Report
This was the first of two meetings with Leverstock Green, where we contest in both the league today and erelong in the Hertfordshire Senior Cup. Our neighbours are in their second year in the Southern League and have adapted well.
Team news was simply that Kye Tearle started whilst Taylor Rhiney dropped to the bench and Lewis Franklin was in the number ten shirt as he was at Ware – with his roaming role bringing two goals in that salutary win. On the bench was a new signing, Ade Gbolahan, brought in from Beaconsfield, whom we face next week. Liam Brooks was injured.
The Green were in grey and off we went with a ball over the top for Lewis Franklin to send in a weak shot. Much better was Stephen Gleeson’s powerful shot that almost caught Harry Way unawares. Back-to-back corners followed as the Canaries tried to grasp the lead. They very nearly did with only the post preventing the opening goal. This was pleasing early pressure.
The Green had a free kick, and Jack Allen could only manage a weak header., and soon his team were on the defensive again, and like Northwood, would need to be broken down. Kane and Nicolson executed a smart move that was defended, but this defence looked a trifle fragile, and they gave away corners as a safety-first procedure.
The next corner saw Gleeson out in a fair cross, which was headed away and at the other end, Dan Casey’s shot was only a token effort. Franklin seized possession and his cross found Nicolson whose effort was good, but it found the roof of the net. Leverstock obtained their first corner which produced a soft goal at the far post, scored by Joe McCarthy, who, along with his celebrating teammates cared nothing that it was against the balance of play. Hitchin ought to have defended more astutely. The goal was timed at seventeen minutes.
The general expectation that Hitchin would respond positively was only partially met as the rhythm of their play seemed disturbed. The Green were pressing and anticipating Hitchin’s forward moves. They were defending well, with Franklin having his shot effectively blocked. There seemed no way through the middle.
Not so for the Green, who, having robbed Gleeson of possession, had a snap attack from which they ought to have doubled their lead, and the miss was unforgivable. Kane displayed an attacking spark from the flank and then Franklin, challenging for the ball, was bundled to the ground and a penalty was awarded. This was given to Gleeson, who failed to score his first goal for the club, and Harry Way made a decent save. I was not alone in thinking that someone else ought to have been burdened with the spot kick. Had the penalty been successful it would have been a fair reward for Hitchin who, as against Northwood, had dominated the game without concomitant achievement.
As it was, Bonfield needed to make a save as Hitchin huffed and puffed, looking for an inspirational moment. Kane won a free kick on the edge of the area and McCarthy appeared to be cautioned. The free kick was beaten away but the next move saw Kane trying to weave his way through, without success. Then there came the equaliser, at forty minutes and, inevitably, it was Lewis Franklin, whose roaming role has paid dividends again. Let us be Frank here, this goal was overdue and the hosts ought to be ahead, but as we know, you cannot get an ought from an is.
Three minutes were tacked on, and within these The Green had a free kick, held by Bonfield and a following attack from Hitchin who ran out of pitch. Then Jack Allen winced whilst his brow was mopped, and he made the obligatory limp from the field of play.
So, all square at the interval, and I suspect the Green were the happier of the two teams at the turn of events. When we resumed, Briggs and Jackman fashioned a move that went astray, and the onus was in Hitchin to seize the initiative band make it pay. It was a little laborious, with the insistence of playing out from the back. A nice surprise dink over the top might hold better prospects. There was a snapshot from Leverstock, held by Bonfield. The next home attack tried to go through the middle and was blocked.
The next foray suffered the same fate, and the following move saw a wasteful pass from Nicolson that was gathered easily by Harry Way. Gleeson and Jackman combined but the. Ross was defended. The Green made a second substitution and at this stage they were relatively comfortable as they looked in course for an unexpected point. Coldicott-Stevens began a move but it finished with Harry Way grasping the ball to his chest. He also saved the next effort from Callum Kane, who then fed a pass from Blue Joy. After this, Hitchin gave a debut to Ade Gbolahan who replaced Kye Tearle.
He was soon involved but robbed of possession and the next foray was elaborate but unfulfilled. The Green were stubborn but getting in the important kick and Way did well to save Franklin’s low and accurate shot. The Green defended a corner with aplomb, and they made a third substitution. Hitchin almost scored in the next attack but almost is painfully not good enough. Briggs tried one but sent it over the bar and time was ticking away.
Kane made another incursion but was thwarted and The Green made another substitution to help soak up the pressure. Gbolahan tried a kind of bouncing header and Way was there to gather. Then, in an unnecessary loss if possession we needed Briggs to clear from the line with Bonfield drawn and committed elsewhere. Sektere will wonder how he did not score. He won a free kick, and Briggs was dismissed for the challenge and left the pitch somewhat incandescent, but in truth it was a severe challenge. So, Hitchin faced the prospect of playing the rest of the game with ten men. Blue Joy was replaced by Toby Syme as Leverstock Green won a corner, and Hitchin a free kick. George Morrall replaced the hard-working Callum Nicolson.
The next Hitchin attack looked promising, but feet fumbled for the ball and The Green cleared with an anywhere will do honesty. Franklin, playing more on the right now was outnumbered in his next effort. The ultras behind the goal kept up both voice and drum with laudable optimism but the next shot begged for greater accuracy. Gbolahan had faded and in one good chance he did not connect with a pacy cross.
With ten men, Hitchin had done well and had the better chances overall but there were moments when their too casual play might have given the game away. Then, in a flurry of attacking activity Jackman was delighted to seize the winner from a corner, with literally the last kick of the game. Celebrations were fulsome, as it meant three points instead of one.
To the majority it was a justified win, even as a last gasp, given the dominance that Hitchin had struggled to enjoy. The goal was timed at 90+6 and Leverstock officials made mention that only five minutes were signalled by the referee, who added the extra time for what stoppages there were. Even so, with ten men, Hitchin were still the better team but must learn how to cope at home where most teams have come to defend with the hope of purloining a point.
Hitchin remain second and top team Leighton won at Stotfold, so the five point gap and the game in hand remains. Next week the team travels to Beaconsfield.
Hitchin Town
Alfie Bonfield
Josh Jackman – GOAL, 90+6 mins
Callum Kane
Blue Joy
Charlie Briggs – SENT OFF, 78 mins
Ciaren Jones (C)
Josh Coldicott-Stevens
Stephen Gleeson
Kye Tearle
Lewis Franklin – GOAL, 40 mins – Sponsors and Reporter’s MOTM
Callum Nicolson
Substitutes:
George Morrell (for Nicolson)
Toby Syme (for Joy)
Ade Gbolahan (for Tearle)
Taylor Rhiney & Will McNeill were unused
Leverstock Green
Harry Way
Callum Neal
Rio Beach
Josh Dooley
Thomas Georgiou
Nat Connolly
Joe McCarthy
Dan Pett (C)
Jeffrey Sekyere
Ethan Mooney
Jack Allen
Substitutes:
Ryan Carruthers (for Mooney)
Iker Noguera Leon (for Allen)
Juan Pablo Velasco (for McCarthy)
Marcus Warren (for Connolly)
Dan Casey was unused
Referee: Mr S Lathan, assisted by Mr D Leon and Mr T Roberts.
Attendance: 606
Report by Pipeman
Photos by Peter Else