Brentwood Town suffered a second consecutive league defeat on Tuesday night, going down 2-1 to Leatherhead at The Arena despite dominating possession for large spells and creating plenty of opportunities.
The visitors took the lead through Anas Igozouhin in the first half before captain Mark Waters doubled their advantage after the break. The Blues continued to push for a way back into the contest, with Charlie Edwards having a goal ruled out for offside, before Suley Zuhdu’s late header gave the hosts hope of a comeback. However, it ultimately wasn’t enough to prevent Leatherhead from taking all three points.
Little separated the sides in the opening exchanges, with Ryan Henshaw testing Sonny Wheeler from distance, although the Leatherhead goalkeeper was comfortable in collecting his effort.
Alfie Cerulli produced a promising opportunity 15 minutes into the game when he broke away down the left flank before drilling his effort from the edge of the box marginally over the crossbar.
However, despite the strong start from Brentwood, it was the visitors who broke the deadlock in the 17th minute. Harry Murphy’s close-range effort was forcefully parried away by Aiden Prall, but the rebound fell kindly to Anas Igozouhin at the back post, who tapped home to put Leatherhead ahead.
The Blues looked for an immediate response and won a free-kick in a dangerous position. Cerulli and Jayden Robinson stood over the ball, with Cerulli’s effort dipping underneath the wall before being collected by Wheeler.
Leatherhead continued to threaten on the counter, with Deandre Date seeing his effort deflected over before Connor Harris tested Prall with a long-range strike, which the Brentwood goalkeeper did well to push away.
The Blues were dealt a significant blow just before the half-hour mark when Henshaw was forced off through injury, with Wyan Reid introduced in his place.
Despite the setback, Brentwood continued to push for an equaliser before the interval. Robinson saw his effort from distance fly inches over the crossbar before his free-kick narrowly missed the target, clipping just outside the right post.
The Blues emerged brightly after the restart and immediately went in search of a way back into the contest. Cerulli did well to break away from his marker before forcing Wheeler into a save at his near post.
Brentwood continued to pile on the pressure, with Luke Read producing a thunderous strike from the edge of the box which crashed against the crossbar.
However, against the run of play, Leatherhead doubled their advantage just after the hour mark. Captain Mark Waters rose highest to meet an in-swinging corner, directing his header into the far corner to make it 2-0.
Wheeler was then called into action again to gather a close-range effort from substitute Freddie Sears, as the Blues continued their search for a breakthrough.
Brentwood thought they had found one when Cerulli’s effort was parried by substitute goalkeeper Kemall Wilson, with Charlie Edwards converting Sears’ follow-up at the back post. However, the celebrations were cut short as the assistant referee’s flag ruled the goal out for offside.
The Blues continued to press relentlessly in the closing stages, with Robinson seeing another effort deflected onto the crossbar before they finally found a breakthrough in the 90th minute.
Cerulli delivered a dangerous, curling corner into the front post, where Suley Zuhdu rose highest to head home and secure his second goal in consecutive fixtures, giving Brentwood hope of a late comeback.
A final opportunity almost followed when Malachi Linton played a short pass into the path of Sears, but his effort sailed over the crossbar as Leatherhead held on to claim all three points.
It was ultimately a frustrating evening for the Blues, who will now look to bounce back from back-to-back league defeats when they travel to Three Bridges this Saturday.
BRENTWOOD TOWN: Prall (GK), Gipson, Cripps (C), Henshaw (Reid 31′), Freeman (Edwards 78′), Read (Sears 78′), Robinson, Saunders (Linton 68′), Mardell, Cerulli, Sach (Zuhdu 71′)
Subs not used: N/A
LEATHERHEAD: Wheeler (GK), Price (Hall 79′), Waters (C), Butler, Black, Murphy, Date (Barrington 56′), Igozouln (Hogan 72′), Everitt (Wilson 84), Harris (Dickson 55′), Paget
Subs not used: N/A
Report by Michaela Georgopolous & Casey O’Brien
