Leighton's play-off hopes all but ended after impressive run
Any hopes Leighton Town had of making a late burst into the play-off places were all but ended on Saturday with defeat at home to Thame United.
A run of nine wins in a row had suddenly left the Reds with a shout of a challenge to the top five, but a win for Thame last Tuesday night, coupled with their 2-1 success at the Freed Veneers Stadium on Saturday, means they are now ten points ahead of Leighton in fifth spot with four games to go.
Sixth-placed Hadley, who Leighton host on the final day, are just three points behind Thame and look now to be the only side with a realistic hope of being able to catch them.
It took a stoppage time own goal to defeat Leighton on Saturday, after Anthony Ball’s fine strike had cancelled out a Thame opener scored late in the first-half.
And speaking to the club’s media, Town boss Paul Reed was disappointed with the outcome.
He said: “We didn’t really capitalise on some good moments in the first-half and then suddenly went in 1-0 down against a side that hadn’t really shown a lot of quality.
"We came out in the second-half and the boys did exactly what we’d asked of them, playing with tempo and getting the ball into feet more and Bally got a great goal, and then really I thought there was only one team going to win it.
"In the end the way we lost the game was down to an unfortunate moment and even though we had a couple of chances after that it just wasn’t to be today.
"It’s frustrating in a way because we’ve beaten better teams down here, but it is what it is and we’ve now got four games to play and for us it’s about making sure we finish the season on the best high we can and keep the momentum going.
"I can’t ask any more of my staff and my players and I’m so proud of them. This moment was going to come one day but now we need to make sure two defeats don’t happen and try and finish the season strongly.”
Reed also praised the Reds fans who again turned up in good numbers on Saturday, adding: “The fans were excellent again. I’d said last week that we were going to need them and I thought they were vocal and came in great numbers.”
Leighton now prepare to go to third-bottom Northwood on Saturday.