A late winner got Leverstock Green off to a flying start with three points from their opening SSML Premier Division game of the 2013/14 season. It was a good game to watch, with both sides trying their best to play football on the ground.

Given where the side was a week ago, going down 7-0 in the final friendly at Desborough, to get from there to winning their league opener seven days later is remarkable. Since taking the role as team manager after that game, Danny Manzi, with the assistance of Daren Bloor, has galvanised the squad and given them renewed belief and purpose. They were very unlucky to go out of the Herts Charity Shield at Harpenden on Tuesday, and took the positives from that game into today's game.

Even so, they had to recover from an early setback as newly-promoted London Lions took the lead in the third minute. A corner found Adam Bolle on the edge of the box, and he tried to curl a shot into the net, but Ben Ellis met it inside the six yard box and diverted the ball past David Bailey.

Leverstock began to play their way into the game, and in the 8th minute Connor Deadman had their first effort at goal when he tried a shot from distance which was comfortably gathered by Lions keeper Mario Cenolli.

Jon Davies was just wide from a free kick outside the box on 20 minutes, but the equaliser eventually came ten minutes later. It started with Davies showing patience on the ball in midfield before releasing Mark Shadbolt on the overlap down the left. Shadbolt's cross found its way to Stewart King, who couldn't get a shot away initially, but after running across the box and exchanging passes with Shadbolt a space opened up for King to rifle home a low shot for 1-1.

The visitors might have gone back in front on the stroke of half time as Ben Joseph was through on goal and tried to lob Bailey, but it landed just over the bar. The second half started with the scores still level, and again Lions had an early chance as Joseph found Bolle, who had a run at goal but saw his low shot saved by Bailey.

The game could have gone either way after that. Midway through the half Lions had two near misses, firstly with a cross fromJordan Marks which went across the face of goal on 69 minutes, and then two minutes later as Marks set up Sam Reeves with a shooting chance inside the box, but he fired his shot over the bar.

Eventually though, it was Leverstock who made the breakthrough, two minutes from time. The visitors paid heavily for giving the ball away in their own half as Chad Pinching, who had only been on the field six minutes, threaded a great pass to put Stewart King through on goal, and the former Tring Athletic player showed the composure to slot the ball past Cenolli for his second of the game, clinching a very welcome three points for his side.

The Green have no game in midweek, with the originally scheduled home game against Hoddesdon having to be rescheduled for later in the season due to the planning regulations on the Pancake Lane floodlights precluding their use in August. Their next game is next Saturday's FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round tie away to Hillingdon Borough.