Dynamo edged out by Leek

EVOSTIK PREMIER LEAGUE DIVISION ONE SOUTH LEEK TOWN 1 LOUGHBOROUGH DYNAMO 0

IN A close encounter at Harrison Park, Leek Town secured a 1-0 home win over Loughborough Dynamo in the last round of Evo-Stik League matches in 2017.

Dynamo were first to put pressure on goal when a third minute corner was well taken by home goalkeeper Ben Chapman, who was called into action again a minute later to cute out Luke Smithson’s centre.

The best chance of the early part of the game came in the 10th minute when Jordan Johnson broke clear on the left side of the Dynamo penalty area and hit a low shot which Dynamo goalkeeper James Martin saved for a corner.

As half time approach Dynamo had two narrow escapes when first Marc Grocott’s shot was blocked and rebounded to him, his low follow up shot going just wide when most people in the ground thought it was going inside the far post. A minute later a long high ball saw Martin miss his kick under pressure outside his area, ensuring the half remained goal-less.

Within 60 seconds of the restart Grocott drew a save from Martin with a good shot, but Dynamo countered this with a good run by Smithson setting up Jared Holmes, the Dynamo midfielder put his shot over the bar.

The game changed in the 55th minute. Under pressure from Demidh, Chapman sliced his kick, the ball eventually being cleared by the Leek defence, the home side going straight down the pitch and the ball broke to Johnson in the Dynamo penalty area, and the home forward rolled his shot home to give Leek the lead.

Five minutes later Dynamo had a great chance to draw level. A ball into the Leek area was handled by Lycett. Demidh took the resulting penalty and he saw his low shot well saved by Chapman, diving to his left to turn the ball away.

The match then went into a phase of being a midfield encounter until the 74th minute when Tom Crawford’s volley drew an outstanding save from Martin. Dynamo then put a period of pressure on the home goal. Midfielder Alistair Smith saw his shot blocked for a corner, from which Smith put in a header which was cleared for another corner, Leek eventually clearing the ball.

Stoppage time saw seveal chances for Dynamo and with the last kick of the game Dynamo had a great chance to equalise. The ball was headed across the Leek six-yard box by Dynamo substitute Sam Thorpe and from practically on the Leek goal line Edilson Antonio couldn’t reach the ball for a vital touch to score, leaving Leek narrow 1-0 winners.