Leighton Town returned to the hallowed Bell Close on Saturday and sealed a deserved three points in dramatic fashion against a determined Harefield United.
Despite the Autumn chill creeping in, Leighton brought in 356 avid supporters, the majority of which, would have been left delighted after Ashton Campbell’s late winner capped a dogged performance by the Reds against equally dogged opponents.
FIRST HALF
After a relatively timid start to proceedings, Bonham’s Town broke the deadlock on 17 minutes with a goal that was far from glamourous. Ashton Campbell worked the ball excellently down the right wing before his low cross found James Towell whose finish caused chaos in the Harefield box. cannoned off the advancing goalkeeper and hit a defender, who was helpless as he watched the ball trickle into the empty net.
Leighton revelled in the good fortune and after this looked to really grow into the game. With dominant possession, Town were able to carve out good chances. With just over 25 minutes played, the home side will have been wondering how they hadn’t doubled their lead. Jordon Frederick brilliantly pounced on a loose ball in midfield and provided a sublime showing of skill to get away from a hapless Harefield man. In a scorpion kick-like motion he was away and pushed the ball down the right. With the keeper rooted at the front post, the number eight looked up and squared calmly to an open Campbell who just got under the ball and lifted his effort over the empty goal. The out of character miss left many scratching their heads and seemed to give Harefield a new lease of life.
With their first chance of note, the visitors almost equalised six minutes later. A ball from the left was whipped in but the header went just over. This was a warning shot for Town as Harefield then went one better and equalised in the 40th minute. Breaking forward, Harefield cut the ball back to the right side of the box. Louis Bircham was there and slotted his effort smartly into the bottom right corner – narrowly evading Connor Coulson’s dive.
SECOND HALF
This equaliser, and a cynical Fitzgerald booking put a damper on the end of Leighton’s first half and Harefield seemed to have momentum at the start of the second.
Five minutes in, the away side brought the pressure and won a series of corners. Leighton dealt with these well but were on the back foot now. On ’52, it seemed a Harefield injury stoppage gave the home team time to collect their thoughts.
After the subsequent free kick, Town broke quickly. Campbell beat his man and found Luke Dunstan but the number 10’s shot was straight at the keeper. This was the final real chance of any note as the game slipped into a trademark spell of non-league scrappiness. As the club Twitter reflected, the match took on a very stop start nature and Paul Bonham looked to the bench to shake things up.
67 minutes saw Dunstan make way for Alfie Osborne as Town continued to battle away. As the game approached the final 15 minutes, a draw looked to be imminent. Inside the final knockings subs were called upon again. This time, young Josh Hatton replaced Sonny Newbury-Barr on ‘83.
Leighton kept pushing. As the half chances came in for both sides, that earlier Campbell miss looked more and more important. So, how poignant it was that the man himself would score the winner.
Amidst a bitty second half, this Leighton attack seemed like a bolt from the blue. The ball was won in yet another midfield battle and Osborne played in Campbell. The Harefield back line was awry and with the forward bearing down on goal, the goalkeeper made a final charge. Campbell displayed fine composure that was perhaps missing in the first half and from 30 yards out slid the ball through the goalkeeper’s legs to emphatically make it 2-1 on 86 minutes.
It was a great finale and yet another fine example of Leighton Town’s resilience. The back four and keeper were once again excellent for Leighton, with new signing Bill Morgan and Ethan Flanagan particularly outstanding. With only 2 goals conceded in the past 5 games the Reds seem to have addressed their early season defensive frailties. In fairness the whole team appear to be defending more tightly as a unit and credit most go to the manager and coaching staff for their work on the training pitch. James Towell was chosen by match sponsors Nationwide Copiers, as Leighton Town’s man of the match for his tireless running and attacking threat throughout.
Town are still top of the Spartan and after this breath-taking finish, attention turns to the next fixture when 13th place Broadfields United pay Bell Close a visit next Saturday.