Blues 2 Hendon 3

Leiston returned to action in the Ryman Premier on Saturday looking to pick up three points against a Hendon side who had visited Victory Road just a few weeks ago writes Ollie Fairs. The Leiston side was much changed from midweek and the Hendon team was almost unrecognisable from when the two teams last met, Leiston coming out 5-0 victors on that occasion in a MATCH SPONSORED BY SZC NNB. The first half got off to a very slow start as both teams seemed to need time to play themselves into the game. The first real chance of note went the way of Leiston when Seb Dunbar whipped a ball along the six yard box but Christy Finch could not make the connection needed to steer it towards goal. Hendon then had a moment of magic when a cross from deep was headed on to the crossbar by Karl Oliyidade only for it to fall to Oliver Sprague who let the ball bounce once before rifling a volley into the top corner that put Hendon ahead early on in the game on 14 minutes. The Blues seemed to respond well at first when straight from kick off they found themselves with a chance. Christy Finch cut a ball back to Matt Blake in the box but he could only place his shot wide of the mark. Leiston then struggled to create anything for a large part of the half, the same being said for Hendon. The Blues struggled to get the ball down and play and were often forced to playing it long, but to no avail. It looked as though the first half was going to end 1-0 until the 43rd minute when Joe Francis put a cross into the box which fell perfectly to the head of Matt Blake. He managed to direct his high, looping header towards the post. The ball seemed to move in slow motion as it ricocheted off the post and hit a Hendon defender before trickling over the line to put the Blues level going in to the break. The second half got off to a much faster paced start with both teams pressing forward in an attempt to gain the lead. Just five minutes into the second half and Leiston found themselves around the Hendon box. They head several shots blocked and deflected until the ball eventually found its way to the foot of Jack Ainsley who’s shot found the top corner of the goal, putting the Blues ahead for the first time in the game. Leiston’s lead did not last long however. After a cross fell to Ollie Brown in the Leiston box he failed to clear his lines and the Hendon striker Niko Muir couldn’t believe his luck as he tapped the ball into the net from a few yards out to draw his team level after 56 minutes. It seemed that all the action for the second half had been used up in the first 10 minutes with both teams creating very few chances. The highlights perhaps went to Leiston as they created the better of the chances between the two teams. For example, Gareth Heath made a driving run through the centre of the field before playing a quick one two with Joe Francis, only to have his shot saved by the keeper. Towards the end of the game however, Hendon looked the team more likely to score the winning goal, but no one would have guessed how they would score it. Leo Donnellan fizzed a cross come shot towards goal that Jacob Marsden appeared to have covered. However, the ball managed to find its way under the body of the Leiston keeper before it trickled over the line to give Hendon the lead with just two of the 90 minutes remaining. Leiston pressed the Hendon goal trying to get level again, but to no avail even with 5 minutes being added on. Overall, a disappointing performance from Leiston which lead to an even more disappointing result.

FT - Blues 2 Hendon 3

Blues - Marsden, Brown, Dunbar, Ainsley, Jefford, Hutchings, Lawrence, Heath, Blake, Finch (Pellings 83 mins), Francis (Ottley-Gooch 70 mins). Subs not used - Blades and Saker.

Hendon - Behcet, Smith, Sprague, Hewitt, Lee, Maclaren, Donnellan (Tingey 89 mins), Cole (Murphy 77 mins), Muir, Oliyide (Robins 78 mins), Federico. Subs not used - Ibe and McCall.

Match Sponsors SZC NNB Man of the Match - Gareth Heath

Attendance - 206