Men's 2XI v Aylesbury 3XI

Leighton Buzzard 2XI v Aylesbury 3XI

Leighton started the game on a nice sunny day knowing only a win would do, to make sure they stayed out of the relegation battle, also on this important day it was one of Leighton's midfielders last game, Stuart "the God" Retford.
Right from the start Leighton pushed forward, with some great controlling play from the midfielders Joseph Giltrow, Joshua Wavish, Alex White, David Canty and Fraser Retford, and it wasn't long before Leighton were rewarded with a short corner, the skipper Jackson injected the ball to the top of the d, where Bellamy calmly swerved pass two defenders, only for his shot to be saved. Aylesbury struggled to get out of their own half, as Leighton continued to press high. Leighton continued to pass the ball round the back from David Wavish, to Tim Bellamy, to Marc Scott, then up the wings. Leighton were rewarded with another short corner from a searching cross which hit a defenders foot, Jackson injected the ball, to which was passed back to him, where Jackson swept the ball towards goal only for it to be saved and rebounded out, straight to Ashley Barnett to score. 1-0 up and Leighton believing this game was theirs for the taking.
Substitution time, the introduction of Joshua Gale, Oliver Parren and the "God" Retford, immediate impact from Man of the Match Stu Retford, who found himself in acres of space in midfield, to which he could just pick his passes to the forwards David Jackson and Gale. Leighton continued to create chances but to no avail. Aylesbury defended hard but started to build their way back into the game. Aylesbury broke quick and were rewarded with a short corner from a bad tackle outside the d from Canty who received a green card. Aylesbury took their shot but calmly saved by Jim Galloway. Leighton were not deterred by this and pushed forward once again, where Gale kept finding space out wide and linked up with Barnett, who passed it back to him where Gale unleashed his powerful reverse hit towards goal, only for it to be saved.
Halftime, and after some words of wisdom from coach Ken Mounter, Leighton setup for the second half. Leighton continued to search for another goal with some great passing and possession, and before you knew it a pass from White to Jackson into the d, which was just behind him but managed to pick it up and get his shot away, only for it to be saved again but pushed straight into the path of the poacher Barnett, who calmly tucked it away to make it 2-0. Aylesbury regrouped and started stringing some passes together, and started to play on the break, which payed off as their forwards ripped open the defence with a shot straight across goal which found itself into the bottom corner.
2-1 and Leighton weren't going to let this game slip through their fingers. The game started to open up as both sides seemed for the next goal, to which Stu "the God" Retford started to take charge in midfield, pick off balls, passing out wide and feeding the forwards, and that's when Leighton were rewarded with a short corner. Jackson injected the d to Dave Wavish, who smashed it towards the bottom corner, where it took a deflection off a defenders stick and went it for his first goal of the season.
3-1 up and a two goal cushion once again. Leighton started to defend a bit more and with a injury to Canty, Alex White dropped back. Leighton defended well against all of Aylesbury's attacks, but still pushed forward when they could. The game started to go end to end again, to which an Aylesbury player picked up the ball in midfield where Jackson went in for a tackle and mistimed it, the Aylesbury player shouted at the umpire and got himself and Jackson sent off with a green card each. 10 men each for two minutes, but Leighton continued to play the game their way and counter as often as they could. Two minutes up and both men back on the field, but still Aylesbury could find a way through, and it wasn't long before the final whistle blew. A great game played by all, which secured Leighton staying in Division 5.
To Stuart Retford for his continued passion and commitment to LBHC, your years of service that haven't gone unnoticed, you will be missed in that midfield. Hopefully you'll still come down to coach Fraser from the sidelines and tell us where we are going wrong. Till then, happy resting/retirement.