Vanarama National League North
Your Co-op Community Stadium
Tuesday 26th November 2024
The feel good factor from Leamington’s promising start to the season has evaporated somewhat, as they fell to a fourth successive league defeat in a disappointing game against Needham Market.
With the horrendous weekend weather having largely disappeared, Paul Holleran welcomed skipper Adam Walker back into his starting eleven, with Jack Edwards absent from the squad due to concussion protocols following a blow to the head on Saturday during the Scunthorpe game.
A scan of the team sheet indicated that the visitors had kept faith with the vast majority of the squad which won the Southern League Premier Division Central title last season, as you would expect. They may have made the long midweek haul to Warwickshire bottom of the table, but the early exchanges soon put to bed any notion home supporters might have had that this might be an ‘easy’ game.
The visitors were first to show in the opening couple of minutes, with Adam Mills being played up to the left hand side of the Leamington penalty area, but his shot was straight at Callum Hawkins. The Marketmen initiated a high press, keeping Brakes inside their own half for the first few minutes.
Brakes initial threat arrived on eight minutes. Walker exchanged passes with Will Shorrock and delivered into the box from the left. The ball was cleared out as far as Henry Landers, whose shot was blocked at source. Rob Evans picked up the loose ball and delivered an inviting first time cross which headed away from just in front of Cally Stewart.
The next chance for either side did not arrive until the half hour. A Needham Market free kick midway inside the Leamington half was delivered into the box by Kyle Hammond, and a header landed on the roof of the net, but the offside flag was raised.
Although the back four were performing with their usual calm assurance, Brakes looked a little nervous at times, perhaps due to their three successive defeats, while the visitors were doing their best to find a way through, but neither side had enjoyed any prolonged spells of pressure despite their best efforts.
The visitors were indebted to goalkeeper Danny Cullum when Cally Stewart nicked the ball from Marketmen skipper Kieran Morphew and turned to drill in a low shot that was met with a smart reaction save. Landers swept the ball back in, and Stewart took it down superbly, but again the flag was raised.
The game was turning into a bitty, niggly affair. Mills almost engineered a chance for himself inside the box with some neat footwork; his first shot being charged down, but as he wriggled his way through to the touchline George Ward appeared from nowhere to charge the ball behind for a corner, which was headed wide by Kieran Morphew.
With the additional minute of time almost up, Stewart came within a lick of paint from opening the scoring as robbed a defender again before turning sharply and crashing a shot against the outside of the post.
The first half ended to a cacophony of boos from the Harbury Lane End, as the Referee blew his whistle just as Joe Doyle-Charles won a corner.
The visitors made a similar start to the second half as they had to the first; Reggie Lambe screwing a shot horribly wide, while the same player headed just over the bar from a left wing cross, before driving a shot into the arms of Hawkins.
Leamington then pressed forward, and some good movement between Walker, Stewart and Shorrock, which ended with the latter’s low ball towards the near post cut out at the expense of a corner, which came to nothing.
The visitors were getting dangerous balls into the box now; another one flashing across the face of goal, before Lambe sent another shot wide under pressure. Danger man Mills then lashed another effort goalbound from distance, but Hawkins watched it all the way.
The Needham Market pressure was really beginning to crank up now, and they were handed the opportunity to open the scoring on the hour mark. It was a very unfortunate way to concede, as Evans initially miskicked as he attempted to clear inside the penalty area, and then Luke Ingram got in between, and went down as Evans attempted to clear again.
Referee Matthew Scholes took a few seconds before pointing to the spot, and Ingram stepped up to beat Hawkins from the spot and give the visitors a lead they deserved for their start to the second half.
Sat nearby, the Referee’s assessor remarked that Leamington lacked physicality up front, and it was difficult to disagree with him. Brakes really hadn’t got going at all, and needed a spark from somewhere.
Mills almost embarrassed Hawkins as he nipped in ahead of Dan Meredith to send in a lobbed effort past the backpeddaling Brakes keeper that dropped just past his far post.
The visitors were well on top now, pinning Leamington back at every opportunity, and forcing mistakes and hurried clearances to maintain possession deep inside the Brakes half. They looked anything but a bottom of the table side.
With around twenty minutes to go, Anthony Lynn and Tim Berridge were introduced, and Leamington finally looked like they might be stirring into life. Landers’ shot unfortunately struck Lynn as it looked to be travelling towards goal.
Meredith had Brakes’ best effort of the half as Stewart sent him tearing up the right, keeping his balance past challenges before arrowing a low drive across goal and wide. Unfortunately he pulled up shortly afterwards, and was replaced by Theo Streete.
Added attacking threat was introduced in the shape of Teddy Rowe, who knocked a shot wide, but other than hitting the frame of the goal in the first half, Brakes had been uncharacteristically toothless in attack. Evans was able to finally get some long throws into the box in the last ten minutes, but Needham, with three priceless points within touching distance, defended solidly.
It felt like one of those games where Leamington could have played all night and they wouldn’t have scored; and Needham Market saw out five minutes of added time to celebrate three points that moves them off the foot of the table.
Speaking to BBC CWR’s Brian Halford after the game, the manager said ‘It was a disappointing evening, definitely; the first disappointing Tuesday night we’ve had here for a while. You have to say the better team won - it’s disappointing to say that, but they were on the front foot, caused us no end of problems all night. You sort of think sometimes, is that down to them, is that down to us? Probably a bit of both, but we weren’t at the levels tonight. In the three Tuesday nights we’ve had here prior to this one we’ve been bang at it, but tonight we’ve come up short. We still had some good chances in the first half, but I think when you look at the patterns of the game; their execution and their experience, with their front three they certainly had the upper hand tonight, and we didn’t find enough answers.
Pressed on the subject of injuries creeping into the squad, Holleran said: ‘It’s the nature of the league. The physical demands of it. We’ve got quite a few players who aren’t used to it. They’ve done well so far. We’ve hit a bit of a blip now. Tonight has probably been our worst football moment in the league so far. When you think of our 17/18 games we’ve played so far, we were well below where we need to be. There were things as well that haven’t gone our way, but we’ve got to find some answers in terms of our performance; our identity a little bit, and then find some answers for some of the injuries we are getting at the minute. The last month or so has been difficult, and we’ve just got to work hard, make sure we’ve got a clear idea of what we want to do, and make sure we execute it properly.’
Attendance: 508
Leamington: 1 Callum Hawkins, 2 Dan Meredith (5 Theo Streete, 78), 3 Josh Quaynor, 4 Joe Doyle-Charles (19 Ant Lynn, 69), 6 Rob Evans, 14 George Ward, 7 Henry Landers (18 Ted Rowe, 82), 8 Adam Walker ©, 12 Will Shorrock (11 Tim Berridge, 69), 17 Ewan Williams, 9 Cally Stewart.
Subs not used: 21 Joe Clarke.
Needham Market: 13 Danny Cullum, 2 Jake Dye, 3 Tommy Smith, 4 Kyle Hammond, 5 Kieran Morphew ©, 6 Dan Morphew, 7 Luke Ingram, 10 Jacob Lay (11 Tevan Allen, 75), 15 Adam Mills, 17 Ben Hunter, 23 Reggie Lambe (9 Seth Chambers, 81).
Subs not used: 12 Ollie Fraser, 14 Jamie McGrath, 26 Roan Tucker.
Referee: Mr Matthew Scholes
Assistant Referees: Mr Jordan Griffiths & Mr Thomas Durno
Fourth Official: Mr Luke Bowles
Brakes Man of the Match: Adam Walker.
