Vauxhall Road

Hemel Hempstead Town F.C.
Vauxhall Rd,
Hemel Hempstead
HP2 4HW

Tring Athletic

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.

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(A) Hemel Hempstead Town

The under-18s returned to action post lockdown, and also recorded their first win since September with an impressive 4-1 win against neighbours Hemel Hempstead Town on the artificial pitch at Vauxhall Road.

Having taken an early lead through Lewis Nicholls, the Green side were pegged back just before half time, but went on to score three unanswered goals in the second half, from Frankie Bircham, Isiah Noel-Williams and Ben Payne.

Starting XI:
Joe Pinnock
Alfie Bigg
Frankie Bircham
David Emiloju
Ben Humphrey
Blaaze Lawrence
Lewis Nicholls
Isiah Noel-Williams
Aidan O-Connor
Conor Wood
Nana Yeboah
Substitutes:
Deryn Fowler
Callum Gerrard
Ben Payne
Leo Broom

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(A) Hemel Hempstead Town (BEHIND CLOSED DOORS)

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(A) Hemel Hempstead Town

The under-18s extended their winning run in the SCFYL Corinthian Division to four games, all of them away, as they pulled off an impressive 5-0 win at neighbours Hemel Hempstead Town on Wednesday night. Nabil Seodi led the way with a hat-trick, while Dillon Hemington scored the other two.

https://twitter.com/dadsonthepitch/status/1225208184404611072

Starting XI:
Fahd Hussain
Matthew Ellis
Alfie Abrey
Charlie Payne
James Hutchins
Reece Morley
Lucas Preston
Jacob Wylde
Nabil Seodi
James Hall
Dillon Hemington
Substitutes:
Jordan Mulholland
Ben Martin
Kyren Willis

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(A) Hemel Hempstead Town

The under-18s maintained their perfect start to the season with a fantastic 5-1 win at neighbours Hemel Hempstead Town on Wednesday night. The result was even more remarkable given that several of the players had played the previous night for either the first team or the reserves. The goalscorers were Paplamin Jawara, Lewis Collins, Alec Wallace, Kyal Williams and Liam Lindgren.

Starting XI:
Tom Palmer
George Piekarczyk
Santino Diniro
Charlie Milton
Jake Deveraux
Josh Wilson
Archie Taylor
Paplamin Jawara
Deandre Blake
Lewis Collins
Adam Froom
Substitutes (all used):
Alec Wallace
Reece Morley
Kyal Williams
Liam Lindgren
Charlie Payne

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v Berkhamsted

Leverstock Green finished a season in which they achieved their first top 10 finish for seven years by also adding their first trophy for seven years. After losing four finals in the last 12 years it seemed like the Green were destined never to win the St Mary’s Cup, but they finally captured the prestigious West Herts FA trophy for the first time with a 3-1 win over Berkhamsted in Monday night’s final at Vauxhall Road. It was a great team performance by the Leverstock side and a well-deserved win.

Berkhamsted made the stronger start of the two sides, and should have gone in front in the 8th minute when Adam Mead received the ball in front of goal but somehow didn’t put it away. Leverstock made their first serious attack in the 13th minute and it resulted in a goal. Chris Gosling brought the ball out of defence and played a great through ball to Jonathan Lacey. The Green’s top scorer did the rest, breezing past Josh Chamberlain before running on to drill a low shot past Carl Tasker into the net.

It got even better for Leverstock in the 20th minute. Shane Wood hurled a long throw into the box which was headed away, but only as far as Ross Adams on the edge of the box, and Adams hit a shot which took a big deflection off Berko defender Ollie Cox and crept just inside the post to put the Green 2-0 up.

Berko had chances to pull a goal back before half time. On 36 minutes Jack Stevens met a cross at the near post with a glancing header that went across goal and wide. Five minutes later Max Farrelly’s header from a corner hit the angle of post and bar. In stoppage time Matt Evans pulled off two great saves, keeping out a shot from Ashley Morrissey and saving Alex Campana’s effort from close range.

Berko again made the stronger start of the two sides in the second half, with Evans having to make another great save from a free kick on 50 minutes, and a rebound effort from Campana being cleared off the line. However, again it was Leverstock who found the net three minutes later. Luke Nugent robbed a defender near the left touchline and delivered an excellent cross into the box for Casey Linsell, who chested the ball down with his first touch and drilled a shot past Tasker with his second to put the Green into a 3-0 lead.

Linsell might have had another goal a minute later when he was through on Tasker but this time the Berko keeper saved. On 58 minutes Liam McCrohan pumped a free kick from his own half to find Lacey, who took the ball past Mead but this time shot over the bar.

Berko were again denied a goal on 65 minutes as Evans pulled off another great save from an Ashton Campbell shot, and a follow-up effort from Adiel Mannion was cleared off the line by Nugent. Leverstock went close to a fourth four minutes later when Reece Cameron took the ball off a defender and hit a screamer of a shot which brought an equally good save from Tasker to tip it over the bar.

With 13 minutes remaining Berko finally got onto the scoresheet when Campbell got in behind the Leverstock defence to slot a shot past Evans. However, the Green side remained strong over the closing minutes to ensure that there was to be no comeback from the Berko side, and the final whistle signalled an impressive 3-1 win.

Matt Evans was awarded Man of the Match during the trophy presentations, which was well-deserved for a series of great saves, but the whole team and management can be proud of this performance and indeed the whole season.

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(A) Hemel Hempstead Town Red

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