Wealdstone 1 – 2 Leyton
Wealdstone1 - 2
LeytonA better performance from Stones but not the result they wanted or probably deserved – a draw may have been a fairer result.
Leyton were generally stronger and quicker and soon had Stones under pressure but some wayward finishing and the crossbar preserved Stones defending, then on seventeen minutes a Courtnage corner was headed on by Jolly for Morgan to head home at the far post to give Stones the lead.
This spurred Stones on for their best spell of the match and they forced Leyton back, Jolly, Morgan and Carter unlucky not to increase Stones lead before on 31 minutes a Leyton break as stones gave the ball away allowed Williams’ shot to cannon back off the bar to ben Wood who equalised.
With Leyton ‘s midfield beginning to control the game, Stones were glad of the break, but the second half started in similar vein.
Another error on 66 minutes allowed Bajeda through and he sidestepped Andy Carter to slot home from close range, but Stones to their credit battled their way back into the match.
The last twenty minutes saw Stones force Leyton back and a Ryan header flashed wide when maybe he should have scored – Alexander also saw a shot go wide of the post and Morgan had an effort saved but there was to be no breakthrough…
Harrow Times Steve Spaull
Wealdstone 1 Leyton 2
DON’T be fooled by the close scoreline, Wealdstone were well beaten by the better side on Tuesday last week.
Leyton are not near the top of the division by luck. They are quick, quick to close down and play at a fast tempo too.
Apart from the couple of minutes around when they scored their goal, and the last ten minutes of the first half, it always looked as if Leyton would be the victors.
True, Wealdstone had a couple of moments late on, but the Wealdstone defence looked particularly fragile throughout the entire second half with Dave Ryan particularly exposed by quick Leyton forwards.
Andy Carter had to make a neat catch of a Bajada header early on but suddenly Wealdstone came to life and two sliced Leyton defensive clearances almost produced own goals.
It didn’t matter however, because moments later Richard Jolly’s near post flick head-on from the second corner led to Marvin Morgan bundling the ball in at the far post.
Wealdstone were immediately forced back and it seemed only a matter of time before Leyton scored. Carter tipped Sophocleous’s free-kick on to the bar, then tipped another over. Williams fired wide then Curley hit the bar.
From the last of these incidents Fannon was on hand for a simple tap-in to equalise.
Now it was Leyton’s turn to be forced back and the half ended with a series of Wealdstone attacks where Jolly fired wide and Morgan had his goalbound shot tipped over by James Courtnage, brother of Wealdstone’s Rob, in the Leyton goal.
It was Courtnage the goalkeeper who crashed into Jolly when the pair were one-on-one as the half ended.
The ball went off for a corner. It should have been a penalty.
Despite finishing the first half on a high, afterwards Wealdstone were hardly in the game.
The goal that won the game came on 64 minutes when Bajada, running on to Williams’s pass rounded Carter to score.
Ryan (header wide) and Courtnage (shot blocked on the line) did have chances late on, but Leyton always looked the more threatening.
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