Rushall Olympic 0 Leamington 2
Pre season friendly
Dales Lane, Rushall
Saturday 24th July, 2010 

Brakes cleared their Olympic hurdle at Dales Lane, but they were pushed all the way by Rushall, who had to settle for the silver medal on this occasion. Paul Holleran was returning to his former club for the first time, and Leamington came away without conceding a goal, something which was a hallmark of Rushall’s performances under Holleran. The game was scrappy at times with both sides still feeling their way to full fitness, and the hosts could perhaps feel a little hard done by with the final score.

The Pics were straight out of the blocks from the first whistle, forcing an early corner, but it was Leamington who moved in front with practically their first attack of the contest, on four minutes. Luke Corbett whipped in a low cross from the right, and Matt Lewis sent a diving header sailing past Tom Harper into the net.

The first half was competitive, with both sides being afforded little time on the ball, and there were plenty of mistakes being made. Lewis went close again with a looping header towards goal that was picked up by Luke Corbett at the far post, but he could only strike the outside of the upright from a yard or so out, with a very small gap to aim at.

Tony Breeden was forced into an early second half save, beating away a shot from Kyle Brady, who then drove wide of the left hand post. Michael Tuohy, making an appearance from the bench after missing the previous two games, made a superb interception in midfield and sprinted forward, just failing to pick out Luke Corbett with his pass. Corbett was one of the hardest working players on the pitch as usual, and slipped a pass in for Craig Wilding that looked to have sent his team mate in for a shot on goal, but he was dispossessed from behind inside the penalty area.

Rushall were looking the more likely to score the next goal, as Brakes struggled for fluidity, but Craig Wilding was presented with a golden opportunity with just three minutes to play, when Marcus Jackson robbed a defender and slipped the ball on for Wilding, who lifted a deft shot over the helpless keeper to confirm the win.

Rushall Olympic: Tom Harper, Grant Beckett, Danny Ashton (ALex Melbourne), Sean Griffiths, AdieSmith, Nick Amos, Chris Morris (Craig Bannister), Stuart McNaught, Anthony Maguire (Danny Ludlow), Kyle Brady, Lee Brown.

Leamington: Tony Breeden, Scott Lycett (Michael Tuohy, 46), Darren Stapleton (Danny Edwards, 89), Liam Daley, Gary Knight (Scott Lycett, 57),  Lee Downes, Peter Faulds (Chris Murphy, 57), Danny Edwards (James Husband, 57), Matt Lewis (Craig Wilding, 57), Luke Corbett, Richard Batchelor (Marcus Jackson, 57)

Attendance: Approx 140