Marsden-Green nets treble as Longlevens 4ths beat Rising Stars in 11 goal thriller
Leo Marsden-Green scored three as Longlevens 4ths claimed an 8-3 victory in an entertaining game against Rising Stars, on Saturday afternoon.
The Stroud League Division Three fixture saw Longlevens race into a 3-0 lead inside 23 minutes, before leading at 4-2 at the break, with Marsden-Green netting twice.
It was goals galore throughout, as the hosts had too much for the visitors on the day, who scored at regular intervals.
The result is Longlevens 4ths’ third win in their last four games and the second time they have scored eight in their last three home matches.
For Rising Stars, they now have a nervous wait to see if they will finish 2nd and claim another promotion, with Minety four points behind with three to play, whilst Rising Stars are now done for the season.
After an even opening, the hosts took the lead on 10 minutes when Jimmy Mitchell was brought down in the box, but after the appeals were turned away, the ball came back in and Mitchell slotted home.
The second came soon after as Marsden-Green intercepted a short goal kick and tapped home.
Levens striker Jae Panchbhaya rifled in a third from the edge of the box on 23 minutes as the hosts continued to dominate.
Rising Stars reduced arrears to 3-2 with goals for Imran Parekh, who slotted home after a neat one two on the edge of the box and Aabed Badet, who curled home from the edge of the box.
Longlevens responded instantly though, with Marsden-Green converting from 12 yards after being brought down in the box.
Panchbhaya added his second two minutes into the second half, as he found himself as the spare man on the right side of the box and clinically firing home from inside the area.
The visitors came back again though, with a free kick bouncing through to Kaihaan Zakhill, who blasted past Jack Stokes to keep the game interesting.
But on 66 minutes, Longlevens restored their three goal cushion – with Panchbhaya beating the keeper with an effort that rebounded off the post and was knocked in by a defender.
Panchbhaya will definitely claim the goal though, which would give him a well deserved hattrick on the day.
Marsden-Green completed his hattrick with 15 minutes to go, as Will Martin’s cleared pass fell through to the forward, who then rounded the keeper and tapped home.
And just as it looked like the scoring was done, a sliced effort bounced over Umer Munsuri in the Rising Stars goal, ricocheted off the post and Jayden Bee was on hand to stood down and head in his side’s eighth of the afternoon.
Longlevens 4ths find themselves 5th in the Division Three table and know they can’t finish any higher, even if they win either of their two remaining matches.
They host Dursley Town 3rds next weekend, before welcoming Frampton United 3rds in a re-arranged contest following an abandonment, on Tuesday 22 April.
Longlevens 4ths: J Stokes, Richardson, Martin, Sutherland, F Stokes, Bee, Griffiths, Lawrenson, Panchbhaya, Marsden-Green, Mitchell
Subs: Carr, Brooks, Curtis, Symons, Kingston
Rising Stars: Munsari, Kathrada, Salim Veshmia, Z Badat, Bhayat, Parekh, A Badat, Zakhill, Kara, Hatia, Kadodia
Subs: Musaji, Sadiq Veshmia, Chowdry, Salehbhai
C Martin Roofing Man of the Match – Leo Marsden-Green (Longlevens 4ths)
READ MORE: Check out the list of Saturday’s results in and around Gloucestershire right here
