10 men Royston run rings around Leighton

Leighton Town FC 1-4 Royston Town FC 

With the sun shining down on Bell Close for the last home game of the season, Leighton hoped to continue their success from previous weeks. 

They faced Royston, who are currently sit in a play off position and it always going to be tough, but Craig Bicknell was ready with his team to face the challenge to try and get another 3 points on the board.

Leighton kicked off but Michael Lyon soon gave Royston possession, when he took down Ryan Ingrey. Luckily Zaki Oualah caught the ball well from the the free kick.

Danny Watson went one on one with Ron Yates in the the 5th minute but he couldn't beat him and instead kicked it straight at him. Leighton had the first corner of the game but it was short lived because Royston were awarded a free kick for pushing in the box.

An unusual scramble for the ball took place between Oualah and Fejiri Okenabirhie and it looked like the ball was handled and shouts were heard but the referee took no notice and the game continued.

It was clear that Oualah had an injury to his calf in the 17th minute, as Robbie Goodman stepped up to take a goal kick for him. However Oualah wasn't subbed off due to his injury and carried on as best as he could.

Royston earned a free kick in the 22nd minute, once again due to Lyon being careless. Steve Bridges stepped up to take the kick, he powered it into the box to find the free head of Liam McDevitt  who put Royston 1-0 up.

A great save by Oualah stopped Royston from extending their lead in the 34th minute and only a minute later Watson was taken down in the box and Royston were reduced to 10 men.

Chris Watters was shown a red card and a penalty was awarded to Leighton. Watson stepped up to take the spot kick and slotted it right into the corner of the net, drawing Leighton level.

Goodman went down injured in the 38th minute and with a player missing in defence Oualah managed to stop Bridges's shot brilliantly. Leighton made their first substitution bringing off Goodman for Odunayo Oke.

The second half underway and with it all square, Ash Farmer fancied his chances at goal, but Yates managed to stop the shot with his feet. 

Yet again Royston scored from another set piece and free header in the 50th minute. Bridges delivered the ball into the box and found the head of Gary Hart who put Royston into the lead. 

As if two goals weren't enough for Royston they went and got their third only 2 minutes later. Hart sent an unstoppable shot towards Oualah and it bounced off the bar and into the net, leaving every one shell shocked at the strike.

Things only got worse for Leighton as Royston went and got their fourth goal from a set piece. The free kick was taken by Scott Bridges and he found, once again a free head in the box this time it was Ingrey. Oualah got a hand to the ball but it wasn't enough to push it away, making it 4-1 to Royston.

Leighton made their second substitution in the 61st minute bringing off Farmer for Anthony Ottaway. Some good play by Aaron Morgan and Oke allowed Watson to take a shot at goal but he could only sky it over the bar.

Morgan had a chance to pull a goal back in the 80th minute, when he went one on one with Yates, but he tried to walk the ball into the net and even though Yates mishandled the ball wasn't able to convert it. 

Two well deserved yellow cards (one each) were shown to Royston's Spyros Mentis and Hart after persistently committing fouls. Leighton tried to convert their short corner into a goal in the 83rd minute but Mark Bunker put it over the bar.

Lyon was shown a yellow card for tripping up Mentis in the 85th minute and he was shortly replaced by Harvey-Bailey Irving as Leighton's final substitution.

Royston continued to outrun Leighton and managed to have three shots in injury time. The first came from Ingrey which Oualah dived to save but the shot was wide.

Next up was substitute Khan Fehmi and Oualah managed to save and convert the ball out for a corner and then Hart headed the ball just wide of the post before the final whistle blew.

Leighton's next game is away to Egham on Saturday 18th April, kick off 3pm.

Royston Town FC

Team- Yates, Wharton, Watters, Bridges, McDevitt, Powell, Mentis, Bridges, Okenabirhie, Hart, Ingrey

     

Subs- Scott-Morris, Bradshaw, Fehmi, Theobald, Nightingale

Leighton Town FC

Team- Oualah, Lyon, Ridgway, Goodman, Rajaram, Taylor, Crook, Bunker, Morgan, Watson, Farmer

Subs- Murphy, Fitzjohn, Ottaway, Irving, Oke 

Attendance- 84 

By Hannah Sellman 

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