Levens salvage injury time draw to secure Hellenic Premier survival
Monty New’s 93rd minute header was enough to earn Longlevens a 1-1 draw with Corsham Town, in an afternoon that saw their Hellenic Premier safety ensured elsewhere.
Due to Malmesbury Victoria’s defeat against Mangotsfield, Levens would have been safe even when Raph Oppong fired Corsham ahead in 89 minutes.
Ironically, Levens were safe before they even kicked off- due to kicking off late and Mangotsfield scoring inside three minutes.
Craig Martin & Michael Palmer’s side were particularly good in the first half, creating chance after chance and really making life difficult for their visitors.
But just like so many other occasions throughout the season, Longlevens looked set to be punished for not taking their opportunities when Oppong’s effort trickled past Winman with seconds left of normal time.
The hosts grabbed a last gasp leveller though, with Alex Knight standing a cross up for New to head past Louis Smith to see the points shared.
New’s equaliser, alongside Lydney’s 8-0 defeat at home to Roman Glass St George, saw Longlevens finish in 17th place in the Hellenic Premier table, ahead of Lydney on goal difference.
That was something that seemed very, very unlikely a month ago when Lydney ran out easy 2-0 winners at Saw Mills.
But Longlevens responded with consecutive wins against Cirencester Town, Brimscombe & Thrupp and Malmesbury in an impressive run of form.
Corsham’s point means they have secured a top 10 finish, leapfrogging Tuffley Rovers by a point.
The game itself saw Longlevens press their opponents and after winning a couple of corners, saw Jack Beardsell have an effort blocked, before he then fired his next chance wide of the mark.
And that was a habit that the Levens forward line would follow, with Fin Gwillim, Shaun O’Connor and Beardsell again all firing off-target in a very eye-catching first half display.
O’Connor had the best chance of the opening half an hour, lifting into Smith’s hands after latching onto a Beardsell flick on.
Corsham nearly caught their hosts out moments later, but after Kane Winman spilled Devanti McInerney’s effort, Jack Byard threw himself in front of Jamal Salawy’s effort to turn it round the post with his face.
Levens caught Corsham out playing from the back twice in quick succession, but once again Beardsell and then Gwillim couldn’t find the target.
But as news of Mangotsfield stretching their lead at Malmesbury to three goals, Gwillim was played in by Beardsell, but rattled the bar from the edge of the box.
The second half started with Corsham much more up for it, with Oppong through the middle after Salawu went off at the break.
Oppong rounded Winman after beating the offside trap, but Ollie Long made an incredible recovery challenge to deny him an opener.
Despite it being both sides’ final fixtures of the season, they both were undoubtedly trying to win the game, which made for an entertaining watch.
Winman made a great stop to deny Oppong after McInerney’s cross fell to him, before substitute Monty New sliced wide after a corner was flicked down and fell to him at the back post.
And it looked like Corsham would hit snatch a dramatic win when Oppong got his shot off on 89 minutes and the effort agonisingly rolled past Winman and into the corner.
But credit the hosts, they kept going and got their deserved leveller when a corner was kept alive by Alex Knight and his ball back in was headed home by New from close range.
The season ends with mixed feelings for Longlevens, who know that they showed they are capable of putting crucial runs and wins together, but knowing that over the course of the season they let themselves down on occasion.
One of the differences between Levens and some of the other sides at the bottom was their goal difference, with the main calling card of their season being playing really well, not scoring and going on to ultimately be punished by one or two goals.
It is set to be a summer of change for the First Team, but they can take heart from a strong final four performances, let alone results.
Longlevens: Winman, R Williams, Kelly, Long, Byard, Holmes, C Williams, O’Connor, Beardsell, Gwillim, Knight
Subs: Sherchan, C Martin, Belboda, Haswell, New
Corsham Town: Smith, Anderson, Ozuzu, Radway, Humphreys, Milne, Oppong, Ibrahim, Salawu, Roddy, McInerney
Subs: Goodwin-Worrell, Brown, Vickers, Morgan
C Martin Roofing Man of the Match – Alex Knight (Longlevens)
READ MORE: Check out the list of Saturday’s results in and around Gloucestershire right here
