ROYSTON TOWN 0 LEVERSTOCK GREEN 1 (S Boad) VETERAN goalkeeper Simon Dobson answered an emergency call on Saturday but could not prevent Royston Town slipping to a 1-0 defeat. Dobson was called in to the team after keeper Russell Jones injured an ankle

ROYSTON TOWN 0 LEVERSTOCK GREEN 1 (S Boad) VETERAN goalkeeper Simon Dobson answered an emergency call on Saturday - but could not prevent Royston Town slipping to a 1-0 defeat. Dobson was called in to the team after keeper Russell Jones injured an ankle during the pre-match warm-up period. Jones limped from the pitch and moments later Dobson arrived at Garden Walk after club officials contacted him for an unexpected appearance against Leverstock Green in the South Midlands League (Premier Division) game. In spite of his experience Dobson could do nothing about Leverstock Green taking the lead in the 70th minute. It was a well-executed move which saw Josh Price send a precise ball from a free-kick onto the head of captain Steve Boad, who directed his looping effort over the diving Dobson. It was enough for Leverstock Green to claim the points in a lack-lustre game that sees The Crows still living in the shadow of relegation. There was certainly a paucity of chances. Both sides, indeed, lacked any real sense of authority although the visitors did display adventurous tactics as the game progressed. Indeed, Darren Caseman looked the most likely player to break the deadlock with his twisting running at The Crow defence. He caused problems early in the first-half and gave an enterprising display in the second-half. He had the opportunity to add a second goal for Leverstock Green near the end when he simply left Peter Flack in his wake but placed his low shot wide. For The Crow, there was the appearance of a struggling side that was almost caught out in the opening minute when the ever-active Caseman broke through and sent his lobbed shot from outside the penalty area into the net. But he had been adjudged to have handled the ball. It was near to the end of the first-half that the Crows applied any real pressure when a barrage of shots in the penalty area simply rebounded from the massed ranks of the visitors defenders. For a moment the penalty area took on the appearance of a pin-board table. The Crows, however, were not really a threat for the rest of the game - despite Dobson's usual encouragement and cajoling from behind the defence. Royston Town: S Dobson, P Lamont, R Cannon, S Snowden (M Williams), P Flack, C Geldart, L Rogers, (J Nash), M Saunders, C Silenti, J Dobson, J McMurrough (D Jefferies).