Leiston Football Club

Leiston consolidated their third place position with a slim win at a drenched Victory Road. On a very heavy pitch, Leiston produced an attacking display from the off utilising their 4-3-3 formation to good use. Manager Carl Chenery made four changes to the side that drew with Stanway Rovers with Danny Cunningham, Judd Chenery, Paul Hart and Chris Williams replacing Michael Brothers, Lee McGlone, Brett Girling and Chris Sillett. Only an exceptional display from visiting keeper Louis Johnson kept the scoreline respectable for the Hornets as Leiston got to grips with the conditions better. It was the visitors who started the better with Allen firing over and Goldfinch making a goal saving tackle on Deacon. But then Leiston stepped up a gear & Johnson denied Hart before a block by Kemp stopped a certain goal for Cunningham. Hart hit the side netting after further good work by Cunningham and Cunningham drove wide. As the rain refused to relent, neither did Leiston and what turned out to be the winning goal came on 29 minutes. Cunningham somehow reached Calver’s searching pass down the left and his high volleyed centre caused confusion inside the box with two fine blocks denying Calver and Williams and as the ball ran out to the right flank, Hart’s driven cross was lashed into the net off what looked like Gooderham’s thigh. Two minutes later Gedny should have levelled but headed straight at Stannard from Taylor-Holt’s left wing cross. As the half closed Boardley twice went close from distance. The second period followed a similar vein with Johnson denying Hart and then Calver heading over Cunningham’s corner. On 64 minutes Johnson saved low from Hart’s header from Ottley-Gooch’s cross and then on 72 minutes Hart burst clear but his shot was too close to Johnson who comfortably made the save. On 75 minutes Leiston carved out a fine move with a fine run from Boardley, hugging the left touchline, finding Cunningham whose dummy allowed Calver a twenty yard effort that that man Johnson did brilliantly to parry at full stretch with Brothers hitting the rebound the wrong side of the stanchion. The game was still evenly poised with just a goal separating the sides and Stannard was called into action on 86 minutes, diving to his left to hold Kemp’s half volley from the edge of the box. But Leiston deserved more from a game they dominated and the heroics from Johnson came to the fore in stoppage time as he completed his repertoire with a stunning finger tip save to keep out Brothers stinging drive from the edge of the box. The unbeaten start to the New year continues and only the heroics of Johnson denied a deserved glut of goals. All the players worked very hard in very difficult conditions. Debenham were dogged and could have snatched an unlikely point but surely when the pitches start to dry, our dominance in games will start to show in the goals for column. The performance of Danny Cunningham was a little over shadowed by that of Johnson’s after Cunningham played a major part all night with some fantastic deliveries and work rate.