Top Field

Hitchin Town F.C.

Top Field,
Fishponds Road,
Hitchin,
Herts,
SG5 1NU

(A) Hitchin Town

Leverstock Green exited the Herts Senior Cup at the second round stage as they were defeated by Hitchin Town for the second time in ten days.

Leverstock had a chance to take the lead in the 4th minute as Iker Noguera Leon won the ball in midfield and played it through for Jeffrey Sekyere to have a run at goal, but his shot was saved by keeper Tyler McGregor. A minute later it was Hitchin who took the lead with the simplest of corner routine. The ball was played low into the box and Kye Tearle came in unmarked at the near post to sweep home a shot.

Hitchin might have had a second in the 20th minute as Cole Butler broke clear of the defence, but Harry Way turned his shot round the post. Leverstock had another chance in the 31st minute similar to their earlier chance. but this time it was Nat Connolly winning the ball and threading it to Leon, but his eventual shot was straight at McGregor.

The second half was a generally low-key affair, with much of it played in the Leverstock half, although some good defending kept them in the game. Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica had Leverstock’s best chance of the half with a run into the box in the 74th minute, but McGregor saved the shot with his legs. Three minutes later a scrambled goal from Mbunya Alemanji saw Hitchin take a 2-0 lead which they held onto comfortably for the remaining minutes.

Hitchin Town (1) 2 (Tearle 5, Alemanji 77)
1. Tyler McGregor, 2. Will McNeill, 3. Callum Kane, 4. Toby Syme, 5. Blue Joy, 6. Ciaren Jones, 7. Diogo Freitas-Gouveia (15. Lewis Franklin 60 mins), 8. Josh Coldicott-Stevens, 9. Ade Gbolahan (17. Mbunya Alemanji 73 mins), 10. Kye Tearle (14. Callum Nicholson 73 mins), 11. Cole Butler. Subs not used: 12. Josh Jackman, 16. Taylor Rhiney.
Leverstock Green (0) 0
1. Harry Way, 2. Callum Neal, 3. John Gyabaah, 4. Josh Dooley (14. Matt Forkin 78 mins), 5. Tom Georgiou, 6. Nat Connolly (16. Juan Pablo Velasco H/T), 7. Joe McCarthy (17. Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica 56 mins), 8. Dan Pett, 9. Jeffrey Sekyere, 10. Marcus Warren (12. Justin Dass 82 mins), 11. Iker Noguera Leon (15. Aldo Petagine 82 mins).

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(A) Hitchin Town

It was another heartbreaker for Leverstock Green as they were beaten by the last kick of a game that they did not deserve to lose. They competed with Hitchin Town all the way and had chances to win the game themselves, but a scrambled goal from a corner sealed their fate.

Leverstock came under heavy pressure from the home side in the opening ten minutes, with two great saves from Harry Way and the post keeping them from going behind early. Hitchin won a number of corners during this early period of the game, but Leverstock defended well and then took the lead from their first corner of the game in the 17th minute. Rio Beach curled the ball to the far post, when Joe McCarthy met it with a header that just squeezed inside the post past former Leverstock keeper Alfie Bonfield.

It should have been 2-0 in the 27th minute. Jeffrey Sekyere won the ball off a defender and raced clear before crossing to the far post where Jack Allen was coming in, but he couldn’t keep his header from very close range under the bar. Hitchin had a chance to equalise in the 32nd minute when there was a coming together in the box and the referee awarded a penalty, but Way produced another great save to turn away Stephen Gleeson’s spot kick. However, in the 41st minute the equaliser arrived when a cross was headed back across goal and Lewis Franklin netted from close range to make it 1-1.

Jack Allen suffered an injury at the end of the first half which meant he had to be replaced by Iker Noguera Leon for the second half, and Leon hit a shot which brought a save out of Bonfield in the 52nd minute. Way pulled off another great save in the 68th minute to turn a shot round the post.

Leverstock had another chance in the 77th minute as Sekyere pressured a defender to win the ball and ran on to hit a shot which was parried by Bonfield. Leon gathered the ball from the rebound and hit a shot which was cleared off the line by a defender. Two minutes later Sekyere was running clear again from the halfway line until he was brought down from behind by Charlie Briggs, for which the defender received a straight red card to reduce his side to ten men.

Sekyere was running at goal again two minutes into stoppage time, but was thwarted by a tackle, and Leon was unable to make anything from the loose ball. The game looked to be heading for a draw, and five minutes of stoppage time had been indicated by the referee, but it was the sixth minute of stoppage time when Hitchin won a corner. The ball was not cleared, and in the ensuing scramble Josh Jackman put the ball in the net. The referee blew for time instantly after the restart, and it was another cruel finish for Leverstock in a season that has been full of them.

Hitchin Town (1) 2 (Franklin 41, Jackman 90+6)
1. Alfie Bonfield, 2. Josh Jackman, 3. Callum Kane, 4. Blue Joy (15. Toby Syme 80 mins), 5. Charlie Briggs, 6. Ciaren Jones, 7. Josh Coldicott-Stevens, 8. Stephen Gleeson, 9. Kye Tearle (17. Ade Gbolahan 62 mins), 10. Lewis Franklin, 11. Callum Nicolson (14. George Morrall 84 mins). Subs not used: 12. Taylor Rhiney, 16. Will Mcneill.
Leverstock Green (1) 1 (McCarthy 17)
1. Harry Way, 2. Callum Neal, 3. Rio Beach, 4. Josh Dooley, 5. Thomas Georgiou, 6. Nat Connolly (17. Marcus Warren 68 mins), 7. Joe Mccarthy (16. Juan Pablo Velasco 73 mins), 8. Dan Pett, 9. Jeffrey Sekyere, 10. Ethan Mooney (12. Ryan Carruthers 58 mins), 19. Jack Allen (14. Iker Noguera Leon H/T). Sub not used: 15. Dan Casey.

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(A) Hitchin Town

Leverstock Green FC suffered a heartbreaking exit from the Herts Senior Cup at the first round stage on Monday night. Going into stoppage time they were a goal up against Southern League Premier side Hitchin Town, but a last gasp equaliser sent the tie to penalties, which Hitchin won 4-3 despite the heroics of keeper Josh Bowler.

Leverstock played well from the outset and had the better of a first half which saw little in the way of clear-cut chances or saves despite some promising attacking play. Leverstock’s best chance came in the 33rd minute when a pass from Ademide Baruwa set Ethan Mooney clear to deliver a ball to the far post which found Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica, but Leverstock’s top scorer pulled his shot across goal. At the other end Hitchin had a couple of shots off-target, but nothing to seriously trouble Bowler.

By contrast, the second half saw bags of goalmouth action at both ends.Three minutes in, a corner from Dan Pett found Callum Neal at the near post with a glancing header that hit the far post. A minute later at the other end a Hitchin cross hit the post and rebounded quickly towards an attacker who could only help the ball back into the arms of Bowler. In the 61st minute a pass from Baruwa put Jayden Newman in with a chance but his shot was just wide. A Hitchin corner in the 69th minute resulted in a goalmouth scramble that included a goalline clearance and an incredible save from Bowler.

Another Hitchin corner in the 73rd minute resulted in a goal, but it was Leverstock who scored it with a lightning break. Rio Beach played a ball out of defence for Stefanoaica to chase, and after leaving a defender in his wake, Stefanoaica squared for Luke Beckwith, who took a touch before slotting home a shot five minutes after coming off the bench.

Stefanoaica might have added a second goal in the 83rd minute with a run at goal, but sent his shot over the bar. Two minutes from time Hitchin sub Isaac Galliford had a clear shooting chance on the edge of the box and aimed his shot for the top corner, but Bowler pulled off an unbelievable save to tip it over the bar.

It looked like that save might be the game winner as the game went into stoppage time with Leverstock still leading. However, in the third minute of stoppage time Hitchin broke down the left, and a ball into the box found Temi Akinbusoye sliding in to net the equaliser from close range. Hitchin might even have won it with Leverstock Green FC surviving further goalmouth scrambles in the dying seconds.

The game went into a penalty shoot out. Jack Snelus led off for Hitchin with a successful kick, while Ethan Mooney’s opening kick for Leverstock was saved by keeper Charlie Horlock. Galliford made it 2-0 to Hitchin before Beckwith pulled one back. The door was opened when Kavan Cotter blazed Hitchin’s third out of the ground, but Rio Beach saw his kick hit the bar. The door remained open when Bowler pulled off a great save to keep out Hitchin’s fourth from Bradley Bell, and Scott McGleish levelled the shoot out at 2-2 after four each. It was 3-3 after Akinbusoye and Stefanoaica were both successful with their kicks. Bowler got very close to saving Hitchin’s sixth kick, but it crept just inside the post, and when Mikey Havill-Tierney’s effort was saved by Horlock it was all over with Hitchin winning the shootout 4-3.

Despite the final outcome the Leverstock Green FC side should feel very proud of an outstanding performance from start to finish against a team who play two levels higher.

Hitchin Town FC (0) 1 (Akinbusoye 90+3)
1. Charlie Horlock, 2. Kye Tearle (12. Bradley Bell 65 mins), 3. Layne Eadie, 4. Stan Georgiou, 5. Daniel Emovon, 6. Lewis Barker, 7. Kavan Cotter, 8. Stephen Gleeson, 9. Jack Snelus, 10. Dan Idiakhoa (15. Temi Akinbusoye H/T), 11. Finlay Wilkinson (14. Isaac Galliford 65 mins). Subs not used: 16. Chris Khoo, 17. Henry Silver.
Leverstock Green FC (0) 1 (Beckwith 73)
1. Josh Bowler, 2. Brad Robinson (16. Mikey Havill-Tierney 78 mins), 3. Rio Beach, 4. Dan Weeks, 5. Callum Neal (20. Scott McGleish 90+4 mins), 6. Ryan Carruthers, 7. Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica, 8. Dan Pett (15. Joe Sadler 83 mins), 9. Jayden Newman (12. Luke Beckwith 68 mins), 10. Ademide Baruwa (14. George Mitchell-Gears 74 mins), 11. Ethan Mooney.

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