Leighton robbed of victory

The first day of winter had arrived; with a chill in the air Leighton faced Daventry away from home. With Daventry losing to bottom side AFC Hayes in their last game the odds were in Leightons favour.

Craig Bicknell had a decent squad to pick from, even with 2 players suspended (Jamie Nicholls and Michael Lyon). Alvin Rajaram and Gary Ridgeway both returned from injury and appeared in the starting line up.

Daventry won the toss but it was Leighton who found themselves with the ball 2 minutes in, when they had the first corner of the match. Phil Draycott curved the ball in from the corner to find the head of Chris Crook and it went out for a goal kick.

Ashley Deeney felt the pressure in the 11th minute, when he lost control of the ball to Draycott and with the help of Ridgeway and Danny Watson Leighton won themselves yet another corner. Rajaram was shown a yellow card moments later.

With Daventry being awarded a free kick Ross Outlon stepped up to the ball, he found the head of his own man and Dan Green had to jump to push it over the bar.

A pass back by Crook to Green saw him misjudge his kick and Daventry earn themselves an easy corner. Cries from Leighton for a penalty were heard when a ball played by Mark Bunker to Watson saw him going for goal before being taken down in the box, but the referee disregarded the idea.

Crook went down with a head injury 17 minutes in but the referee paid no attention and allowed play to continue, this resulted in Mitch Piggon facing Green one on one and the ball going straight through his legs and into the back of the net, putting Daventry 1-0 up.

Robbie Goodman came on in place of Crook in the 32nd minute when he went down holding his back. A real chance for Leighton to even the score came when Bunker booted the ball from the corner to find the head of Tyrone Taylor, he headed the ball down and it bounced high over the bar.

With only minutes before half time Leighton were determined to try and equalise, Ridgeway made a spectacular length of the pitch run and crossed the ball to Draycott but his first touch sent it flying over the bar.

With Leighton kicking off the second half and no changes made during the break, it was a long throw from Taylor which saw Leighton come close once again to equalising, the ball fell for Watson who only managed to hit post.

Leightons’ second substitution saw Rajaram come off to make way for Ash Farmer. Leighton continued to press for that all-important goal, having most of the play throughout the second half. It was Christian Lesters' turn to try and score but instead he launched the ball over the bar.

A final substitution for Leighton took place in the 76th minute with Aaron Morgan replaced Paul Lyon. Daventrys Dior Angus received a yellow card for getting stroppy and kicking the ball away after the referee had blown for offside.

With only 4 minute to go Lester stepped up again to try and score after Morgan played the ball through to him but he couldn't find the back of the net. Ridgeway received a misconstrued yellow card shortly before the final whistle was blown.

With play into injury time, what looked like an offside Josh O'Grady, for Daventry sprinted towards Green, who was scrambling for the ball in the air but couldn't keep hold of it and this saw O'Grady walk the ball straight into the back of the net. Making the final score 2-0.

Leighton Town FC-

Team- Green, Rajaram, Ridgeway, Crook, Murphy, Lyon, Taylor, Bunker, Lester, Watson, Draycott

Subs- Morgan, Goodman, Durcan, Farmer, Hart

Daventry Town FC-

Team- Heath, Deeney, Wilkinson, Hanes, Hutchcox, Deacon, Oulton, Howell, Piggon, Angus, Keen

Subs- O'Grady, Cartwright, Fitzgerald, Power, Morris

Attendance- 106

By Hannah Sellman