Away draw to open the league season

Leighton left Saffron Walden with a very creditable team performance and a share of the points.

In a close contest Leighton got the better of the early exchanges with player of the match Sadie Carrington opening the scoring: picking up the ball in midfield and running through the home side's defence, Sadie reached the edge of the D and fired the ball low past the keeper's left hand.

Saffron Walden came back at Leighton and hit the post. But with Leighton defending well and Ellen Baldwin in particular holding strong in the centre Leighton looked good to take the lead into half time. With seconds to go a tricky run into the 23 saw Leighton concede a short corner, which the hosts converted in over time at the second attempt. One all at the break.

The second half continued in a similar fashion but with Saffron Walden having the edge initially. The longer the game went, the stronger Leighton looked and with Sharon Avola restored to the front line Leighton increased the pressure on the home side. Chrissie Dixon found lots of space on the left and Leighton found some success attacking down that side.

Tenacious tackling by Sarah Ayres won the ball for the visitors high up the field. This led to a succession of Leighton short corners, kept out by good goal keeping and shots going narrowly wide. The game ended with Leighton still going for the win. A draw was a fair outcome but Leighton will take lot of positives from their first game of the league season.