SMID2006 - Match Report 149

Leverstock Green’s FA Cup dreams are over for another season, and manager Mick Vipond admitted their first defeat of the season was down to poor defending. Green were in no way outclassed by their opponents from the Southern League, but gave themselves too much of a mountain to climb through conceding poor goals.

The first of those came on 5 minutes. Beaconsfield won a corner, and although the cross went over the head of keeper James Hannington, Green still had a couple of chances to have cleared the loose ball before Daniel Willment forced it home to put his side into an early lead.

Green were slow to get started and didn’t create their first chance until the 15th minute. Mark Welling’s through ball gave Allan Arthur a run on goal, and he got in a shot which was deflected just wide by a defender’s boot. However, Arthur was destined to score against his previous club. On 32 minutes Matt Plaskett put over a great cross which was just missed by Adam Hallissey, but Sean Sangster put the ball back into the six yard box for Arthur to side-foot home the equaliser.

The sides were not level for long, though. On 39 minutes a challenge from Plaskett just inside the penalty area took away an attacker’s standing leg, and the referee immediately awarded Beaconsfield the spot-kick. James Pritchard sent Hannington the wrong way from the penalty spot to put his side back in front at 2-1. Leverstock’s chances took a further blow in first-half stoppage time. A cross from the right went over the head of defender Chris Burr, and Ross Lafayette slid in to stab home a goal that sent Beaconsfield into the break 3-1 ahead.

Green needed an early goal in the second half to get back into the game, and it duly arrived in the 48th minute. A cross to the far post was headed back across goal by Sangster to Arthur, who had his back to goal but pulled off a superb overhead kick to beat the keeper and pull the score back to 3-2.

The scores could have been levelled on 63 minutes. Welling played a pass to put Hallissey clean through, but the youngster rushed his shot a bit and hit it wide. Beaconsfield’s only real chance of the second half came two minutes later when Pritchard beat the offside trap to go clean through, but the combination of a challenge from Paul Leslie and a headed clearance from Hannington kept Green in the game.

Sangster hooked a shot just over the bar on 72 minutes from Welling’s long throw, and five minutes from time got on the end of a cross from Leslie, but his header was saved. Green continued to battle into stoppage time, where Josh Price hit a long-range free kick that was well saved, and Dale Sears struck a shot over the bar, but they could not find the equaliser.