Enfield Town 0 Blues 2

A tremendous rearguard display coupled with a Man of the Match display from keeper Alex Rossis saw Leiston return to Suffolk with three important points. Rossis had stepped into the number one jersey as Danny Gay was unavailable as his wife had given birth 48 hours earlier and Alex proved he is more than a worthy keeper with a fine display. Richard Wilkins side had to defend for long spells against a good Enfield side but a goal in either half saw the visitors move up into sixth spot. After a relatively quiet opening ten minutes Alex Rossis was first called into action on 13 minutes thwarting Bobby Devyne after a neat back heel from Tyler Campbell as the visitors had overplayed inside their own box. Enfield were starting to gain some momentum and after a couple of corners Tyler Campbell saw an acrobatic effort fly over the bar. Bobby Devyne then saw an effort held high by Alex Rossis as Leiston struggled to get a foot hold into possession. On 26 minutes the visitors had their first opportunity, Joe Francis latching onto Danny Cunningham’s pass but just inside the box home keeper Nathan McDonald blocked Joe Francis attempted lob. Minutes later the visitors goal had a huge let off thanks to a fine save from Alex Rossis. The Leiston keeper hurling himself to his left to deny Tyler Campbell from close range from a Ricky Gabriel centre. The miss proved costly as within seconds Leiston nudged ahead. Stuart Boardley’s teasing centre by-passed Mark Kirby at the heart of the Enfield defence and John Sands timed his run to sweetly stroke his volley into the right hand corner, a superb finish for his first goal for the Blues. Play soon switched and Mark Kirby headed wide of an almost open goal as Alex Rossis had came to claim a hanging Ricky Gabriel deep free kick but was beaten in the air by Mark Kirby. Alex Rossis then saved a Ryan Doyle header from a Nathan Livings corner before Leiston were denied what looked a clear penalty. A swift counter saw John Sands race into the box and after turning Claudiu Vilcu there was clearly contact and down went the Leiston striker but Referee Holderness booked the Blues forward for simulation.

Early in the second half Alex Rossis made a superb finger tip save after Nathan Livings shot from the edge of the box had deflected off Joe Jefford and moments later he denied Tyler Campbell as he raced in on goal. Enfield were certainly starting to press for a response as Leiston defended strongly and in numbers. On 57 minutes Nathan Livings went down on the edge of the box but Ryan Doyle’s free kick was well blocked by Gareth Heath. Little was seen of the visitors offensively with the Blues clearly happy to soak up the pressure. Darren Mills was introduced for the tiring John Sands and soon after Tom Winter replaced the hard working Danny Cunningham and both changes gave the visitors some fresh impetus. Both players combined on 72 minutes with Darren Mills long range effort held by Nathan McDonald at full stretch and then on 77 minutes Leiston doubled their lead albeit against the run of play. From their first corner of the half delivered by Gareth Heath, the ball fell in the box with Darren Mills firing goalwards with the slightest of touches from Leon Ottley-Gooch deflecting the ball home from close range. To their credit Enfield kept plugging away and on 86 minutes looked to have a good shout for a penalty after Stuart Boardley challenged Nathan Livings but nothing was given. Deep into stoppage time Alex Rossis was called into action again to deny a long range effort from Dernell Wynter and then mop up the rebound and then in the final moments of the game he made a flying save to his left to keep out a Liam Hope free kick as the visitors recorded three important points on their travels.

FT – Enfield Town 0 Blues 2

Blues – Rossis, Saker, Boardley, Cunningham (Winter 68 mins), Jefford, Mitchell, Brothers, Heath, Sands (Mills 66, Merritt 94 mins), Ottley-Gooch, Francis.

Goals – Sands 31 mins & Ottley-Gooch 77 mins (Leiston)

Yellow cards – Cunningham, Francis, Jefford, Sands (Leiston)

Man of the Match – Alex Rossis

Attendance - 361