Leighton Buzzard 1s vs Marlow 3s

On the back of a disappointing draw with second place Newbury last week, the Buzzards travelled to mid table Marlow needing all six points from their remaining two games to have any chance of securing promotion.

Things did not start well for Leighton. A severe injury to Buzzards central midfielder Nick Marshall's knee, sustained in the warm up, meant a re-jigging to Leighton's line up, with skipper Jack Gorton filling the void and Marshall out of the game and potentially the rest of the season.
From the first whistle Marlow looked to play the long ball over the top trying to hit their high forwards. This, however, was expertly dealt with by Leighton centre back Gordon Browne. It wasn't long before Leighton were attacking the Marlow D. David Fry's reverse stick effort was saved by the Marlow keeper only for Mortgage Advice Bureau Man of the Match Sam Gale to slot home the rebound. Leighton continued to press Marlow high with Gorton dictating the play through the midfield, finding Mark Stephenson and Gale. Further injury worries struck Leighton when striker Tommi Lakins pulled up sharply with a strain to his back. With no coverage on the bench Lakins gingerly pushed on. Marlow came close to equalising when a high ball into the D was taken on the volley, only to be turned around the post by Leighton keeper Alex White.

Leighton started the second half stronger than their hosts and made a number of chances with both Gale and Tristan Hardy coming very close to doubling the Leighton lead. This did eventually come when Fry was able to drive the back line and pull the ball back to find Lakins unmarked on the penalty spot to tap the ball home. A number of chances for the home side were dealt with by the Leighton defence and White, who were keen to keep their clean sheet. With the clock drawing out Leighton added one more to their tally and sealed out of the game. Lakins once again was found unmarked in the D and he was able to lift the ball over the oncoming Marlow keeper. This was cleared off the line by a defender, only to be smashed home by Hardy to the jubilant celebrations of LB coach Ken Mounter on the sidelines.
An important win for the yellows in tough circumstance still keeps their promotion dream alive. In two weeks time Leighton host relegated Sonning in what promises to be a goal fest for Leighton.

Final score LBHC 3 Marlow 0

Written by Nick Marshall