Leighton lose at home to Uxbridge second half double

Leighton Town FC 0-2 Uxbridge FC

With 3 first teamers unavailable due to suspension and injury, Craig Bicknell still managed to field a strong squad going into the game against Uxbridge. 

Uxbridge had their first corner of the game 5 minutes in, but Dave Murphy cleared the ball away with his head stopping what could have been a potential shot.

Moments later Leighton's first on target shot of the game by Claude Senla was flagged offside by the lino. 

Appeals were heard for hand ball by Uxbridge in the 15th minute when Robbie Goodman was taken down by Kevin Warner, but the referee dismissed the idea and showed Warner a yellow card for the tackle. 

A chance for Leighton to take the lead came when Paul McCarthy dropped a ball from Gary Ridgway. Billy Lobjoit powered towards McCarthy but he got the ball under control before he reached him.

Halfway through the first half and a great block by Chris Crook denied Lewis Cole from scoring. Leon Lobjoit was shown a yellow card in the 28th minute after a coming together with earlier booked Warner.

Uxbridge made the decision to substitute in the 31st minute bringing off Warner for Danny Julienne, encase of another yellow card. However only 9 minutes later Julienne was booked. 

A throw from Ridgway unleashed the skill of Senla just before half time, beating two players and playing a low ball in, the ball bobbled across the goal with nobody to tap it across the line.

Goodman managed to chase down Matt Woods causing him to panic before shooting and stopped what could have been a goal just before half time.  

Going into the second half Ridgway had a shot for Leighton but McCarthy had it covered, diving to his left to stop the ball.

A miss-kicked pass by Billy Lobjoit luckily bounced to the feet of Christian Lester in the 55th minute, he hesitated before shooting but managed to win Leighton a corner. 

Cole was shown a yellow card for taking down Crook and only seconds later, Crook was shown a yellow for a supposed bad tackle on Cole, who walked away from the incident uninjured. 

Leighton made their first substitution in the 59th minute brining off Leon Lobjoit for Phil Draycott. 

A corner by Draycott saw McCarthy palm the ball away from Lester's header in the 64th minute and it wasn't long before Leighton's untaken chances cost them the game.

Woods charged towards Dan Green after Leighton's corner, sent him off balance and slotted the ball into the back of the net, making it 1-0 to Uxbridge. 

Leighton made their second substitution with 20 minutes to go bringing off Paul Lyon for Michael Lyon. 

Uxbridge's second goal came in the 77th minute. Once again Green was out of goal, Murphy covered his position but could only play the ball straight back to the feet of Chris Moore, who put Uxbridge 2-0 up. 

Crook was brought off for Aaron Morgan shortly after the goal. Lester was shown a silly yellow card 3 minutes from the end for kicking the ball away and Michael Lyon was also shown a yellow in stoppage time for foul play. 

Leighton's next game is away to North Greenford United on Saturday 10th January, kick off 3pm. 

Uxbridge FC

Team- McCarthy, Christopher, Wambeek, Thomas, Dennison, Carter, Warner, Cole, Woods, Moore, Groves

Subs- Bates, Pickford, Julienne, Tomkins, Wiseman

Leighton Town FC

Team- Green, Rajaram, Ridgway, Goodman, Murphy, P. Lyon, Crook, B. Lobjoit, L. Lobjoit, Senla, Lester

Subs- Draycott, Morgan, M. Lyon, Flux, Farmer 

Attendance- 75

By Hannah Sellman