Leverstock Green’s bid to turn their promotion and cup double into a treble was thwarted by a comeback from Harpenden Town in the St Mary’s Cup Final on Friday night. Leverstock held a slender lead at the break and played some sparkling football at times, but their inability to take their chances left the door open for Harpenden, who turned the match round very quickly midway through the second half.

Leverstock took the lead in the 16th minute from the penalty spot. Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica was brought down in the box by a challenge from Isaiah Hilaire, and Luke Beckwith netted the spot kick.

Harpenden keeper Connor Coulson made the first of several great saves in the 28th minute, keeping out a shot from Rawn Seale after a run at goal, and when Seale got the ball back and squared for Stefanoaica, Coulson got a boot in to clear the chance. Two minutes later Seale showed some nifty footwork before setting up a chance for Stefanoaica, but his shot was across goal and wide. In the 32nd minute Coulson pushed away a rasping shot from Beckwith, and in the 41st minute Rio Beach hit a shot just wide.

Leverstock were well on top early in the second half. In the 52nd minute Coulson tipped a shot from Beckwith over the bar. Three minutes later Ademide Baruwa had a run at goal but his shot was kept out by Coulson. Baruwa had another run at goal in the 63rd minute but his eventual shot was wide. Coulson pulled off another great save a minute later to tip over a shot from Stefanoaica.

In the 67th minute Leverstock paid the price for not taking their chances when Harpenden broke away, and after a series of passes around the box, Jake Anthony shot home the equaliser.

Two minutes later there could have been a second Harpenden goal on the break, but Leverstock keeper Liam Gauthier pulled off a double save to keep out a shot and an effort on the rebound. However in the 72nd minute a Harpenden corner wasn’t cleared and Anthony lashed home a volley to put his side in front.

The decisive moment came in the 86th minute. Leverstock came close to an equaliser when a deflected shot from Ryan Carruthers hit the post, however Harpenden broke straight away and Anthony slipped the ball past Gauthier to complete his hat-trick and clinch the match. Coulson pulled off more saves during stoppage time to snuff out any hopes Leverstock might have had of a late comeback, and Harpenden went on to lift the St Mary’s Cup, a small measure of revenge for Leverstock’s win against them in the playoff semi-finals.

Leverstock Green (1) 1 (Beckwith 16 pen)
1. Liam Gauthier, 2. Mikey Havill-Tierney (17. Jayden Newman 87 mins), 3. Rio Beach, 4. Dan Weeks, 5. Gary Connolly, 6. Ademide Baruwa, 7. Luke Beckwith, 8. Dan Pett, 9. Rawn Seale, 10. Nat Connolly (12. Ryan Carruthers 74 mins), 11. Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica (14. Lewis Collins 78 mins). Subs not used: 15. George Mitchell-Gears, 16. Callum Neal.
Harpenden Town (0) 3 (Anthony 67, 72, 86)
1. Connor Coulson, 2. Jake Collins (17. Prince Asare 90 mins), 12. Isaiah Hilaire, 4. Archie Fitzgerald, 16. Dan Palmer, 6. Josh Rodrigues, 7. Reece Crowter (14. Andrew Simmons 63 mins), 5. Archie Locke, 9. Jake Anthony, 10. Harry Andic (8. Chikosi Basden 56 mins), 11. Hadley Gleeson (15. Josh Kassaye 60 mins). Sub not used: 3. Lewis Williams.

Leverstock Green put the cap on a fine season for the club by lifting the St Mary’s Cup for the second time on Monday afternoon. A first half free kick from Chris Blunden was enough to win the match and the first silverware of the Fergus Moore era. It was a close match, as would be expected given where the two clubs finished in the SSML Premier Division and how tight the league meetings had been this season.

Tring had more of the ball for the opening five minutes of the game, but it was Leverstock who had the first near miss in the 8th minute, as Richard Ennin hit a shot from the left edge of the penalty area which was touched onto the post by Tring keeper Eric Negraru. Three minutes later Ennin made a strong run into the box and put the ball into the six-yard area but it was cleared. In the 13th minute Rio Beach went on a mazy run before laying off to Blunden, whose shot went just wide.

The chances kept on coming for Leverstock, with Ennin having a shot from the edge of the box blocked on the line in the 15th minute, and Blunden having a free run at goal two minutes later but not quite getting a clean strike on his shot, allowing Negraru to save. In the 19th minute Dan Pett took the ball off a defender and set up Blunden for another shot which went just over the angle. On 27 minutes it was George Mitchell-Gears’ turn to have a shot, which Negraru turned round the post. Alvin Kyeremeh got on the end of the resulting corner but couldn’t keep his shot under the bar. There was another near-miss in the 34th minute as Ibrahim Nageeb shot over after a run from Kyeremeh.

Leverstock were well on top by now but hadn’t yet found the goal which their bright attacking play had deserved. In the 37th minute they had a chance when a foul on Nagheeb gave them a free kick 20 yards out in prime shooting position. Inevitably it was Blunden who stepped up to take it, and equally inevitably his superb strike curled over the wall and into the net for his 20th goal of the season. Negraru got a hand to it but only succeeded in helping it into the net as Leverstock finally took a long overdue lead.

Tring could have had an equaliser two minutes later from a corner, but a headed clearance on the goalline from Beach kept the ball out and sent Leverstock into the break with a 1-0 lead after an excellent half.

The second half was a different affair as Tring finally started pushing forward and creating some danger. On 54 minutes a long ball forward went over the head of Dan Weeks, leaving Godlove Oppong through on goal, but Austin Byfield pulled off a superb save from point-blank range and Oppong put the rebound over the bar. In the 65th minute Guiseppe Delgaudio got on the end of a cross with an acrobatic overhead kick that went just wide. By this stage Tring were on top as Leverstock were pushed back, but their shooting was off-target as efforts flew high and wide.

In the 70th minute Tring felt they might have had a penalty when Mitchell-Gears brought down Leo Farruch with a tackle that earned the Green player a yellow card, but the tackle was adjudged to have been outside the box. Farruch was the main threat over the closing minutes, shooting into the side netting on 85 minutes and putting a dangerous ball across the face of goal two minutes later, but Leverstock held out through six minutes of stoppage time to claim the trophy. Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica has been missing through injury for the last few games, but came off the bench in the 87th minute and played a vital role in holding the ball upfield.

Rio Beach earned the Man of the Match award for a fantastic display at the back, and skipper Dan Weeks lifted the St Mary’s Cup, which Leverstock had previously won in 2018. A trophy was well-deserved for all the effort that the management team of Fergus Moore, Scott McGleish and Darren Bonfield have put in this season.

It won’t be long before these two sides will meet again, as they have been drawn together in the first round of the Herts Charity Shield, to be played on July 22nd.

Leverstock Green (1) 1 (Blunden 37)
1. Austin Byfield, 2. Alvin Kyeremeh, 3. Rio Beach, 4. Dan Weeks, 20. Luke Durnin, 6. Ibrahim Nagheeb, 7. Richard Ennin, 8. Dan Pett, 9. Chris Blunden (17. Radu-Mihai Stefanoaica 87 mins), 10. George Mitchell-Gears (12. Ryan Carruthers 77 mins), 11. Ethan Mooney. Subs not used: 14. Elgeniy Daalberg, 15. Toby Head, 16. Kurainashe Musanhi.
Tring Athletic (0) 0
1. Eric Negraru, 2. Eli Hearn, 3. Adam Sawyer (4. Greg Deer 54 mins), 8. Jack Harvey (18. Luke Peerless 73 mins), 9. Guiseppe Delgaudio, 10. Harrison Mead, 12. Harrison Cornick, 13. George Carbery, 17. Leo Farruch, 19. Godlove Oppong, 20. Harry Shepherd. Subs not used: 5. Davide Pobbe, 14. Callum Shortt, 16. Liam Mann.