Barwell 3 Blues 0

Leiston's poor run of form continued as Barwell defeated Leiston 3-0 in Leicestershire as the visitors fell to 16th in the league table. It leaves the Blues without a league win in their last 7 matches. The side welcomed back Tom Bullard, Josh Cheetham and Robert Eagle while Patrick Brothers and Harrison Bacon remain out injured. Harry Knights and Christy Finch were unavailable.
They were undone by two first half goals by Jai Rowe (a player who will be turning professional in the Summer by moving to Scunthorpe United) and this left the Suffolk side with an uphill battle for the remainder of the match. The first goal came after just 15 minutes when Marcus Garnham saved Rowe's original shot but Rowe was on hand to header in the resultant corner that followed. Three minutes later, and Barwell doubled their lead as Rowe hit a strike with venom that went in off the post to put Leiston firmly on the back foot. 'The canaries' had more chances as the half progressed with Sam Hollis and Jamie Towers spurning opportunities. Just before half time, Dom Brownhill's free kick came back off the post.

Leiston tried their hardest to get back in the match in the second period, with Matt Blake scuffing his close range shot and Barwell clearing off the line and three corners in a row were dealt with by the Barwell defence. Elliot Putman then put his effort just off target while Josh Hitter put his strike over Liam Castle's crossbar. But Leiston struggled after this and after a good delivery by Dom Brown-Hill, striker Brady Hickey was in the penalty area to head home past Garnham in the 83rd minute to wrap up the points. The same player hit the crossbar just a couple of minutes later as they held on to their lead and saw the game out.

Leiston now don't play until next Saturday when they host Banbury United at Victory Road.

FT: - Barwell 2-0 Blues.

Line-ups: -

Barwell: - Castle, Whitmore (Nisevic 82 mins), Putman, Percival, Preston, Julien, Rowe, Brown-Hill, Towers (Tomkinson 73 mins), Hickey, Hollis (Durkin 67 mins). Subs not used: - Campbell, Charley.

Leiston: - Garnham, Hammond, Dunbar, Rutterford (Cheetham 63 mins), Jefford (Canham 89 mins), Bullard, Lawrence, Hitter, Blake, Docherty (Sinclair 63 mins), Davies. Sub not used: - Eagle.

Man Of The Match: - Kyle Hammond.

Attendance: - 138.