Leverstock Green Football Club

[Rhodes]

Surprised that nobody from friendly Club Leverstock Green has joined the Forum as yet but I will e-mail the Club today incase they don't know about 'us'. This was on the Non-League Website indicating that Hertford, Edgware, Harefield and Aylesbury may well have a rival for the championship to worry about:

Mick Vipond, manager of Molten Footballs Spartan South Midlands League Club Leverstock Green, has made his biggest signing of the pre-season with the capture of much-travelled striker Allan Arthur from Beaconsfield SYCOB. Arthur has had a previous spell at Leverstock, and his other previous clubs include Dunstable Town, Stevenage Borough and Hemel Hempstead Town. Arthur marked his return to the Green with two first half goals in Saturday's 4-0 friendly win at Tring Corinthians. Another experienced forward joining the Green is Marc Liburd, previously with Hemel Hempstead Town, Aylesbury United, Boreham Wood and Peterborough United. At the back, 18-year-old Matt Plaskett has joined from Ruislip Manor and has impressed in friendlies alongside 17-year-old Louis West, a product of the Green's own youth side. Most of last season's squad has returned, although defender Matt Jarvis was snapped up by British Gas Business Southern League Division One South & West outfit Brook House after a recent friendly between the two sides. Leverstock enjoyed their best season since joining the SSML last time out, finishing sixth in the Premier Division and finishing runners-up in two cup competitions. Their competitive season begins this coming Saturday with a visit to County League side Hadley in the first round of the Herts Charity Shield. On a sad note, last week saw the passing of long-time club stalwart Jim "Macca" Matthews at the age of 90. "Macca" had performed every role at the club during a lifetime of service and received recognition from the FA and the Herts FA for 50 years of service to football.

[neutralbob]

Allen Arthur is a very good striker, rate him highly and will score goals in that league! However, L.Green were very average when we played them although it was only a pre-season friendly. We have also taken their best defender in Matt Jarvis

[ONE]

yeah i remember him...very good...use to score shed loads in this league...how old do you reclon he is now?

[neutralbob]

i reckon only about 30

[ONE]

bugger....if i remember rightly he wasnt one that relied on pace either !

[neutralbob]

no pace at all, very good in the air and good movement

[NeutralFan]

They've also resigned James Armstrong back from PB as well, another proven good goal scorer at SSML level.. could be the ones to watch!

 

PB Reserves beat Harefield on Sat. Harefield fielded a mix of trialists first half (3-2) and then first team second half, finished 4-2 to PB.

[ONE]

will be a tough place to go this seson with that forward line !

[Lato]

Allan Arthur is a good player but allegedly we declined the chance to bring him to Grosvenor Vale and the manager is happy with the strike force he has for this season.

[Rhodes]

I thought I would resurrect this thread as Leverstock Green had an excellent 1-0 win yesterday in the FA Cup at Ridgeons League outfit Stanway Rovers showing that they could well be the dark horses for the SSML Premier Division:

Leverstock Green progressed in the FA Cup with a magnificent battling display to defeat a strong Stanway Rovers side. Stanway are top of the Ridgeons League after opening with two wins, but they couldn’t find a way past the resolute Leverstock defence, and Josh Price’s stunning free kick was enough for Green to set up a home tie with Beaconsfield SYCOB in two weeks time.

There had been no clear-cut chances in an evenly matched game before Green won a free kick thirty yards from goal for a foul on Mark Welling in the 26th minute. Josh Price stepped up to take it, and hit a superb shot over the wall that dipped just under the bar, giving the keeper no chance and putting Green ahead. The lead was almost doubled a minute later from an excellent move, John Pedder played the ball out wide to Darren Caseman, who ran on and sent over a cross which found the head of James Armstrong, but he couldn’t quite enough on the header to divert the ball inside the post. Towards the end of the half Stanway were seeing a lot more of the ball, but their threat was mostly snuffed out by the Green defence. Five minutes before half time another teasing cross from Caseman set up a chance for Adam Collins, but his shot was blocked in front of goal. Six minutes into the second half Stanway won a free kick in a dangerous position but Ray Turner’s shot had its sting taken out by the wall, and James Dewick was able to gather it comfortably. For most of the half Green came under a lot of pressure, but Dewick and his defence were on top form throughout. Green had a chance to increase their lead on 68 minutes when Caseman headed the ball over the advancing Stanway defence to put Armstrong clean through, but Armstrong’s shot went just wide. Two minutes from time Green were reduced to ten men when Collins was sent off. He had received a yellow card for a silly tackle a few minutes earlier, and picked up the second yellow for time wasting at a free kick. By now Green were penned in their own half, and didn’t help their cause by giving away a succession of free kicks in dangerous positions around the box, however Dewick produced several acrobatic tip-overs to keep the ball out.

The odds seemed to be stacked against Leverstock as the referee added on ten minutes of stoppage time, with man-of-the-match Price having to leave the game injured towards the end of it, but somehow they hung on for a notable victory and a much needed cash prize.

[Rhodes]

Quite surprised by this result yesterday, I fancied Green to turn over Beaconsfield:

'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'.