leverstock were gifted a way back into the game in stoppage time as a defender handled the ball while running out of the penalty area. The linesman spotted the handball and alerted the referee, and Lacey put away the resulting spot kick to send the Green into the break with the scores level at 1-1.

However, it took Tigers just five minutes of the second half to back in front at 2-1 through a far post header from a corner, leaving Leverstock in search of another equaliser. Another handball gave them a free kick in a dangerous position on 56 minutes, but Blunden’s shot was comfortably gathered by the keeper. Two minutes later they were unlucky when Lacey’s instinctive turn and shot from the edge of the box struck the bar.

On 67 minutes a long pass from Lacey almost created a goal when a defender tried to play the ball back to his keeper, only to find that the keeper wasn’t there. Sam Nair nipped in for the loose ball but his shot from a narrow angle was cleared off the line. There was another chance for Lacey on 73 minutes after a cross from Luke Nugent, but his shot went wide.

Leverstock’s chances took a further blow ten minutes from time when they were reduced to ten men. Blunden had already been booked for an earlier altercation, and foul and abusive language directed at an opponent who was timewasting saw him receive a second yellow and a red. As the game went into stoppage time, Kacinkevicius came up for a couple of corners, but Leverstock were unable to make anything of either. Six minutes into stoppage time Tigers added a third through Joseph Moore, whose long-distance lob went in off the post.

A disappointing result and performance, and the Green side will certainly have to play a lot better than this if they have ambitions of challenging in the top half of the table. The next match scheduled is at home to London Colney on Tuesday night, although this one is currently in doubt due to issues with the Pancake Lane floodlights.

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