Local derby ends goalless

Aylesbury United 0-0 Leighton Town FC

With the rain falling heavily, making the pitch slippery underfoot it was always going to be a difficult game. Craig Bicknell had to make one change to his starting line up with Tyrone Taylor unavailable it was up to Warren Garcia (ex-Aylesbury united player) to fill his shoes.

Aylesbury kicked off the first half and were awarded a free kick, which ex-Leighton player Jake Bewley only managed to fire into Leightons defensive wall. 

Leighton had their first chance of a goal in the 4th minute when Paul Lyon won the ball in the air and headed it down towards Danny Watson but his attempt went flying over the bar. 

When the ball fell for Stacey Field in the 14th minute he worked hard to find Ben Baines but his attempt was weak and Dan Child gathered it easily. 

Bewley miss-headed the ball in the 16th minute and Aaron Morgan was able to take advantage of his mistake, putting a fabulous cross into the box but it was met by Jack Wood and cleared. 

Chris Crook accidentally caught Joey Acheahpong in the 23rd minute and turned back to apologies but Acheahopong retaliated and started having it out with Crook. 

Some great defending by Crook and Dave Murphy and a smart save by Child saw Aylesbury fail to breach Leightons’ defence. 31 minutes had past when Acheahpong and Murphy both jumped to win the ball, however Acheahpong had no intention to go for the ball and instead winded Murphy and play was stopped while he recovered. 

The 39th minute saw Child go down injured and receive treatment before continuing. With only 2 minutes till half time Phil Draycott had a shot from a ball played through by Mark Bunker but was denied a goal. 

Leighton kicked off the second half and Watson had a chance at scoring, but his shot bobbled along in front of the goal and just needed that final touch to end up in the back of the net. Murphy made a crucial clearance from an Aylesbury free kick stopping them in their tracks in the 57th minute. 

Leightons’ first substitution came in the 59th minute when Warren Garcia made way for Michael Lyon. Not long after this change Field who took his chance, spotted Child out of his goal and it should have been an easy goal but he struck it wide.

Leightons' best chance of a goal came in the 66th when a ball from Draycott found Watson and he hit the underside of the cross bar.

A free kick for Aylesbury saw Liam Smyth find the feet of Steve Hatch, who had a glaring chance at goal and was only inches away form putting Aylesbury in the lead. Another chance fell for Aylesbury to score when Greg Williams played the ball through to Field but Jamie Nicholls was there and the shot was well blocked.

Leightons' second substitution saw Nicholls replaced with Robbie Goodman. A shot for Draycott came in the 77th minute when Michael Lyon won the ball in a superb tackle, but once again Jack Sillitoe had it covered. 

A great win in the air by Morgan saw him play the ball to Michael Lyon, who charged towards Sillitoe with a goal in his sights, but both of them ended up on the ground with the ball in Sillitoes' hands. 

A last ditch attempt for Leighton came in the 87th minute when Alvin Rajaram set the ball free for Draycott to head but Sillitoe wasn't troubled by the shot. 

Just before the final whistle Aylesbury earned themselves a corner. As the ball was struck the referee blew for full time and the ball hit the post, a lucky escape for Leighton and the game ended 0-0.

Leightons' next game is away to Bedfont and Feltham in the FA Cup Preliminary Round on Saturday 30th August, kick off 3pm. 


Leighton Town FC 



Team- Child, Bunker, Rajaram, Crook, Murphy, P.Lyon, Nicholls, Garcia, Morgan, Watson, Draycott


Subs- Green, Goodman, Durcan, Lyons, M.Lyon

Aylesbury United

Team- Sillitoe, Hatch, Bewley, Wood, Morgan, Smyth, Baines, Williams, Acheahpong, Field, Waites



Subs- Wood, Blackett, Osbourne, Grace, Higby 



Attendance- 226



By Hannah Sellman

Leighton lose 8 goal thriller

Leighton Town FC 3-5 St Ives Town

With a spectacular win during the week against high flying Kettering, Leighton hoped to continue their success against St Ives.

St Ives kicked off the first half and Leighton looked like a completely different team compared to Tuesday night, although the only change was Aaron Morgan in place of an injured Christian Lester. 

Morgan made his presence known on the pitch even before a minute had past taking a shot at goal, but the attempt was weak and wide but worth a try. 

A chance for Danny Watson rose when Phil Draycott navigated his way past two defenders but Watson could only find the sky. 

The 8th minute saw Stuart Eason take advantage of Leightons disorganised back four and find the back of the net, putting St Ives 1-0 up. The referee failed to stop play in the 12th minute when Morgan went down with a head injury, thankfully he was able to continue after treatment.

A good cross by Mark Bunker was just too far for Draycott to reach in the box as he was greeted by Barney McLaughlins' arms. Leighton didn't give up and a powerful shot from Tyrone Taylor in the 19th minute curved too much before it could really challenge St Ives. 

Bunker and Morgan worked together well to find front man Watson who put a cross in, which Jamie Nicholls managed to head home, making it 1-1. A two footed tackle on Bunker by Ben Seymour-Shove saw Leighton win a free kick, but no yellow card for Seymour-Shove. 

Draycott with the free kick found Taylors' head, who challenged the keeper, but McLaughlin stood strong. Another chance for Leighton came after some good play in midfield saw the ball fall to Alvin Rajaram, but he couldn't find the net. 

29 minutes had past and it all kicked off, Bunker was shown a red card for taking down a player in the box and a penalty was awarded to St Ives. Jonathan Stead stepped up and put the ball away to send St Ives 2-1 into the lead. 

With the referee having lost his head, making rash decisions and not being consistent it wasn't a surprise when he didn't notice a pass back to McLaughlin in the 35th minute. 

A shot from Stead was well stopped by Dan Child in the 41st minute to deny St Ives another goal. A bad tackle on Dave Murphy gave Leighton a chance at goal and saw Draycott step up to take the free kick, once again finding Taylor who couldn't get close enough to the outstretched McLaughlin. 

The second half saw Leighton kick it up a notch scoring from the word go. Paul Lyon got in on the action with Taylor and Morgan both racing past St Ives defence to find Draycott who levelled the score making it 2-2. 

Leightons first substitution came in the 50th minute bringing off goal scorer Nicholls for Robbie Goodman. A yellow card was shown to Will Fordham for obstructing Draycott as he went running towards goal. 

Draycott was on hand to take the free kick he won and he found the back of the net but celebrations were short lived when the linesman flagged that Taylor had been offside and the goal was disallowed. 

Chris Crook received a yellow card in the 63rd minute, yet another strange decision made by the referee. 

Goodman played a perfect ball through to Morgan in the 68th minute but was quickly taken down in the box by McLaughlin to stop him from scoring. McLaughlin was shown a red card and Watson took his place on the spot, he didn't disappoint and put Leighton 3-2 up. 

A succession of substitution then took place, two being made for St Ives and Leighton bringing on Warren Garcia for Morgan. 

The 79th minute saw St Ives equalise when Rajaram missed the ball and made way for Seymour-Shove, who slotted the ball firmly into the left hand corner before Child could reach it. 

A yellow card was shown to Lyon after he took down Seymour-Shove. Seymour-Shove was quick to recover as straight from the free kick he found the back of the net, sending St Ives once again into the lead.  

Leighton tried their best to pull a goal back with a shot from Watson in the 86th minute, but was saved with ease. It didn't get any easier for Leighton when miscommunication between Child and the rest of the team saw Stead run free, one on one with the Child to score St Ives 5th and final goal.

Leightons next game is away to Aylesbury United (at Bell Close) on Monday 25th August at 3pm.

St Ives Town

Team- McLaughlin, Medwynter, Alsop, Lambert, Fordham, Dean, Sinclair, Stead, Gibbs, Eason, Seymour-Shove

Subs- Smith, Hall, Bream, Muzuimbiri 

Leighton Town FC

Team- Child, Bunker, Rajaram, Crook, Murphy, P.Lyon, Nicholls, Morgan, Taylor, Watson, Draycott

Subs- Garcia, Goodman, Durcan, Lyons, Prendergast

Attendance- 87 

By Hannah Sellman 

Leighton stop Kettering in their tracks

Leighton Town FC 3-1 Kettering Town FC

With both Leighton and Kettering still unbeaten after 3 games it was always going to be an interesting match, before the game had even kicked off Kettering had a problem as they’d brought the incorrect kit and had to wear Leightons blue away strip for the first half of the match.

Leighton won the toss and kicked off the first half and within 30 seconds Mark Bunker had crossed the ball into the box for Nick Bennion to catch.

Kettering had their first corner of the game 5 minutes in and with no one marking the back post it was the perfect opportunity for Dubi Ogbona to score but the pressure got to him and he skied it over the bar.

Another chance for Ogbona came only moments later when he found Andy Hall, he headed the ball towards Dan Child but thankfully it was just inches too high and hit the bar before bouncing out for a goal kick.

Leighton were awarded a penalty in the 14th minute when Phil Draycott was taken down harshly in the box. Danny Watson stepped up to the spot and didn’t disappoint putting Leighton into an early 1-0 lead.

A good header away by Tyrone Taylor managed to stop a Kettering free kick from causing too much damage in the box.

Watson fancied his chance at goal in the 24th minute when he managed to play the ball on the deck towards Bennion, where Alvin Rajaram was also waiting but he couldn’t quite get the touch he needed.

The ball was cleared by Ketterings’ defence but Chris Crook was waiting on the half way line to plow the ball straight back into the box.

Bunker found himself with the ball in the 30th minute and put in yet another fabulous cross to find Taylors head in the box, calls for hand ball were heard all around as Kettering scrambled to defend, but the referee disagreed.

A nail biting moment for everyone saw Ketterings’ Josh Moreman fire the ball at Child, but it was pushed away well before anyone else could get to it.

Another penalty appeal was heard in the 34th minute when Jamie Nicholls was pushed over deliberately in the box but once again the referee was having none of it.

A mislaid ball by Christian Lester saw Ogbona snatch the ball away and powered towards goal but luckily Bunker and Crook worked together to prevent him travelling any further. 38 minutes in saw Paul Lyon go down injured, needing treatment before returning to the pitch.

Some spectacular play from Lester and Taylor managed to walk all over Kettering to find Draycott who hit the ball just inches wide of the post.

With Leighton constantly pressing the ball, Kettering were starting to panic. Bennions’ kicks weren’t as impressive as they had been and with Leightons David Murphy working non-stop at the back it didn’t look like Kettering would ever score.

Yet another appeal for a penalty was heard but this time for Kettering in the 41st minute as there was a scramble to clear the ball in the box and shouts for handball were made.

The final minute of the first half saw Kettering try and even the score line with Hall managing to manoeuvre himself past 3 of Leightons defence to find Moreman but his shot was powerless and Child saved with ease.

With Kettering now in their correct kit they kicked off the second but didn’t maintain possession for long. A shot from nowhere appeared for Leighton, surprising Bennion who couldn’t gather the ball quick enough, before Watson found the back of the net, sending Leighton into a 2-0 lead.

It could have been 3-0 only moments later for Leighton when Lester and Lyon worked together playing the ball forward to Nicholls who struck it with some immense power but the ball hit the underside of the bar and bounced away.

Leightons first substitution saw Lyon replaced with Gary Ridgeway. With a fresh pair of legs on the pitch Leighton looked even stronger and in the 57th minute Watson laid the ball off to Nicholls who managed to convert the ball into the net finally making it the 3-0 Leighton deserved.

Kettering immediately responded and brought on Jonathan Thorpe and Alfie Taylor for Oulton and Ogbona to try and get things moving in the right direction.

A yellow card was shown to Crook for handling the ball just outside the box, Steve Kinniburgh could only send the ball flying over the bar.

73 minutes saw Leighton bring on Aaron Morgan for an exhausted Taylor. Watson and Draycott continued to work well upfront and took Bennion by surprise, when he clearly couldn’t see Draycotts’ shot but he managed to make the save at he last minute.

Kettering saw themselves get a consolation goal in the 78th minute when Moreman found Hall, who slipped the ball into the right hand corner of the net, making it 3-1.

With only 10 minutes remaining Leighton didn’t give up. A ball by Draycott to Morgan managed to then find its way to Lester however he was off balance and his shot was weak and wide but nether the less worth a shot.

Draycott was shown a yellow card in 86th minute as was Ketterings’ James Clifton. The last moments of the game saw Leighton still running around putting Kettering under pressure hoping they’d make a last minute mistake, but it wasn’t to be and the game ended 3-1.

Leighton currently sit 6th in the league with 8 points and are still unbeaten after 4 games.

Leightons’ next game is at home against St Ives Town on Saturday 23rd August, kick off 3pm.


Kettering Town FC

Team- Bennion, Clifton, Kinniburgh, Gooding, Crowie, Hull, Oulton, Solkhan, Ogbona, Moreman, Hall

Subs- Robinson, Marash, Thorpe, Bukasa, Taylor 

Leighton Town FC 



Team- Child, Bunker, Rajaram, Crook, Murphy, P.Lyon, Nicholls, Lester, Taylor, Watson, Draycott



Subs- Morgan, Durcan, Lyons, Prendergast, Ridgeway



Attendance- 239



By Hannah Sellman

Leighton knock Bedford out of the park with first win of the season

Bedford Town 0-2 Leighton Town FC

With Bedford kicking off they dominated the first 15 minutes of the game with Dan Child making a save in the first minute with a shot from Robert Parker.

Only moments later Mark Bunker had to clear the ball off the line but ended up hitting Chris Crook in the face who then went down injured, but thankfully the ball hit the side netting.

A blatant offside run by Josh Winters didn’t stop him and he continued to take his shot at goal but thankfully Child had it covered, as neither the referee nor the linesman saw the mistake.

With 3 chances for Bedford in the first 5 minutes of the game it was finally time for Leighton to take control. A cross by Tyrone Taylor saw Alvin Rajaram hit the ball wide of the post in the 17th minute.

23 minutes had past and with Leighton winning a corner it bounced off the chest of David Murphy off the line, finding Christian Lesters’ feet who found the back of the net putting Leighton into the lead.

A crucial stop by Paul Lyon in the 35th minute saw Tom Liversedge denied a chance at goal for Bedford. With Bedfords’ crosses coming in thick and fast it took the strength and skill of Leightons back 4 to keep them from drawing level.

A 40th minute corner saw Sam Macraes’ kick cleared off the line by the confident head of Rajaram.

Crook was shown a yellow card in the 42nd minute and this gave Bedford a chance at goal from the awarded free kick. Neil King was the man kicking the ball, he sent it powerfully towards Child who mishandled the ball and it fell to Bedford once again for another shot but thankfully it flew over the bar.

With the second half underway Lyon glided past numerous players in the 53rd minute to find an unmarked Phil Draycott who only had the keeper to beat to get that all important second goal for Leighton. Draycott didn’t crack under the pressure and walked past the keeper with ease, putting Leighton 2-0 up.

Rajaram was shown a yellow card in the 55th minute after the player he was hassling fell to the ground too easily.
Tommy Glasscoe found a way through Leightons’ defence in the 57th minute, with Jamie Nicholls nipping at his heels to put him off, thankfully persistence paid off as the ball hit the side of the net.

Leightons’ first and second substitution came almost simultaneously and saw Lyon and Lester replaced with Gary Ridgeway and Aaron Morgan.

A stop in play saw an injured Glasscoe for Bedford go down so he could be treated, however he soon made a miraculous recovery and was back on his feet in no time taking a shot at goal.

Bedford made their 3rd and final substitution in the 71st hoping for a miracle, bringing on Russell Bull for Parker. A timely tackle by Rajaram in the 80th minute saw Tom Rawlings stopped in his tracks in the box on his way towards goal.

A last minute substitution for Leighton saw Nicholls replaced with Jerry Lyons. The last kick of the game saw Child force the ball down the pitch to Taylor who managed to squeeze himself between 2 of Bedfords’ defenders and get a head to the ball towards the goal, but Lee Crockett plucked the ball from the air and held it securely.

Bedford Town FC

Team- Crockett, Glasscoe, Hopewell, N. King, Woodward, Cooperr, Winters, Macrae, Liversedge, A. King, Parker

Subs- S. King, Bull, Cross, Grant, Rawlings

Leighton Town FC 



Team- Child, Bunker, Rajaram, Crook, Murphy, P.Lyon, Nicholls, Lester, Taylor, Watson, Draycott



Subs- Morgan, Prendergast, Lyons, Ridgeway, Kemonagna

Attendance- 232

By Hannah Sellman

Lucky Leighton leave game with a point

Marlow FC 0-0 Leighton Town FC

With a heavy downpour before the game and a rainbow forming above the players heads, it looked like it could be a lucky charm for one team.

The first minute saw Marlows’ Devontae Romeo hit just wide of the post after successfully beating Mark Bunker. Nathan Ashton gave Marlow another chance at goal when he passed the ball to Corey King but Dan Child had it covered.

With Leighton being awarded a corner 5 minutes in it was their turn to try and take the lead but Simon Grant easily caught the ball from Tyrone Taylors’ head.

Another shot from Romeo was safely stopped by Child, but he wouldn’t give in and continued to fire the ball at Child at every opportunity.

With Grant out of his goal in the 7th minute Alvin Rajaram took his chances and found front man Danny Watson but Grant somehow managed to stop the ball from entering the net.

It was Leightons’ time for numerous chances to go a miss with Bunker playing a good ball to Watson but once again Grant was there to meet the ball.

With the referee seemingly siding with the home team it was a shock when Leighton were awarded a free kick for a foul on Aaron Morgan. The free kick saw Watson hit the ball low and hard but wide of the post.

An early injury for Marlow saw Ashton replaced with Tom Baddeley. A free kick for Marlow on the edge of the box was well cleared by Christian Lester before it came to any danger.

Some good play by Taylor and Watson saw them sneak the ball to Phil Draycott who’s shot at goal was powerful but didn’t trouble Grant.

In the 33rd minute King seemed to be on a mission on his own towards the goal managing to pass Jamie Nicholls and take a shot but Child wasn’t flustered.

Watson earned himself a free kick in the 35th minute, Bunker stepped up to the plate and Lester made a great challenge on the keeper but the referee blew up for a foul.

Some excellent defending by Chris Crook in the 38th minute saw Leighton saved when Child was nowhere to be seen, as Lee Barney struck the ball hard.

Shouts for a penalty were heard from Leighton in the 40th minute when Nicholls was taken down in the box but the referee dismissed the idea.

With 1 minute to go before half time there was a goal mouth scramble, when Marlow hit the underside of the bar and it bounced out for Crook to clear off the line. This left the score at 0-0 going into half time.

Leighton kicked off the second half biting back after Marlows near miss, Draycott and Watson worked together to build up a shot, but once again Grant couldn’t be faulted.

It seemed that Leighton were starting to lose possession of the ball more easily as the game went on and no matter how hard they worked the referee seemed to be constantly blowing up for fouls against them.
Bunker received a yellow in the 55th minute for a harmless tackle. Leightons first substitution saw Nicholls replaced with Warren Garcia in the 59th minute.

Marlow answered Leightons substitution a few minutes later bringing on Jon Bennett in place of Barney.

Another chance for Leighton came when Morgan had a shot at goal after some superb play by Taylor and Garcia. A 65th minute substitution for Marlow saw Richie Whittingham make way for Phil Cousins.

From the 68th minute the game was packed with action. A good cross from Bunker saw Watson jump for the ball allowing it to hit his head, but once again it went wide of the post.

A very angry Kurtney Brooks was shown a yellow card after mouthing off at the referee for disagreeing with his decision. Leightons second substitution saw Taylor replaced with Paul Lyon in the 70th minute.

2 minutes later a horrendous tackle on Morgan saw him receive treatment and a yellow cars was shown to Chris Ovenden.

With 10 minutes to go Leighton picked up the pace. With the fresh legs of Garcia on the pitch he made a brilliant tackle and passed the ball to Watson, who made his way past two defenders and hit the ball along the ground, hoping to find the net but only managing to find the fence behind the goal.

A still injured Lester came off with a few minutes to go making way for Rory Prendergast. A hand to the ball by Child in the 84th minute stopped Bennetts shot for Marlow clearing it for a corner.

A last attempt at goal for Leighton was taken by Garcia but it was a pot shot well wide from long range.

A 90+1 minute free kick just outside the box for Marlow saw the ball fly high into the air missing everyone’s head and the game ending 0-0.

Marlow FC

Team- Grant, Bailey, Ashton, Brooks, Hicks, Ovenden, Whittingham, Romeo, Barney, King, Parrott

Subs- Richards, Ferdinand, Baddeley, Cousins, Bennett

Leighton Town FC

Team- Child, Bunker, Rajaram, Crook, Murphy, Taylor, Nicholls, Morgan, Lester, Watson, Draycott

Subs- P.Lyon, Prendergast, Garcia, Lyons, Ridgway

Attendance- 79

By Hannah Sellman

Season kicks off well with a well earned point for Leighton

Leighton Town FC 1-1 Northwood FC 

With 2 suspensions, 2 more injuries and a player on holiday, Craig Bicknell certainly had his work cut out to try and field a team for the first game of the season. 

Leighton kicked off the first half and it wasn’t long before an early free kick was awarded to Northwood thanks to Paul Lyon, luckily there wasn’t anything to worry about. An early chance for Leighton saw a powerful shot from Aaron Morgan caught securely just 2 minutes into the game.

A playful tug on Danny Watsons’ shirt saw him win a free kick, which was taken by Phil Draycott and was wide of the post, yet another missed opportunity to take an early lead. It was end-to-end action with Northwood then winning 2 corners on the trot, the first hit the post and the second one found Nick Turner who slotted the ball through Dan Childs’ legs in the 8th minute to put Northwood 1-0 up.

Leighton responded quickly to the goal and had yet another chance to score. Tyrone Taylor played the ball to Mark Bunker who tried to curl the ball into the net, however Berkley Laurencin stretched up high and pushed the ball over the bar for a corner.

With Leighton having most of the possession they kept sending the ball into the box. Numerous passes took place between Draycott, Chris Crook and Jamie Nicholls but each time they hit the ball just too far for Morgan to reach.

22 minutes in and it looked like Leighton would level the score, when Draycott played the ball down the line for Watson, passing it to Morgan who was now one on one with Laurencin but although his shot was powerful it failed to make an impact.

Some good defending by David Murphy nearly saw him lose his head when the referee disregarded shouts for a high foot. Child easily caught a shot in the air from Joakim Ehui in the 31st minute.

A good ball by Bunker into the box saw no one make a challenge on Laurencin, who gathered the ball in his arms. A free kick on the edge of the box 8 minutes before half time saw Northwood nearly make it 2-0, when Dave Lawrence struck the ball past the wall and a fully stretched Child managed to save the ball.

The second half saw Northwood nearly score from the word go, when Alvin Rajaram miss-judged the bounce of the ball and gave Ehui a chance to score but he hit the ball wide. Both teams seemed to have picked up the pace of the game and were eager to try and win the 3 points.

The 49th minute saw Draycott manage to skillfully manoeuvre himself passed 2 defenders, pass the ball to Watson who found the back of the net with ease, making the score 1-1. A substitution for Northwood saw Jack Smith come on for Javonne Molloy.

A bad tackle in the 58th minute saw Bunker receive a yellow card. A heart stopping moment for all the supporters took place when it looked like Child had caught the ball but he fumbled it and lost his grip, allowing the it to drop to the ground but thankfully Northwood weren’t quick enough to respond.

A 60th minute free kick taken by Draycott saw him hit the ball on target but Laurencin held the ball firm. Some brilliant defending from Rajaram saw the ball safely cleared away from any danger. Bunker played a lovely ball to Watson but he was offside and other opportunity at goal was missed.

Leighton made there first substitution in the 67th minute bringing on an injured Christian Lester in place of Paul Lyon to try and get that all important second goal.

The 71st minute saw Leighton battle hard to win themselves a corner which saw Lester curve the ball just over the bar. Play was stopped a few moments later for Rajaram who looked like he was suffering from cramp in his calf.

The last 10 minutes of the game saw Leighton intensify, determined to try and win the first game of the season. A long kick from Child landed at Watsons’ feet and ended up finding its’ way to Draycott, who hit the ball but it was cleared off the line by Laurencin.

Lester was up next for a shot at goal after receiving the ball from Rajaram, he hit the ball low and hard but once again was denied a goal. A second substitution saw an injured Nicholls replaced with Stephan Kemongoa.

Both teams had a last chance at scoring a winning goal in the final minute of the match. Draycott found Watson but the ball got lost in the box between numerous defenders and was eventually cleared to the other end of the pitch, where Child was one on one with Lawrence but managed to stick his foot out at exactly the right moment to stop the ball from going into the net.

Northwood

Team- Laurencin, Nolan, Yorke, Turner, Brown, Nicholas, Ehui, Lawal, Molloy, Lawrence, Vassell

Subs- Duncan, Byfield, Lomas, Walsh, Smith 

Leighton

Team- Child, Bunker, Rajaram, Crook, Murphy, P.Lyon, Morgan, Nicholls, Taylor, Watson, Draycott

Subs- Kemongoa, Lester, J.Lyons, Mullins, Durcan 

Attendance- 85

By Hannah Sellman

Leighton finish pre-season on a high against MK Dons

Leighton Town FC 2-1 MK Dons

With Leighton losing 4-2 to MK Dons first team last season, this year they were aiming to seal the deal against the MK Dons academy team and win.



MK Dons kicked off and held on to possession for the first couple of minutes, looking good on the ground, easily making passes stick with Leighton just taking a step back to assess how they played.



Waiting paid off because when a mistake was made Danny Watson stepped straight in for the ball and managed to cross it to Phil Draycott, who took a shot but it went high and over the bar. Another chance for Leighton followed soon after but Watson over hit the ball to Mark Bunker and went out for a goal kick.



The tables turned quickly and Kabongo Tashimanaga managed to slip through Leightons’ defence and found himself one on one with Dan Child but he had in covered and no harm was done.

With Leighton maintaining possession of the ball they had a few more chances at goal but without success.



Constant battling however paid off and in the 17th minute with some great passing from Warren Garcia and Michael Lyon, saw Jamie Nicholls slot the ball home in the bottom left hand corner of the net putting Leighton into an early lead. 



Leighton continued to play some great football, breaking away from MK Dons, but just not getting near enough to have a go at goal. In the 34th minute Watson played a fabulous ball through to Michael Lyon but his powerful shot was stopped well by Charlie Burns.

The last minute of the first half saw MK Dons awarded with a free kick near the edge of the box, Harry Hickford was completely unmarked and headed the ball straight into the back of the net, taking it to a 1-1 draw. 



With the second half underway a chance at goal for Leighton was immediate, with Charlie Burns spotted lingering out of his goal by Watson, Watson tried to curl the ball past the post into the net but was slightly wide. 



Play stopped for a short amount of time while Robbie Goodman regained himself after taking a knock in the box. Leighton’s first substitution took place in the 51st minute when Tyrone Taylor came on in place for Draycott. 



Taylor brought some much needed height to the game and straight from the word go he managed to win the ball in the air from a goal kick, to find Garcia who played the play to an offside Watson.



The 55th minute saw Leighton win a throw in, which was launched high and long into the air and managed to find the head of Nicholls and into the net, putting Leighton 2-1 up. 



A triple substitution for Leighton saw new signing Rory Prendergast come on to add some experience to the team, original Leighton player Aaron Fitzjon and Alvin Rajaram to boast the morale of the team. 



Another chance for Watson to score came in the 60th minute when a brilliant cross from Prendergast found his feet but once again he hit the ball just wide of the post. An injured Gary Ridgway had to come off for Leighton and Ash Farmer took his place. 



Some good combination of play was seen by Taylor and Prendergast, they managed to find Watson who crossed the ball into the box but there was no one there to sink the ball into the net. 



Ben Tilney for MK Dons made a fantastic run with the ball from one half of the pitch to the other and it looked like he was onto a winner, until he came up against Leightons defence and lost the ball. 



A precarious free kick was award just outside the box for MK Dons in the 67th minute but thankfully was blocked by Prendergast in the wall. 



A near costly mistake by Harry Hickford saw Charlie Burns have to chase the ball down to stop Leighton being awarded with a corner, but in the end some brilliant tackling from Fitzjon saw Leighton keep the ball with ease as they neared the final whistle.



Another triple substitution for Leighton in the last remaining minutes of the match saw Stefan Kemonga replaced Watson upfront, Garcia off to make way for Danny Mullins and Dave Murphy was replaced by Jerry Lyons, also an original Leighton player. 



The final whistle was heard and the final score ended up Leighton Town FC 2-1 MK Dons. Both teams played extremely well, not giving in during any stage of the game.






MK Dons



Team- Burns, Daffern, Okito, Summerfield, Tingey, Hickford, Logan, Tshimanaga, Rasulo, Tilney



Subs- McCorkell, Vaughan, Weston, Hadden, Owusu, Hunt



Leighton Town FC



Team- Child, Bunker, Ridgway, Goodman, Murphy, P.Lyon, Nicholls, M.Lyon, Garcia, Watson, Draycott



Subs- Halia, Rajaram, Taylor, Farmer, Kemonga, Fitzjon, Prendergast, Mullins, J.Lyons


Attendance- 200 +


By Hannah Sellman