Premier Division
St Margaretsbury 0 Leverstock Green 3
Saturday, 12 November 2005
Leverstock Green's golden run continued with another impressive away win, the latest victims being St Margaretsbury. In all competitions Green have won their last seven games, are unbeaten in eleven and have not conceded in three. Even with this run of success, manager Mick Vipond is still looking to strengthen the squad, and gave a debut to another new signing, right-back Kevin Mason.
It could have been very different, though, as the home side exploded out of the blocks. Within the opening 20 seconds Adam Stock hit a shot which brought a great save out of Derek Lewis, and Lewis got straight up to save Matt Maskell's deflected effort from the rebound. In the 6th minute Lewis punched a free away to the edge of the area, where Kevin Gray crossed for Darren Williams, who headed wide from close range.
Green had scarcely been out of their own half until an incisive counter-attack in the 8th minute. Chris Bourne played the ball out of defence, and John Pedder dummied on the halfway line to leave Sam Byfield through. Byfield's pace took him clear, and he pulled the ball back across goal for Nick Jackson to sidefoot home the opening goal from six yards.
St Margaretsbury could have levelled on 13 minutes when Ben Herod got in behind the Green defence, but shot over the bar. At the other end on 16 minutes, Pedder's free kick was flicked on by Jackson to Mark Welling, who hit a fine shot, but keeper Paul Perrin did well to turn it away. However, two minutes later Steve Boad won the ball in midfield and passed out wide to Byfield, and again Byfield showed his pace to outstrip the defenders before drilling a shot into the bottom far corner of the net to put Green 2-0 ahead.
It was almost three on 28 minutes when Byfield raced to the bye-line and pulled the ball across the face of goal, where Boad made contact, but John Barker cleared off the line. The home side looked deflated by this point, and a long-range effort wide of the post on 32 minutes from Maskell was their only chance before the break.
Any hopes St Margaretsbury had of getting back into the game were further dented in the third minute of the second half. An underhit pass from Herod back towards his own goal ws intercepted by Jackson, and he sprinted clear past the last defender, and confidently slotted the ball past Perrin to put Green into a 3-0 lead.
The home side twice went close to pulling a goal back in the next few minutes, with Gray shooting just wide, and Daniel Staples heading over the bar, but there was to be no revival as Green held out comfortably and indeed looked capable of adding further goals. On 62 minutes Byfield cut in from the touchline on a mazy run before hitting a shot which brought a good save out of Perrin.
Six minutes from time all three subs were involved as Daniel Tompkins' pass put Dean Ryan clean through, but Ryan's attempt to find Rob McKane all alone at the far post was cut out by Perrin. In stoppage time Ryan broke through again and laid off for Tompkins, but Perrin saved again, as Green had to settle for the 3-0 win.
Team: Lewis, Mason, Bourne, Leslie, Matthews, Boad, Pedder, Welling, Sangster (Ryan), Jackson (Tompkins), Byfield (McKane).
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