Before the kick off, the club remembered former skipper Robbie Burns, who passed away recently. A minute's silence was observed for the man who made a record 800+ appearances for the Town in the 1950s 60 and 70s. His funeral will be held on the 8th of November at Our Lady Queen of Apostle church in Woodhall Lane, Welwyn Garden City. A bucket collection raised over £20 towards flowers from the Club and supporters.
It was also the day when a modern day player was making his 200th appearance for The Blues, although the occasion turned out to be one that Glenn Draper will want to forget.
Manager Dave Greenwood continued with Pablo Ardiles in place of Lee Roberts wide left, in an unchanged line up.
Hertford Town: 1. Lee Robinson, 2. Nicky Marsh, 3. Louis Lancaster, 4. Kevin Kilroy (capt), 5. Glenn Draper, 6. Phil Goss, 7. Matt McArdle, 8. Ross Collins, 9. Ryan Redford, 10. Kevin Cooper, 11. Pablo Ardiles. Subs: 14. Matt Watts (for Collins, 38), 16. Jamie Abbott (for Ardiles, 89), 17. Ryan Wade (for McArdle, 77)
Leverstock Green: 1. Graeme Milner, 2. Steve Hawes, 3. Colin Wilson, 4. Jamie Parsons, 5. Mark Welling, 6. Steve Flain, 7. Anthony Page, 8. Dale Searles, 9. Micky Swaysland, 10. Alan Arthur, 11. Frankie Jowle, Subs Used: 12. James Armstrong (for Page, 67), 14. Steve Boad (for Hawes, 34), 16. Jon Davis (for Seares, 77).

The game began frantically with the ball being treated by both sides as if it were red-hot. Ross Collins fed the ball through to Kevin Cooper in the first minute, but the front man was flagged offside. When Hertford won a 4th minute corner, Phil Goss's kick was too high for Matt McArdle, at the far post, to control. The game was littered with free kicks in the centre of the park and, from one of these on 10 minutes, Kevin Cooper knocked on Kevin Kilroy's flighted kick to Ryan Redford, who lifted his shot just over the bar. The referee was much in evidence, lecturing Green's Steve Hawes at length after he conceded a free kick for a foul on Matt McArdle. The visitors were not presenting much of a threat against the strong home defence, but Micky Swaysland did get free on 18 minutes and chipped Lee Robinson from a very acute angle, only to see the ball bounce to safety. Then Anthony Page shot wide with the goal beckoning. There were muted appeals for a penalty by the visitors' bench when Matt McArdle looked to push an opponent in the back, deep inside the penalty area, but the referee saw nothing wrong. The free kicks continued thick and fast, and when Matt McArdle floated one over from the centre circle, it was moved forward by Kevin Cooper to Ross Collins, who snatched at his shot and saw the ball go high over the bar. On 25 minutes, Pablo Ardiles threaded a great ball through to Ryan Redford, but 'keeper Graeme Milner been him to the ball and hacked it away downfield.
Micky Swaysland was unlucky when he broke free of the home defence only to be flagged offside in dubious circumstances. Swaysland got a shot in on 28 minutes, then a rapid move by Leverstock Green's Alan Arthur saw him miss out Swaysland and reach Steve Flain, only for the midfielder to volley well wide. Hertford were getting some opportunities at this stage, and Ryan Redford tested Milner with an effort on 31 minutes. The visitors' Steve Hawes went down injured when all on his own and immediately signalled that he needed to come off, and Steve Boad replaced him, on 32 minutes.
Then came a pivotal moment in the game. Glenn Draper was fouled as he challenged near the halfway line and was awarded a free kick. With the ball dead, though, he kicked out at Anthony Page. The assistant referee indicated to the referee that Draper had stamped on his opponent and was duly shown the red card. This was a sad end to his 200th appearance and, with almost an hour of the game left, things looked bleak for the Blues. Manager Greenwood responded by sending on a defender equally as tall as the 6'4" Draper, in the shape of Matt Watts, with Ross Collins being the unlucky player to make way for Watts. Ryan Redford had a splendid run down the left wing but his cross was unfortunately too high for Kevin Cooper.

Half Time: Hertford Town 0 Leverstock Green 0

There was little evidence that Leverstock Green had a player advantage as Hertford continued to try and break them down for the opening goal. Kevin Kilroy nearly did it when he headed a Phil Goss corner powerfully goalwards, only for Milner to make a good tip over with a flying save. The goal did come though. On 51 minutes KEVIN COOPER got the chance to shoot from the edge of the box, and, with the help of a big deflection off a Leverstock Green defender, beat Milner and found the back of the net.
Ryan Redford beat Steve Flain but his shot was deflected behind for a corner then, in a rare threat on the home goal, Frankie Jowle shot straight at Lee Robinson. In an effort to add some firepower, Green sent on striker James Armstrong for midfielder Anthony Page, but the home defences still held firm, with central defenders Watts and Kilroy rock solid. For the second game running, Pablo Ardiles, the man who never gets booked, was shown a yellow card, this time for dissent. Kevin Cooper chested the ball down and hit it on the run, but was just wide of the mark. Both sides made substitutions on 77 minutes, with Hertford putting on Ryan Wade for Matt McArdle and Jon Davis replacing Dale Searles for the visitors. Micky Swaysland headed down to James Armstrong but the youngster's finish was poor. With 10 minutes left, Kevin Cooper, who had been playing a more deep lying role in the second half, fed the ball through to Ryan Redford but Milner pushed Redford's shot away to safety. On 82 minutes it was 2-0 and the game was won. Phil Goss, now playing down the right, did really well to win the ball and burst forward before playing the perfect ball to RYAN REDFORD. The striker made no mistake as he ran on and fired home confidently, to bring his season's tally of league goals to nine, and register his 80th career goal for the Blues.
Alan Arthur tried an acrobatic effort on 85 minutes, but in truth, Leverstock Green were unable to exert any real pressure on the home goal, as Ryan Wade cleared three or four times in quick succession to help out his defence. Jamie Abbott came on to replace Pablo Ardiles for the closing minutes, and then there was drama as Lee Robinson went down injured after booming one of his long goalkicks downfield. Kevin Cooper had to don the 'keeper's jersey for the final minutes as Robinson had to be helped off the field, leaving Hertford with only 9 players as they had usedall of their subs.

Final Score: Hertford Town 2 Leverstock Green 0 We hope you will find our website helpful and informative . There is a separate "Fans Forum", for which the Club accepts no reponsibility .