Members
of the Molten Spartan South Midlands League
Members
of the Southern Counties Floodlit Youth League
|
| Match Report |
| Wednesday 13th
August 2008 |
Molten Spartan South
Midlands League Premier Division |
| Oxhey Jets |
(2) |
3 |
O'Mara 10, Arthur 45+1, 48 |
| Leverstock Green |
(1) |
3 |
Parkinson 39, 73, Sears 87 |
| at the Boundary
Stadium |
Leverstock Green
continued their goal-happy start to the
new season, as three more strikes took
their tally to ten in three competitive
games. However, there is still work to be
done at the other end, as more sloppy
defending saw them fall 3-1 behind before
a late rally earned a draw which frankly
should have been a win given Green’s
dominance by the end of the game.
With the exception of the unavailable
Daniel Griggs, Mick Vipond stuck with
Saturday’s winning team, meaning
there was no place in the starting line-up
for regular full-backs Kenny Hull and
Steve Flain, both back from holiday.
However, from the early stages it looked
like Saturday’s clean sheet would
not be repeated, and it took only 10
minutes for Jets to open the scoring. A
corner found Tim O’Mara unmarked in
front of goal and he headed home for a 1-0
lead.
Green came close to levelling four
minutes later when Frankie Jowle’s
pass put David Parkinson in, and
Parkinson slipped the ball past keeper
Kevin Paul, only for Mitchell Murphy to
get back and clear the ball. Graeme
Milner had to be alert on 20 minutes to
turn away a volley from O’Mara,
before Leverstock got back on level terms
on 39 minutes. Paul tried to punch away a
Jowle corner, but it was blocked by one
of his own defenders. The ball ran to
Parkinson on the left edge of the penalty
area, and he lashed home a shot into the
far corner of the net for a superb
equaliser.
However, the good work was undone by two
moments of poor defending either side of
the break. In first half stoppage time a
weak back header was pounced on by Jamie
Arthur, who ran on to slot past Milner
for a 2-1 lead. Three minutes into the
second half Green failed to clear their
lines and the ball ran to the unmarked
Arthur who finished well again to put
Jets 3-1 up.
Hull and Flain both finally entered the
game in a double substitution on the hour
mark, and the change of shape transformed
the game as Green began their fightback.
On 64 minutes Jowle crossed into the
danger area where Matt Wardle headed wide
from a good position. Five minutes later
Wardle got on the end of a cross from
Hull, but headed over. On 73 minutes Hull
played a great ball from deep inside his
own half which put Parkinson in behind
the defence, and he went on a short run
before knocking the ball past Paul to
pull the score back to 3-2.
Adam Hallissey came on to bolster the
front line, and as Green poured forward
over the last 15 minutes, it seemed only
a matter of time before the equaliser
would come. Finally, three minutes from
time Hull played a clever ball to James
Armstrong just inside the box. Armstrong
turned quickly to shake off a defender,
then hit a low ball across the face of
goal, where Dale Sears slid in to stab
home and deservedly level the score at 3-3.
There were chances for Green to win the
game in the remaining time. In the last
minute Parkinson lashed another ball
across the face of goal which just missed
the far post. In stoppage time
Jowle’s ball into the box gave
Armstrong a great chance, but he
ballooned the ball over the bar. In the
end they had to settle for the point
which maintains their unbeaten league
start. |
| Team: Milner,
Paradise (Hull), Davies (Flain), Wardle,
Parsons, Hawes (Hallissey), Sears,
Welling, Armstrong, Parkinson, Jowle. |
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