Longlevens end away day hoodoo with victory at Slimbridge
Longlevens claimed their first league away win of the season on Friday night, coming from behind to beat Slimbridge 3-2 at Thornhill Park.
After Rhys Sarson’s penalty had the hosts ahead at the break, three goals in ten second half minutes from Shaun O’Connor, Shiyak Sutherland and Sam Kelly saw Longlevens race to a 3-1 lead with 15 minutes to go.
Ben Hands set up a nervy final couple of minutes, but in the end Levens held out to claim a deserved three points on the night.
The win sees Longlevens move to eight points clear of the relegation zone, although both Lydney Town and Malmesbury Victoria have a number of games in hand.
It could be a crucial result though, with Levens also now four points clear of Brimscombe & Thrupp ahead of the Lilywhites’ trip to Hereford Pegasus this weekend.
For Slimbridge, it was their 10th league defeat of the season and their third loss in a row – leaving them in midtable in the Hellenic Premier.
The Swans were also dealt the blow before the game of Jack Smith departing for Roman Glass St George and for the most part lacked creativity to break down Longlevens in tricky conditions.
Understandably, both sides took time to settle into the contest, with the wind and rain swirling around Wisloe Road.
Callum Dark and Shiyak Sutherland exchanged efforts off target in the early going, before Theo Clayson broke through but saw his effort saved well in the one-on-one by Kane Winman.
Cam Williams had Levens’ first shot on target of the game, but his sweeping effort was beaten away by Gav Jones, before Ollie Long fired wide on the turn after being found by a Shaun O’Connor free kick.
The crucial moment of the half came with ten minutes to go before the break, with Jacob Rogers being felled in the box and Sarson stepping up to send his penalty into the top corner.
Longlevens had to withstand some Swans pressure before the interval, but the feeling was that the next goal was going to be crucial.
The visitors started the second half much the better side and thought they head levelled when Jack Beardsell headed home Dan Roddis’ cross, but the referee cut short celebrations by spotting a push in the back by the forward.
Sam Blackie went off for the Swans on the hour mark and from there Slimbridge slowly slipped out of the contest.
O’Connor burst into the box in off the post, before Jones and Nath Dennis were caught playing out from the back and Sutherland scored Levens’ second goal in as many minutes.
Slimbridge’s night was made worse on 72 minutes when Sam Kelly’s cross slipped straight through Jones’ gloves to give the wing back his first goal for Longlevens.
Kane Winman rushed out and spread himself large to keep out Theo Clayson after the winger broke into the box with five minutes to go and it proved to be a vital stop.
As Slimbridge pressed for a route back into the game in stoppage time, Ben Hands curled a beauty into the bottom corner from 18 yards, but it was too little too late for the hosts.
The two sides meet again on Tuesday night, when they lock horns in the GFA Challenge Trophy, before Longlevens head to Thornbury Town and Slimbridge head to Royal Wootton Bassett Town next weekend.
Slimbridge: Jones, Hunt, Rogers, Evans, Dennis, Barclay, Clayson, Hands, Dark, Blackie, Sarson
Subs: Jagger, Mckayle, Mills, Harper, Kapadia
Longlevens: Winman, Roddis, Kelly, Long, Perry, Byard, Williams, O’Connor, Beardsell, Marszalek, Sutherland
Subs: Sherchan, Brown, Rankin, Mason, Haswell
C Martin Roofing Man of the Match – Cam Williams (Longlevens)
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