An intriguing battle developed at the foot of the Pitching In Southern League Division One Central table towards the end of the season to avoid the one remaining relegation spot.
In the end, both Northwood and Leverstock Green found some form when it mattered to escape, leaving Kings Langley to fall into the bottom three on the final day of the regular season.
“I am so proud of our little village club,” Leverstock Green manager, Fergus Moore, told us. “The club is full of special people and without the committee and volunteers, there would be no club so I am delighted for them that we were able to retain our place at Step 4.
“It’s also testament to the work that the players and management staff have put in; it’s been a massive rollercoaster ride, but we got the happy ending that we all deserve! I couldn’t be more proud.
“For me, the defining moment was the away game at Enfield. It was match number 31 of 40 and we only had 18 points to our name at the time.
“We managed to secure a big 4-1 away win and that sparked an amazing run of seven wins from ten games! As a management team we always felt that we were not far off where we needed to be, but that run of form was outstanding and its great credit to everyone involved in delivering it.
“Looking back, that victory at Enfield made the players realise that they were good enough for this level and it really spurred us on.
“Considering that we are up against teams with bigger budgets and resources, we’ve been competitive on the whole over the course of the season – 12 draws and a large number of single-goal defeats are proof of that.
“It’s a ruthless League and we have learned from experience that if you don’t take your chances when you’re on top, you will get punished. It happened to us numerous times.
“There are some big budgets at this level, so realistically we’re never going to challenge at the very top, but we can certainly be competitive and establish ourselves as a Step 4 club.
“We’ve been putting in the work off the pitch too in order to strengthen the club and big thanks to main sponsors, Lords Builders, who have not only provided great and much-needed sponsorship, but also advice on various projects at the ground.
“The planning is already well underway for the new season; we’ve enjoyed our achievement of staying up and now we’ve had time to reflect on what we need to do to be better, work has already started.
“Building up a support base is also an important factor. We’re reaching out into our local community to let them know about what is going on at the club and get them interested and involved. Hopefully this will also lead to additional sponsorships too, which can make a big difference.
“The club and players have proved that they are good enough for this level and with the right building blocks in place, we might avoid another relegation battle in 2025/26!
“We’re certainly looking forward to giving it everything we’ve got once more.”
The club has now launched its Early Bird 2025/26 season-ticket.
IMAGE: Leverstock Green FC
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