Season kicks off with a well earned point for Leighton

With 2 suspensions, 2 more injuries and a player on holiday, Craig Bicknell certainly had his work cut out to try and field a team for the first game of the season.

Leighton kicked off the first half and it wasn't long before an early free kick was awarded to Northwood thanks to Paul Lyon, luckily there wasn't anything to worry about. An early chance for Leighton saw a powerful shot from Aaron Morgan caught securely just 2 minutes into the game.

A playful tug on Danny Watsons' shirt saw him win a free kick, which was taken by Phil Draycott and was wide of the post, yet another missed opportunity to take an early lead. It was end-to-end action with Northwood then winning 2 corners on the trot, the first hit the post and the second one found Nick Turner who slotted the ball through Dan Childs' legs in the 8th minute to put Northwood 1-0 up.

Leighton responded quickly to the goal and had yet another chance to score. Tyrone Taylor played the ball to Mark Bunker who tried to curl the ball into the net, however Berkley Laurencin stretched up high and pushed the ball over the bar for a corner.

With Leighton having most of the possession they kept sending the ball into the box. Numerous passes took place between Draycott, Chris Crook and Jamie Nicholls but each time they hit the ball just too far for Morgan to reach.

22 minutes in and it looked like Leighton would level the score, when Draycott played the ball down the line for Watson, passing it to Morgan who was now one on one with Laurencin but although his shot was powerful it failed to make an impact.

Some good defending by David Murphy nearly saw him lose his head when the referee disregarded shouts for a high foot. Child easily caught a shot in the air from Joakim Ehui in the 31st minute.

A good ball by Bunker into the box saw no one make a challenge on Laurencin, who gathered the ball in his arms. A free kick on the edge of the box 8 minutes before half time saw Northwood nearly make it 2-0, when Dave Lawrence struck the ball past the wall and a fully stretched Child managed to save the ball.

The second half saw Northwood nearly score from the word go, when Alvin Rajaram miss-judged the bounce of the ball and gave Ehui a chance to score but he hit the ball wide. Both teams seemed to have picked up the pace of the game and were eager to try and win the 3 points.

The 49th minute saw Draycott manage to skillfully manoeuvre himself passed 2 defenders, pass the ball to Watson who found the back of the net with ease, making the score 1-1. A substitution for Northwood saw Jack Smith come on for Javonne Molloy.

A bad tackle in the 58th minute saw Bunker receive a yellow card. A heart stopping moment for all the supporters took place when it looked like Child had caught the ball but he fumbled it and lost his grip, allowing the it to drop to the ground but thankfully Northwood weren't quick enough to respond.

A 60th minute free kick taken by Draycott saw him hit the ball on target but Laurencin held the ball firm. Some brilliant defending from Rajaram saw the ball safely cleared away from any danger. Bunker played a lovely ball to Watson but he was offside and other opportunity at goal was missed.

Leighton made there first substitution in the 67th minute bringing on an injured Christian Lester in place of Paul Lyon to try and get that all important second goal.

The 71st minute saw Leighton battle hard to win themselves a corner which saw Lester curve the ball just over the bar. Play was stopped a few moments later for Rajaram who looked like he was suffering from cramp in his calf.

The last 10 minutes of the game saw Leighton intensify, determined to try and win the first game of the season. A long kick from Child landed at Watsons' feet and ended up finding its' way to Draycott, who hit the ball but it was cleared off the line by Laurencin.

Lester was up next for a shot at goal after receiving the ball from Rajaram, he hit the ball low and hard but once again was denied a goal. A second substitution saw an injured Nicholls replaced with Stephan Kemongoa.

Both teams had a last chance at scoring a winning goal in the final minute of the match. Draycott found Watson but the ball got lost in the box between numerous defenders and was eventually cleared to the other end of the pitch, where Child was one on one with Lawrence but managed to stick his foot out at exactly the right moment to stop the ball from going into the net.

Leightons' next game is away to Marlow on Tuesday 12th August, kick off 7:45pm

Northwood

Team- Laurencin, Nolan, Yorke, Turner, Brown, Nicholas, Ehui, Lawal, Molloy, Lawrence, Vassell

Subs- Duncan, Byfield, Lomas, Walsh, Smith

Leighton

Team- Child, Bunker, Rajaram, Crook, Murphy, P.Lyon, Morgan, Nicholls, Taylor, Watson, Draycott

Subs- Kemongoa, Lester, J.Lyons, Mullins, Durcan

Attendance- 85

By Hannah Sellman