Leighton finish season on a high

AFC Hayes 1-3 Leighton Town FC

Leighton faced bottom of the league AFC Hayes in their last game of the season. It was also a sad farewell to Tyrone Taylor who has decided to hang up his boots.

AFC Hayes kicked off and had the first corner of the game 4 minutes in but they could only find the side netting, however they opened the scoring in the 8th minute. Ryan Debattista strolled past Dave Murphy, went one on one with Zaki Oualah before finally putting the ball in the net. 

Billy Lobjoit went down injured early in the first half and was replaced with Christian Lester. Leighton's first real chance of the game came in the 23rd minute, when Robbie Goodman headed the ball just wide of the post.

AFC Hayes also had to make an early substitution bringing off Cristian Barrett for Carlton Stewart in the 36th minute. 

Phil Draycott tested Sam Mazurek 39 minutes in, he had to make a diving save and push the ball away with his fingertips to deny Leighton of an equaliser. Leighton managed to draw level in the 43rd minute, the ball fell for Gary Ridgway and he managed to find the back of the net. 

Mark Bunker took down David Manu just outside box moments before the half time whistle. Tom Dawson stepped up to take the free kick and Goodman was on hand to clear the ball away with his foot. 

A great ball by Taylor found Bunker, he calmly transferred the ball over to Draycott, who played it straight through Mazureks' legs, to put Leighton into the lead at half time. 

With the second half underway it was only a matter of time before things started to get heated between the two teams. In the 49th minute Manu squared up to Murphy, but thankfully the referee stepped in before it became out of hand.

Mike Kinsella clattered into Lester in the 53rd minute and subsequently caused himself more damaged than his target and was substituted off to make way for Dujon Desagurante. Leighton also made their second substitution of the game bringing off Michael Lyon for Ash Farmer. 

Shouts were heard in the 60th minute when Desagurante passed the ball back to Mazurek, but the referee seemed oblivious to the pass back and play continued. 

Danny Watson was shown a yellow card in the 62nd minute for pulling Jerome Eccleston's shirt. Only minutes later Bunker also received a yellow card for taking down Manu. 

Draycott had a pot shot at goal in the 66th minute and even though it had some power behind it, it curled just wide of the post. Taylor had a chance at goal in the 74th minute but he headed the ball over the bar.

Leighton made their final substitution brining off Draycott for Alvin Rajaram in the 78th minute. In the 83rd minute Leighton seal the deal with a third and final goal. AFC Hayes's defence were slacking and Farmer took the opportunity to score, making it 3-1. 

AFC Hayes were awarded a free kick just outside the box with 5 minutes remaining and Rajaram was on hand to ensure that the ball didn't reach the goal, clearing it well down the pitch. 

Taking into today's results Leighton Town have finished in 18th position with 43 points. A great achievement for Craig Bicknell and his team, especially with it being their first experience at this level. 

We'd like to congratulate Kettering Town on their automatic promotion and commiserations to both AFC Hayes and North Greenford United on their relegation.

Leighton Town will be having a presentation night on Saturday 9th May at 7pm at the club, to celebrate the end of the season.

AFC Hayes

Team- Mazurek, Expiteta, Barrett, Kinsella, Eccleston, Azamoah, Cass, Berry, Debattista, Dawson, Manu

Subs- Olajuby, Minter, Desagurante, Stewart, Baldwin

Leighton Town FC

Team- Oualah, Bunker, Ridgway, Goodman, Murphy, Taylor, Morgan, Lyon, Lobjoit, Watson, Draycott

Subs- Crook, Farmer, Rajaram, Senla, Lester 

Attendance- 76

By Hannah Sellman 

Leighton slip to 20th in the league

Leighton Town FC 1-3 Rugby Town FC

Leighton played Rugby back in November and lost the game in the 65th minute, when Christian Lester gave away a penalty. It was time for Leighton to get their revenge and with Rugby sat 4th in the league it was never going to be easy.

Leighton kicked off looking stronger than they did midweek, with Billy Lobjoit back and a few players in different positions. 

It was Rugby who could have taken the lead in the 3rd minute however, when Richard Gregory struck the ball, from what looked like an offside position, but the flag stayed down and Zaki Oualah came for the ball.

Oualah then had to make 3 consecutive saves to stop Rugby from getting that early lead. Leighton had their first corner in the 14th minute but it mounted to nothing.

Mason Rowley stuck his foot out, tripping up Phil Draycott who was charging towards the box and received a yellow card. Lobjoit stepped up to take the free kick and went for a shot, which was well wide.

Shouts for a penalty were heard for Rugby's Gregory in the 24th minute but play continued without question. With no penalty given Leighton charged to the other end of the pitch and finally managed to put the ball in the back of the net.

Lester made a great cross to find the feet of Danny Watson in the box and he calmly worked his way round Richard Morris, who made a grab for the ball but failed to hold it, allowing Watson to slot it into the net, putting Leighton into the lead, 1-0.

Gregory came close for Rugby again when Oualah managed to grab the ball before it crossed the line in the 38th minute. It looked like Leighton were going to go 2-0 up just before half time, when the ball fell for Draycott, but he welted the ball over the bar. 

Mark Bunker received a yellow card in the 51st minute when he brought down ex-Leighton player Lewis McBride. The 54th minute saw Justin Marsden make way for Seb Lake-Gaskin and straight away the pace of the game picked up.

An unstoppable 18 yard shot from Sam Youngs, drew Rugby level in the 55th minute and only 2 minutes later, after Lester received a yellow card, Robbie Burns made it 2-1 when a low shot from Youngs was parried.

Leighton made their first substation bringing off Gary Ridgway and welcoming back Alvin Rajaram onto the pitch after his knee operation. 

Rugby received a free kick just outside the box in the 60th minute after Michael Lyon committed a foul and was shown a yellow card. 

Rajaram had a great shot but was denied a goal by Morris's hand and cleared quickly but Alex Gudger. Play was paused in the 64th minute when the oppositions supporters decided to throw an unravelled toilet roll onto the pitch to distract Oualah. 

The 74th minute sealed the deal for Rugby when Oualah made a grab for the ball but couldn't reach it and allowed Gregory to run past him and squeeze the ball into the net at an angle, making it 3-1. 

Leighton made their second substitution brining off Tyrone Taylor for Claude Senla. Rugby kept firing the ball at Oualah hoping he'd make a mistake but he stood strong, saving shots from Ben George and Lake-Gaskin with ease. 

A final substitution for Leighton saw Lester replaced with Ash Farmer. Substitute Fazil Koriya tried to lob the ball over Oualah 6 minutes before the end of the game, but thankfully he was off target. A head injury for Leighton's Bunker saw play stopped momentarily so he could be treated.

Lobjoit was shown a yellow card in injury time for kicking the ball away, after Rugby were awarded a free kick from the foul he committed. A last ditch attempt for Leighton came when they won themselves a corner just before the final whistle but once again the ball was cleared well by Ruby's defence.

Leighton's next game is away to North Greenford (weather permitting) on Tuesday 17th February, kick off 7:45pm. 

Rugby Town FC 

Team- Morris, Grocott, George, Rowley, Gudger, Burns, McBride, Blythe, Gregory, Marsden, Youngs

Subs- Rankin, Banks, Lake-Gaskin, Piggon, Koriya

Leighton Town FC 

Team- Oualah, M. Lyon, Ridgway, Crook, Murphy, Taylor, Bunker, Lobjoit, Lester, Watson, Draycott

Subs- Farmer, Goodman, Senla, Rajaram, Morgan

Attendance- 132

By Hannah Sellman 

Too little too late for Leighton

Leighton Town FC 1-3 North Greenford United

With the wind howling and the rain bashing down the conditions couldn't have been worse for the Red Insure Cup Second Round game, but after three postponement on the trot everyone was finally happy to get it played.

Leighton kicked off and were awarded an early free kick when a bad tackle was made on Dave Murphy by Anton Robbinson.

Phil Draycott had a chance at goal with only 4 minutes gone but the head of Michael Kinsella was there to clear the ball away. 

Another chance came for Draycott after some great play between Michael Lyon and Mark Bunker, but Melvin Minter dived to his left making a great save. 

With 23 minutes on the clock a good ball by Jack Hutchinson found Jack Read, who was completely unmarked, Leighton's defence tried to back track to stop the shot but were unsuccessful and Read put North Greenford into a 1-0 lead. 

After Leighton's mistake they were determined to equalise and only minutes after, Draycott came close when Minter was out of his goal but his shot was just over the bar. 

All was not lost for Leighton though when they were awarded a penalty. Draycott was taken down in the box by Minter and straight away the referee pointed to the spot. However it was too good to be true because the lino had flagged for offside and the referee took back his penalty decision.

Claude Senla received a yellow card after committing a foul on Andrew Maniton in the 27th minute. 

Leighton came close once again to scoring when Draycott fired the ball home but it was cleared of the line, the ball found the head of Robbie Goodman who tried to head it past the post but it hit the post and Minter collected the ball for a goal kick.

With only 2 minutes left of the first half Minter was caught time wasting and Leighton were awarded a free kick right in front of the goal. The North Greenford wall stood strong and Draycott's free kick was cleared by the shin of Robbinson. 

Before the half time whistle could be blown Ash Farmer received a yellow card. It was still all to play for in the second half for Leighton, with their numerous chances now behind them it was time to pull something out of the bag.

For the first 10 minutes of the second half North Greenford kept breaking through Leighton's defence only to be flagged offside by the lino.

A corner for Leighton in the 59th minute finally saw them equalise. Draycott curled the ball in and Senla headed the ball down and into the back of the net, making it 1-1. 

Danny Watson found himself one on one with Minter soon after the goal, but Watson hesitated and Minter managed to push the ball out as far as Senla, who took an off balance shot. 

The 66th minute saw Hutchinson take an awarded free kick, Ross Tompkins came out to stop the ball but he mishandled it on the ground and Maniton snatched the ball away with his feet and put North Greenford 2-1 up. 

Leighton made their first substitution of the game bringing off Alvin Rajaram for Chris Cook in the 70th minute. 

A much needed tackle was made by Farmer on Hutchinson in the 75th minute as he bounded on towards the goal looking unstoppable. 

Farmer was substituted off in the 77th minute to make way for returning player Warren Garcia. 

North Greenford were searching for that 3rd goal in the 80th minute when Hutchinson struck the ball and Tompkins managed to push it against the post and out for a corner. Draycott received a yellow card for taking down a player. 

Leighton's final substitution took place in the 81st minute, with Lyon being replaced with Irving. 

Garcia played a lovely ball through to Bunker, it bobbled up in front of him but he controlled it well to find Watson who's shot was just wide of the post.

Once again Leighton were caught unawares in the 87th minute. Hutchinson ran past everyone and crossed the ball into Read who struck the ball with power and it went flying through Tompkins legs, making it 3-1.

2 minutes into injury time, Kinsella was shown a yellow card after fouling Senla. Leighton were awarded a free kick and Draycott stepped up to the ball, at first it was cleared but only as far as Gary Ridgway who managed to play the ball back in, straight across the goal with no one there to nudge it across the line.

Congratulations to North Greenford United, good luck in the next round of the Red Insure Cup.

Leighton's next game is away to Uxbridge on Saturday 13th December, kick off 3pm. 

North Greenford United

Team- Minter, Robbinson, Maniton, Kinsella, Austin, Gaylor, Mohammed, Mani, Hutchinson, Read, O'Connor

Subs- Ekpiteta, Kransnial

Leighton Town FC

Team- Tompkins, Rajaram, Ridgway, Goodman, Murphy, Farmer, Bunker, Lyon, Senla, Watson, Draycott

Subs- Crook, Green, Lyon, Garcia, Irving 

Attendance- 47

By Hannah Sellman