Tring Athletic 0-1 Leighton Town

WE FALL TO LATE KILLER GOAL

The feeling the morning after the game can best be summed up by the expression “Sick as a Parrot” a view no doubt shared by most Athletic supporters. For the second game running we lost to a late goal which is probably the worst way to lose a game especially as it was underserved. It was a close and at times a scrappy game but it’s fair to say we created the better chances, but you have to put them away if you want to win games.

It's been a tough 6 weeks with 4 cup ties (if you include the abandoned game against Walsall Wood) sandwiched between two league games against the top two teams, namely Stotfold and of course Leighton Town. In terms of the latter two games we did compete on level terms but have no points to show for it, losing both games by just one goal. As a result we have dropped 3 places in the table to 13th so we need to start picking up some points again.

This was the 15th encounter between us and Leighton Town who are just 11 miles away so they count as close neighbours. In their starting 11 were three former Athletic players – Harry Seabrook, Jason Beck and Ronan Hutchins who incidentally scored one of goals in our 2-0 win at Bell Close last season.

Our guests are having a great season and lie second in the table 5 points behind Stotfold (who on Saturday dropped points against St Panteleimon in a 1-1 draw at home) but with 4 games in hand Leighton are probably favourites for the title.

We knew we would be in for a tough afternoon but we started well with Godlove Oppong causing problems from the outset. Godie has been on fire lately scoring 7 goals in our last 8 games and within a minute he found space down the inside right channel but his shot cum cross drifted invitingly wide of the far post.
In the 12th minute Eli Hearn and Harrison Mead linked up superbly to release Godie through on goal but although his shot beat the keeper it drifted just wide of the far post. Six minutes later Frankie Hercules produced some lovely skill to leave a defender for dead and then fire in a fierce shot that forced the keeper into a good save. During the game there were some calls for penalties at both ends and what looked like a clear handball which prevented Godie from a run at goal but the officials disagreed and it could be said that the decisions affected both sides equally.

As the half wore on our opponents became more dangerous with Reece Robins getting to our bye line and then sending over a dangerous cross which we cleared at the near post. With the first half nearly up there was a melee in our area which nearly let Robins in for a goal. From the resulting corner Ben Spaul sent a powerful header just wide. The half ended scoreless. HT Score 0-0.

Godie was quickly involved 2 minutes after the break when he latched onto a superb pass from Harry Shepherd then forced keeper Xavi Comas into making a terrific save. Three minutes later the visitors defence failed to clear a free kick properly and the ball fell to Harrison Cornick who with his back to goal showed great technical skill to hook a shot over his shoulder which crashed against the cross bar.

Our opponents came back strongly but we defended well and Oscar Frost was not tested until just before the hour mark when Ben Spaul’s long shot bounced up awkwardly and smacked him in the face and bounced away to safety.

The game was competitive with few scoring chances until 75th minute when we had another great chance when former Leighton Town player Jack Harvey whipped over a super cross which picked out an unmarked George Carbery at the far post. Carbs is normally clinical in these situations but he was unable to find the target this time.

Both sides made changes and the game seemed to be inexorably heading towards a 0-0 draw when 5 minutes from normal time we made a defensive error and Archie McClelland seized on the opportunity to score the winner and pick up 3 valuable points for his team. FT Score 0-1.

It was a late slap in the face for us and it’s frustrating that we have little to show for some fine performances against some very strong teams but we have to brush ourselves down and go again on Saturday when Cockfosters visit the Grass Roots Stadium.

Finally, the match was sponsored by two Athletic legends namely Ian Ranger and Steve Johnson who picked Harrison Cornick as our Man of the Match, which was a good choice because Harrison was again outstanding.

Teams:

TA: Oscar Frost, Eli Hearn, Adam Sawyer, Lenny Armstrong, Harrison Cornick, Jack Harvey, Frankie Hercules (Guiseppe Delgaudio 63), Harrison Mead (Davide Pobbe 81), George Carbery (Capt), Godlove Oppong, Harry Shepherd. Subs not used: Jake Morris, George Wainwright.

LT: Xavi Comas, James Towell, Harry Seabrook, Gary Connolly (Capt), Jason Beck, Luke Pyman, Reece Robins, Ben Spaul, Archie McClelland, Ronan Hutchins, Kwai Marsh-Brown. Subs used: Emanuel Forlarin, Josh Hatton, Ethan Flanagan. Subs not used: Kevin Marsh, Max Farrelly.

Scorer:

LT: Archie McClelland (85)

Crowd: 270