In front of a large crowd under the lights at Creasey Park, Leighton pressed for a goal early on, yet it would be the home side to open the scoring 16 minutes in.
Dunstable reacted well to a spell of Leighton dominance and moved the ball up the pitch. A missed tackle from Ethan Flanagan saw the Dunstable winger skip away down the right before squaring the ball back across the box. Forward Dylan Baker met the cross, finishing low and central through keeper Connor Coulston’s legs.
It was a blow for the league leaders, but Town continued to push on at the Blues’ defence. A blocked shot from midfielder Jordan Frederick on 28’ and an easily caught Silford free kick on 34’ were several half chances Town created but to no avail. The dynamic duo of David Parkinson and Ashton Campbell linked up well at times but looked isolated amongst an organised Dunstable defensive unit.
At the end of the first period, the general consensus was one of good Leighton Town possession but little end product and Dunstable carried the lead into the break.
Coming back out, a big half was needed and the men in red and white started well with some early moves on goal. Their pressure paid dividends as Tom Silford got Leighton back in the game 51 minutes in. His long-range effort took a helpful deflection past a hapless Dan Gould in the Dunstable net and finally gave the travelling fans something to cheer about.
Bonham’s men looked to be in the ascendancy now and the coach brought on Sonny Newbury-Barr for Brian Foulger 56 minutes in. Good possession continued for Town but a gritty midfield battle nearly saw Dunstable retaliate instantly – the game spilled out into Leighton’s half and Silford was called in to action to scramble the ball out of the box.
Leighton then went for another change, as Bill Morgan came on for Tom Bryant 70 minutes in. This looked to build out from the back and on the counter it looked to work. Parkinson shrugged off his defender on the right of the box before hitting a snapshot from the tight angle just over. Debatably, he could have passed, but it was an improvement from the attacking initiative that was lacking from the first half.
Alfie Osborne came on for James Towell. Leighton used their last substitute 74 minutes in and looked to set up a final crescendo – desperate for a goal. The final onslaught approached. 78 minutes saw a tame effort from Ross Adams roll straight to the keeper. It was encouraging as Leighton kept pushing.
81 minutes saw a well worked corner routine and the fans erupted. The ball came in and substitute Osborne looked to have nodded home, but the lino confirmed Gould had just palmed off the line. It was a crucial save from close range.
It was, admittedly, all Leighton at this point and the next chance fell to Parkinson five minutes later. He had the ball to feet and with his back to goal he got a turn and shot away – putting the ferocious effort just over though, emphatically slamming into the stand.
Leighton kept utilising the left wing, but the presence in the box was lacking as every time Dunstable seemed able to escape.
The next big chance looked destined for the net though. Another corner for Town came in and Joe Fitzgerald appeared but couldn’t direct his header past the keeper. It was a relatively easy save from such a big chance. Then, to make matters worse, Dunstable crept out of their half and almost scored themselves but Coulson was happy to watch the deflected effort loop over the bar in the dying embers.
Much to the disappointment of the travelling faithful, the final whistle blew and signified a disappointing result in a game Leighton dominated throughout. Credit to Dunstable who worked hard and were well organised defensively but It would be dropped points for Leighton.

Now attentions turn to Saturday’s game at Holmer Green, a side Town previously beat 7-1 at Bell Close earlier in the season.

Report By Max Bradfield