AFC Dunstable 1 Leighton Town 0

AFC Dunstable 1-0 Leighton Town

23 th November 2024

Storm Bert had a lot of influence on this hard fought match. The wind and the rain fell for the whole

game which was not great for trying to play decent football which both sides clearly aspire to.

Leighton had the first decent effort with 5 minutes on the clock – a free kick that was well blocked

by the well positioned AFC defensive wall. Shortly after that Bruce had an effort that was blocked

closely followed by a Kyle Lynch shot that flew wide of the left hand post. Kwad had an effort

blocked as AFC took the game to the visitors.

Leighton were still well in the game at this stage in spite of the home sides early dominance. With 20

gone a dangerous ball in was eventually cleared for a corner – one of a number that Leighton had

but mostly well dealt with by the AFC defence and in particular Roraigh in goal.

As the rain continued to pour, AFC continued to create the better chances – Rico had a nicely struck

free kick headed behind for a corner on 22 minutes and 5 minutes later he found himself some space

out on the left but his shot went over the bar. It was pretty much end to end with the ball up and

down the pitch – almost basketball like – you have a go and then it’s our turn!

The breakthrough came on 35 minutes. Kwad bundled through midfield and a mix of determination

and a fortunate ricochet off a visiting defender saw him force the ball through to Russell who lifted

the ball over the keeper and in to the back of the net to put us 1-0 up. Perhaps a little wind assisted

but nevertheless a well taken goal.

Leighton definitely had the better of the final 10 minutes of the half and created a number of

chances – one in particular – an impressive over the shoulder shot that drew a fine save from

Roraigh just before the half time whistle.

Leighton continued with the pressure in the early part of the second half and had a number of

efforts but the home keeper continued to impress with some excellent saves – not easy given the

awful conditions as the rain seemed to get heavier with every passing minute.

AFC made a number of changes from the 65 th minute and they seemed to do the trick as tired

players were replaced by fresh legs. The game became a real war of attrition as the half continued

with no real efforts worth a specific mention – a couple of half chances for both sides. As we went in

to 4 minutes of added time, Rico had the final effort of note but his attempted chipped shot went

straight in to the keepers arms.

It was a relief to hear the referees whistle – mostly so that we could all get out of the rain – not sure

I’ve ever seen such a quick exodus of players from the pitch! Leighton probably felt a little hard done

by to not go home with a point but that’s football – we took our chance when it came and they

didn’t. A big well done to all the players (home and away).

Man of the match as voted by the committee went to goalkeeper Roraigh Browne on his AFC debut.

Team line up (subs in brackets); Roraigh Browne, Albert Wood, Kwadwo Bugyei-Kyei, Kyle Lynch,

Harry Riley (Shawn Joseph 89), Stan Georgiou, Russell Berko (Tali Jallow 65), Keon Lewis-Burgess

(Tommy Blennerhasset 70), Sean Duodu (Bruce Obviye-Nsang 85), Rico Greco, Kyle Brooks (Charlie

Davis 65).