10 men Leighton keep battling till the end

Royston Town FC 2-0 Leighton Town FC

Once again Craig Bicknell was tasked with putting an odds and ends team together with numerous players still out injured, new signing Dan Hart made his debut appearance playing as part of the back 4.

Royston started with the ball and the first 5 minutes of play were very timid, it wasn't till the ball found the feet of Claude Seanla that things started to pick up pace. A good cross then from Christian Lester found the head of Danny Watson who headed the ball towards goal but it was easily caught. 

The tables turned and it was Roystons' Kaan Fehmis' turn to launch the ball into the box finding Jack Bradshaw but as he turned with the ball Chris Crook was there to stop him from scoring. 

Paul Lyon made a great tackle only to be met with roars from the crowd and players disagreeing, thinking Royston should have been award a free kick. 

Another chance for Leighton to take an early lead came, when Seanla worked hard to win the ball just outside the box, unfortunately his handwork was wasted, when he passed the ball to Watson who didn't strike the ball first time. 

New man Hart found himself being booked only 16 minutes in, when a superb tackle was deemed unsatisfactory by the referee. The first corner of the game made an appearance in the 20th minute for Leighton. A great ball in by Phil Draycott found the head of Crook who put it just past the post. 

Scott Bridges broke away for Royston in the 27th minute and played the ball through into the box but there was no one there to tap it in. A free kick for Royston saw Leightons Jamie Nicholls precariously head the ball home to Dan Green but the ball fell into the net, thankfully the lino had flagged for offside.

Michael Lyon was shown a yellow card in the 28th minute for Leighton. Treatment was need for Draycott after he sustained a head injury 32 minutes in.

Leighton kept firing the ball at Paul Bastock from all angles hoping he'd faultier but he remained strong. A shocking decision in the 40th minute by the referee saw Michael Lyon receive a second yellow card and sent off the pitch. 

With Leighton down to 10 men they didn't give up hope, a free kick won by Seanla was taken by Draycott which Tyrone Taylor then headed over the bar. Making the score 0-0 at half time. 

Leighton kicked off the second half and straight away won themselves a corner, however when the ball landed with Nicholls his shot was more of a pass back to Bastock.

A yellow card was shown to Seanla in the 48th minute. A substitution for Leighton saw Watson off and Mark Bunker on. 

Lester and Nicholls worked well to get the ball forward to Seanla in the air but he didn't jump quite high enough to get a touch on the ball. A second substitution for Leighton saw Nicholls off and Ash Farmer on. 

Farmer took a pot shot at goal when he found himself with the ball in the 65th minute and he's shot wasn't that far over the bar. 

Only 2 minutes after Leightons' shot the ball fell for Craig Hammond who stormed his way through Leightons' back 4 and found the back of the net, putting Royston into the lead. 

A bit of miscommunication took place in the 71st when the referee blew for a foul but didn't clearly state for which team. Fehmi presumed it was for Royston so went ahead and kicked the ball into play, but the the referee stopped the game again and booked Fehmi and then clearly stated it was a Leighton free kick. 

Another booking for Leighton came in the 73rd minute when Bunker was shown a yellow for a silly foul. A chance came to even the score line for Leighton when a cross from Draycott found the head of Seanla but as he headed it down it bounced higher than expected and over the bar. 

With only 10 minutes to go Draycott should have buried the ball in the back of the net but he took the ball to far and Roystons' defence stopped him in his tracks. Seanla was substituted off for Leighton and Aaron Morgan was brought on. 

A crucial stop by Bunker in the 90th minute denied Robbie Nightingale of a goal, but 3 minutes into injury time Crook passed the ball back to Green who caught the ball and as it was deemed as a back pass. Royston were awarded free kick in the box, Fehmi stepped up to the ball and didn't disappoint making it 2-0 to Royston. 

Leightons next game is away to Daventry on Saturday 4th October, kick off 3pm. 

Royston Town FC

Team- Bastock, Bradshaw, Endacott, Bridges, Powell, Theobald, Mentis, Bridges, Fehmi, Hammond, Dobson

Subs- Collins, Hart, Nightingale, Lockett, Azzopardi

Leighton Town FC

Team- Green, M.Lyon, Hart, Crook, P.Lyon, Nicholls, Taylor, Lester, Seanla, Watson, Draycott

Subs- Farmer, Bunker, Durcan, Morgan, Haila 

Attendance- 163

By Hannah Sellman 

Town bounce back in cup after major defeat

Bedford Town FC 2-2 Leighton Town FC
(2-4 on penalties) 

With Leighton losing their last 3 games and having met with Bedford in the league a few weeks ago, they went in looking for a win. Leighton were still without 6 of their players due to holidays and injuries, but 2 new signings, Sansom Alalade and Claude Seanla were there to fill in. 

Leighton kicked off the first half and it wasn't long before Robbie Goodman had to clear the ball from a cross by Tom Rawlings stopping what could have been any early chance at goal.

8 minutes in saw Phil Draycott take Leightons' first corner of the game, Tyrone Taylors' head found the ball and headed just wide of the post. 

Goodman went down with a twisted knee after a good tackle stopping Bedford from venturing further towards goal. 14 minutes in and Dan Burke won Bedford a free kick, Neil King stepped up to the ball and skied it high over the bar, a wasted chance.

Bedfords' first goal came in the 21st minute when Tom Rawlings, who was offside by about 5 yards, ran straight at Dan Green sped past him and found the back of the net. 

Leighton had the chance to equalise only 3 minutes later when a free kick by Draycott found Dave Murphy but he headed the ball straight into the keepers hands. 

Another free kick for Leighton and a scramble in the goal saw Draycotts' kick find Goodman who headed the ball straight at Shaun Markie, he pushed the ball against the post and Jamie Nicholls found the rebound, making it 1-1.

Leighton didn't give up and when the ball once again found Taylor, he headed the ball inches wide of the post. Bedford responded quickly to all of Leightons chances and had a low and powerful shot at goal, which was struck by Rob Parker, but Green had it covered. 

Michael Lyon worked well to win the ball in the 39th minute, only for Murphy to accidentally miss head it moments later. Tom Rawlings snatched the ball away and made a run towards Green, where he faced him one on one yet again, but this time could only find the side netting. 

Alalade played a lovely ball along the ground into the box in the 44th minute, but there was no one there to put it across the line. 

Leighton made a change at half time bringing off Alalade for Seanla. Bedford kicked off the second half and straight away a shot by Tom Rawlings was well blocked by Chris Crook. 

51 minutes in saw Aaron King break away from Leightons' back 4, Green came for the ball but Aaron King skirted round him and put Bedford into the lead. 

Ash Farmer was taken down and a free kick was awarded to Leighton, Draycott once again fired the ball into the box but it fell straight into the hands of Shaun Markie. 

With 63 minutes gone Leighton finally managed to make it 2-2 when a header from Taylor found Danny Watson and he booted the ball into the back of the net.

A good ball into Nicholls by Seanla saw him head the ball to Draycott, who in turn found Watson but he could only shoot the ball over the bar. Murphy went down injured in the 80th minute and received treatment before returning to the pitch. 

With the score still 2-2 in the 88th minute Craig Bicknell made the decision to bring off Taylor and Nicholls for Kyle Durcan and Aaron Morgan in preparation for the penalty shoot out. Goodman went down in the 90th + 3 minute with a head injury and 3 minutes later the referee blew up for full-time.

The players took a short break before play resumed for the penalty shoot out. 

Draycott took the first penalty for Leighton, his shot was low and powerful and found the right hand corner of the net.

Aaron King was first up for Bedford and although Green dived the right way, the ball went into the net, making it 1-1.

Next up was Morgan he kept his cool and found the bottom left hand corner of the net.

Neil Kings' penalty for Bedford didn't even reach Green as he hit the post putting Leighton 2-1 up. 

Durcan didn't disappoint when he stepped up to the spot and hammered the ball home in the top left hand corner.

Bedfords' 3rd penalty was taken by Rob Parker and the pressure was on to score, luckily for him he put the ball away.

Watson was next for Leighton and he too didn't crack under the strain and hit the ball low and hard beating the keeper to make it 4-2.

Tom Liversedge was the 4th penalty taker for Bedford, he stuck the ball with force and Green dived to his left saving the ball making Leighton the winners of the shoot out. 

Leightons' next game is away to Royston on Saturday 20th September, kick off 3pm.

Bedford Town FC

Team- Markie, Cooper, Hopewell, N.King, Woodward, McGoldrick, Macrae, Burke, Rawlings, A.King, Parker

Subs- Liversedge, Summerfield, Winters, Glasscoe

Leighton Town FC

Team- Green, Lyon, Murphy, Goodman, Crook, Taylor, Nicholls, Farmer, Alalade, Watson, Draycott

Subs- Morgan, Halai, Seanla, Durcan 

Attendance- 135 

By Hannah Sellman