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 

Leighton leave it too late to catch Rugby

Rugby Town FC 2-1 Leighton Town FC

It's been 10 days since we last saw a game of football and it was time for Leighton to take on Rugby, who during the week lost their top goal scorer to Kettering.  

2 players were unavailable and with Craig Bicknell off enjoying a holiday, it was down to Jon Reed to lead the team to victory. 

With dark clouds looming overhead Leighton kicked off the first half looking strong. Danny Watson gave away a silly free kick pushing Mason Rowley off the ball to try and win an early corner. 

A great header by Robbie Goodman in the 8th minute saw a missed chance for Aaron Morgan as the ball didn't fall for him in time. 

Justin Marsden found himself with the ball and completely unmarked in the 10th minute but he miss hit the ball and ended up going down injured.

In the 22nd minute Michael Lyon took a shot at goal after he received the ball from Watson, the ball ricocheted off the Rugby defence and landed at Christian Lester's feet, he struck the ball from 20 yards out and scored a cracking goal, putting Leighton 1-0 up.

31 minutes gone and Mark Bunker nearly scored an own goal for Rugby after Marsden played the ball into the box. The looming clouds finally burst and Butlin Road was the feature of a heavy down pour, which made the conditions on the pitch change and the game more interesting. 

With only 5 minutes of the first half remaining Lewis Rankin and Craig Kelly worked together well to win a corner. The ball landed at Richard Blythe feet, he struck the ball powerfully, hit the inside of the far post and the ball landed in the back of the net, making it 1-1.

Phil Draycott tried to put Leighton back into the lead before half time, but his shot scrapped just over the bar. 

Rugby kicked off the second half with a bang, from the word go Sam Youngs hit the post, Marsden controlled the ricocheted and took a shot at goal but Dan Green spread his body to stop it from crossing the line. 

End to end action then saw Watson have a chance of scoring but Richard Morris dived to block the shot. 

Things got heated in the 52nd minute when Bunker slid in to get the ball from Youngs, both were shown a yellow card as was Will Grocott who got caught up in the moment. 

Watson found himself with the ball in the 56th minute with no one but Morris in front of him. He made his way towards him but failed to score. Morgan, who had made the run into the box to support Watson, obtained the ball but his shot was then cleared off the line.

The 65th minute saw Lester leave his foot in on a tackle in the box and although Rugby did not react, the referee awarded them a penalty. Youngs stepped up to the spot and launched the ball into the top left hand corner, out of Greens reach, sending Rugby 2-1 up. 

Leighton made their first substitution bringing off Lyon for Ash Farmer. Shouts for a penalty were heard from Leighton in the 70th minute when Draycott was pushed over in the box but the referee dismissed the idea. 

Another spectacular shot by Lester in the 73rd minute saw Morris get a hand to the ball to convert it out for a corner. 

Green stopped yet another shot by Youngs to deny Rugby from venturing further into the lead.  A wayward but powerful shot by Mitchell Piggon saw him knock down one of his own supporters in the stand in the 82nd minute. 

Tyrone Taylor found himself in a tricky situation, when he was surrounded by 3 Rugby men but he managed to take a low shot at goal, but it was easily gathered by Morris. 

With 89 minutes on the clock Piggon went down injured after making a great run towards goal but pulling up short holding his hamstring. Play was stopped while the stretcher was brought on, but he managed to hobble off before play resumed. 

Leighton made their second substitution bringing off Morgan for Irving, in injury time, when the whistle finally blew after 6 added minutes. 

Leightons next game is away to North Greenford in the second round of the Red Insure Cup on Tuesday 25th November, kick off 7:45pm. 

Leighton Town FC

Team- Green, Bunker, Ridgway, Goodman, Murphy, Lester, Taylor, Lyon, Morgan, Watson, Draycott

Subs- Farmer, Tompkins, Irving, Halai

Rugby Town FC

Team- Morris, George, Kelly, Rowley, Gudger, Grocott, Banks, Blythe, Rankin, Marsen, Youngs

Subs- Piggon, Austin, Bishop

Attendance- 195

By Hannah Sellman