A late equaliser could be enough to save Leighton

With Aylesbury currently sitting 12th in the league, it didn't look like this would be an easy game to get anything from, however after losing to Daventry 2-1 last week Leighton were determined not to leave the pitch without getting at least a point.

Leighton kicked off the first half and with only 2 minutes gone Paul Edgeworth had a chance at scoring when Stuart Deaton missed his header, thankfully Grant Fryer was there to hassle Edgeworth, however he still managed to take a shot which Kevin Marsh saved with his leg.

The 7th minute saw confusion between the officials when the referee awarded Aylesbury with a throw in but the linesman was persistent that he'd flagged for a free kick. However once the matter had been sorted, Aylesbury had possession of the ball and a spectacular shot from Steve Hatch that no one could have foreseen let alone stopped, in the 9th minute saw Aylesbury move into the lead.

Gareth Chendlik and Bilal Hassan worked well to reach the box in the 21st minute only for the ball to be cleared by ex-Leighton player Bill Morgan. Ben Baines had a chance to make it 2-0 for Aylesbury but he rushed his shot and it curved over the stand.

32 minutes in saw Fryer, Deaton and Kristian Stephens bombarded with the ball, however each time they cleared it, it fell straight back to Aylesburys' feet, giving them yet more chances at shooting.

Some confusion between Steve Hatch and Jack Wood saw Dom Marsala walk away with the ball after hassling them both for a good minute or two. A free kick was awarded to Aylesbury 2 minutes before the half time whistle but thankfully Keith Williams's shot was caught well by Marsh and held firmly.

The last minute of the first half saw Leighton battle to try and get an all important goal, some brilliant play by Marsala, Hassan and Sean Bishop saw the ball find its way through to Stephens to cross into the box but no one was there to challenge the keeper.

Aylesbury kicked off the second half but Leighton were straight on the attack chasing down the ball. Marsala had the first shot of the second half which won him a corner, he then proceeded to take the corner and found Chendlik who's shot was cleared off the line.

Leighton then had a succession of shots, first up was Shane Bush but the keeper blocked his shot, the ball fell for Chendlik and there was a bit of a scramble before he ended up putting the ball over the bar.

Some good play by Bishop and Marsala saw the ball fall perfectly for Jake Bewley to cross into the box, however he couldn't get hold of the ball and it bobbled towards Aylesburys' defence. Bishop then managed to regain possession and pass to Bush who booted the ball at Jack Sillitoe but he spread his body stopping the ball with ease.

Aylesbury made a double substitution in the 55th minute to try and liven the game up. Winning themselves a corner Danny Jones, who had just come on stepped up to take it and swung it round beautifully but the ball was just too high for Joey Acheampong to reach.

Leightons' first and only yellow card of the match came when Fryer took a man down and then proceeded to kick the ball away in the 70th minute. A second substitution was made by Leighton and saw Marsala replaced with Dennis Fenemore.

An off target attempt by Fryer from a Leighton free kick was well defended by Aylesbury, who weren't taking their chances. 76 minutes saw Marsh rise for the ball in what should have been a simple catch, however he fumbled the ball, lost touch and had to quickly run after it to kick it out of play.

Liam Smyth took Stephens out in a nasty tackle which saw him receive a yellow card and Leighton awarded with a free kick, thankfully Stephens wasn't too badly affected. 81 minutes saw Deaton take a knock which he received treatment for and continued playing.

Leighton equalised in the 87th minute when Fenemore kicked the ball over his head hoping he'd find a red and white shirt, the ball fell to Chendlik who managed to find the back of the net. The reaction from the supporters and the bench was spectacular, with only 3 minutes till the final whistle this was the luck Leighton had been looking for.

It seemed Leighton were looking for that all important second goal when Bewley managed to cross the ball to Kieran Doughty but Jack Wood was too quick for the Leighton youngster and booted the ball clear. A stoppage time substitution saw Chendlik off and Jamie Bather on just before the final whistle was blown and Leighton walked away with a much needed point.

Leightons' next game is away to Potters Bar Town on 19th April, kick off 3pm.

By Hannah Sellman

Team lineup- Marsh, Stephens, Bewley Fryer, Deaton, Bishop, Marsala, Bush, Chendlik, Doughty, Hassan

Subs- Fenemore, Masiri, Quinn, Bather

Attendance- 165