Report by Peter Berman

The County Ground was the setting for what was by far the biggest day of Leverstock Green Ladies' season so far. It was perfect weather for football, and the Green Army rose to the occasion brilliantly to see off Royston Town of the ERWFL Division One South.

Levy controlled the game from start to finish, and even when they were behind, it looked like it was only a matter of time before they would score. Their hunger for victory was clear for all to see right from the first whistle, and they burst out of the blocks with such intensity that the opposing defence didn't know what had hit them, as wave after wave of Levy attacks came their way.

The Green Army could have been 3-0 ahead by the ten minute mark, with a bit of luck, and their performance would have been good value for such a scoreline, even at that early point in the game. Firstly, in the second minute, Natalie Burrows nearly latched onto the end of a threatening cross from Gemma Coggins, before Sally Green went close with a header shortly afterwards. Burrows set up her team's third big chance, playing the ball nicely to Giselle Subryan, whose shot was saved, spilled, and saved again by Grace Leslie, but the ball had been very close to rolling over the line. Levy had full control of the right wing at this point, and pressed home their advantage relentlessly, with Coggins leading the attack.

Leverstock Green were rampant. Royston Town looked shell-shocked. Next it was Burrows' turn to have another shot, but Leslie was there to block it - a little more decisively this time. But then came one of those moments in football that can threaten to turn the tide in a game. Having been under the cosh for almost the entire opening twenty minutes, Royston Town scored through Joanne Rutherford.

Everything rested on how Levy would react to this setback. The answer was that things were little different to how they had been prior to the goal, but this time with Royston playing with a little more confidence, making Levy have to work a bit harder to break them down. Much more worrying was the nasty injury sustained by Coggins the saw her stretchered off, just before half time. We all hope she makes a speedy recovery.

Levy switched tactics in the second period, and if they had been strong before half time, then they were brilliant after. Sally Green was deservedly given the Man of the Match award, as she was the team's linchpin. She was critical in Levy winning the midfield battle. Meanwhile Subryan continued to combine with Nicola Hollick to cause problems up front for the opposing defence, and Levy Captain Joanne Williams marshalled her own defenders well to prevent any breakaway attacks, as it was vital that Royston didn't get a second.

After an early shot by Lucy Tape, Sally Green nearly provided the break through with 52 minutes on the clock. She easily beat two defenders as if they weren't even there, but her shot was just a little too high. Not to be deterred however, she was back just three minutes later as she got on the end of Hollick's corner to head her team level.

After the equaliser, many thought Royston had retaken the lead when substitute Daniella Lewis looped a shot towards goal, but in fact it had just rippled the top netting. That was very much against the run of play though, and from there on, Levy never looked back, buoyed throughout the game by the crowd's chants of 'Green Army!".

It seemed inevitable that Leverstock Green would soon take the lead, and Burrows came close to doing that in the 69th minute, before Subryan decisively burst through a gap in the defence and calmly slotted her shot past the keeper as the match entered its latter stages.

Not satisfied with a single goal cushion, Levy continued to attack again and again, limiting Royston to only advancing on the break, just as they had been forced to do for most of the game. The win looked to be sealed when Sally Green scored another header to claim her second goal and Levy's third, and even when Rutherford struck to take the score to 3-2 with just two minutes left, extra time looked highly unlikely.

At the end of the ninety minutes, just three minutes of injury time stood between the Green Army and a decisive victory. All they had to do was keep the ball. The crowd looked on with bated breath as the ref checked his watch. Finally the whistle blew, and Leverstock Green Ladies were confirmed as Champions! Jubilant scenes followed, as the team held the trophy aloft, and celebrated a deserved victory.

Well done to the whole team! Fantastic performance!