Rovers get their revenge and beat Leighton to the points

Barton Rovers 2-0 Leighton Town FC

After a close game against Kettering on Tuesday night, it was time for Leighton to face Barton. They played them back in November and managed a draw to earn themselves a point.

Craig Bicknell welcomed back, Christian Lester, Tyrone Taylor and Phil Draycott to his starting line up after all being unavailable on Tuesday.

The first half an hour Leighton were on the attack looking strong and they came close in the 8th minute but Danny Watson's shot fell straight into Kyle Forster's hands.

Draycott worked well to overcome Barton's defence and his shot was just over the bar in the 12th minute. Robbie Goodman made a fantastic tackle to stop Ben Sawyer in his tracks towards goal. 

Lester won Leighton a free kick just outside the box in the 17th minute, Aaron Morgan stepped up and his shot was just wide of the post, yet another missed opportunity. 

A powerful shot by Jack Keating saw Zaki Oualah jump to push it over the bar to deny Barton the lead. Leighton's best chance came in the 31st minute, a great header by Taylor fell then to the head of Lester but he couldn't put it across the line.

Connor Vincent was the first to put the ball into the back of the net for Barton. Winning the ball from the throw he turned and fired the ball home. Things only got worse for Leighton, when Michael Lyon took down Rhys Hoenes in the box and was given a penalty.

Keating stepped up to the spot and thankfully, although not the best of penalties, Oualah divided to his left pushing the ball away for Taylor to clear down the pitch.

Leighton kicked off the second half and made their first substitution in the 54th minute bringing off Lyon for Billy Lobjoit. 

A mistake by Alvin Rajaram gave Tuki Tayali space to charge freely at Oualah, luckily a fast moving Gary Ridgway managed to stick his foot in to divert the ball over the bar for a corner.

Smallest man on the pitch Morgan made a big difference when he cleared the ball off the line in the 62nd minute to stop Barton from lengthening their lead. 

A second substitution for Leighton came in the 73rd minute brining off Morgan for Ash Farmer. 

A brilliant goal kick by Oualah found Watson near the centre half, he did well to keep the ball and came face to face with Forster. 

Unfortunately Watson hesitated and lost the ball, Farmer followed it up and tried to lob Forster but he aimed too high.

In the 81st minute Taylor was replaced with Dave Murphy. Lester did well to win a free kick when he was elbowed in the head but his good luck didn't last long when he clattered into Jhai Dhillon and was shown a red card. 

With Leighton down to 10 men substitute Russell Bull fancied his chances at goal but his strike went wide. With only injury time left to play it looked like Leighton might have got away with just the one goal against them.

But with a player missing Barton took advantage. Bull charged past Murphy and Rajaram, with only Oualah left to defeat, Bull managed to squeeze the ball just past the inside post making it 2-0 to Barton.

Leighton's next game is away to North Greenford United on Tuesday 10th March, kick off 7:45pm. 

Leighton Town FC

Team- Oualah, M.Lyon, Ridgway, Goodman, Rajaram, Taylor, Morgan, Bunker, Lester, Watson, Draycott

Subs- Lobjoit, Farmer, Murphy, Forrester, Green

Barton Rovers 

Team- Forster, Hassan, Dhillon, Gatti, Andrews, Kilroy, Hoenes, Keating, Vincent, Tayali, Sawyer

Subs- Bull, Perry, Brown, Peveral, Caglar 

Attendance- 130

By Hannah Sellman

Leighton fight back with last minute penalty

Leighton Town FC 1-1 Barton Rovers FC

With 6 men missing it was once again a struggle for Craig Bicknell to field a side fit for purpose. 

Barton kicked off and won themselves a corner 3 minutes in; thankfully Dave Murphy was there to head the ball clear. A close shave for Leighton came when Robbie Goodman stood watching Keshi Anderson with the ball, luckily it flew straight across the goal and there was no one there to tap it in.

With only 13 minutes gone Leighton had to make their first substitution, an injured Claude Senla came off to make way for Ash Farmer. A chance for Farmer came when Danny Watson found him in the box but as he slide in the ball went the wrong side of the post and out for a goal kick.

Bilal Hassan (ex-Leighton player) was determined to get a goal and managed to run past Alvin Rajaram but he took the ball one step too far. Barton were close to scoring in the 20th minute but Mahmut Caglar could only put it wide of the post.

Paul Lyon was unable to hold the ball up in midfield in the 26th minute and with Leighton's defence all just standing in a line, Ben Sawyer took a shot at goal, Dan Green got a hand to the ball but not enough to stop it from crossing the line, putting Barton into a 1-0 lead.

It looked like Leighton had equalised in the 30th minute with a good cross from Farmer to Watson and into the net but the referee blew his whistle as the lino flagged that the ball had gone out of play.

Leighton were forced to make another substitution in the 36th minute brining off Paul Lyon for Aaron Morgan.

Once again Leighton were asleep at the back and Sawyer made his way towards goal, the ball bobbled along the ground to find Hassan but he missed. Green made a brilliant save denying Barton of a second goal in the 40th minute, the ball ricocheted back out to Anderson but Chris Crook managed to put his body in the way of the shot.

With the second half underway Barton nearly found themselves scoring for Leighton, when a cross from Morgan found Michael Lyon in the box but was nearly headed in by the Barton defence.

Alex Condon was shown a yellow card in the 55th minute for Barton. A succession of saves were made by Kyle Forster to keep Leighton at bay with chances from Phil Draycott, Framer and Watson.

Draycott received a yellow card in the 66th minute for kicking the ball away. Only moments later Murphy headed the ball against the cross bar and then headed it straight into Forster hands.

A poor clearance by Murphy saw Sawyer come close to scoring again but his shot hit the side netting. Draycott hit a super strike in the 82nd minute but it fell wide.

With only 5 minutes remaining it all kicked off, Sawyer hit the post and then received a yellow card for a bad tackle on Murphy. A chance for Watson to even the score line took place but he skimmed the ball over the bar.

Then in the 90th minute Condon was shown a second yellow card and sent off the pitch for taking down Rajaram in the box. Leighton were awarded a penalty and Watson didn't disappoint, sending the ball into the back of the net, making it 1-1.

Farmer was shown a yellow card in injury time for a silly foul and Murphy hit a powerful shot along the ground for Forster to save before the final whistle was blown.

Leightons next game is at home to Biggleswade United in the Beds Senior Cup on Tuesday 11th November, kick off 7:45pm.

Barton Rovers

Team- Forster, Condon, Dhillon, Gatti, Andrews, Kilroy, Sawyer, Lee, Caglar, Anderson, Hassan

Subs- McDent, Vincent, Keating, Ottaway, Young

Leighton Town FC

Team- Green, Rajaram, Ridgway, Goodman, Crook, Murphy, P. Lyon, M. Lyon, Senla, Watson, Draycott

Subs- Morgan, Farmer, Halia

Attendance-81

By Hannah Sellman