Evostik Southern League Premier Division
Winterfield Road
Saturday 24th October 2015

A fantastic goal from substitute Ross Oulton rescued Leamington from getting nothing out of a game that they really should have taken all three points from.

Despite the leveller coming so late in the game, which the team were left short of time to prepare for after arriving at Winterfield Road only half an hour before kick off, Paul Holleran viewed it as two points dropped rather than one gained after his team had created a large number of opportunities, particularly in the second half.

The game had apparently been in doubt due to the rain which had persisted since the early morning, and despite the officials deeming the pitch fit for play the surface was sticky and cut up badly in places, making life difficult for both teams.

Lee Chilton drove in a low shot that was saved by Paulton keeper Ben John as Leamington attempted to seize the early initiative to no avail. Ben Mackey later forced the Rovers skipper to punch away a right wing cross with Jack Edwards

waiting to take advantage, and it was the midfielder who came closest to breaking the deadlock before half time when he received a pass from Mackey just inside the box and moved past a challenge to clip in a low shot that struck the post. Unfortunately the loose ball would not sit up properly for him and his follow up effort sailed wide.

Former Truro midfielder Kyle Tooze gave notice that he was quite capable of causing problems on the left when he was afforded far too much time and space on the wing to fire in a low driven cross that was held by Tony Breeden as the two sides went in level at half time. The hosts were somewhat hamstrung by the 5 yellow cards they received during the first half, none of which were particularly bad challenges, and this would come back to haunt them later in the game.

With the weather improving slightly as the second half began, Leamington continued to search for that all important opening, and came mightily close on several occasions. Lee Moore knocked Jamie Hood's ball from just inside the Paulton half into the path of Mackey, whose first time low drive was saved, Chilton firing the loose ball wide from the edge of the box.

Moore was beginning to find space on the left and got clear of his marker to shoot low under the advancing John, only for the ball to trickle across goal and strike the inside of the post, with Mackey just unable to pick up the loose ball.

The home side then stunned their visitors by taking the lead with practically their first serious effort on goal. Leamington lost possession in their own half and the ball was played out to Tooze on the left, whose cross was then played dangerously back across the six yard box for Darren Mullings to crash into the roof of the net.

The injection of confidence this provided Paulton with was stark as they suddenly looked a completely different side going forward, and almost added a killer second when Tom Knighton turned both Hood and Joe Magunda on the edge of the box before sending a low drive towards the bottom corner that Breeden got the slightest of touches on to divert behind for a corner.

Moore was left cursing his luck again as he hit the woodwork for the second time in the half, getting in on the left again only to see his lofted shot over the keeper strike the crossbar.

Unfortunately the match officials did not do either side any favours with their decision making over the 90 minutes, and this possibly contributed to the game descending into a bit of a farce in the closing stages as tempers frayed and more unnecessary yellow cards were brandished.

The pace of the game became more frantic as Brakes searched for a goal, Taundry firing a free kick over the bar before Mackey looked to have squeezed between two defenders just inside the box only for them to recover and deflect his shot behind. The striker then headed agonisingly over the bar from Chilton's left wing cross.

Proceedings then became heated for a few minutes. Paulton were screaming for the award of a penalty, convinced that a cross had struck an arm in the box, but with no decision forthcoming Ross Oulton was then fouled as he moved the ball away from goal up in the corner which led to an unsightly melee as players from both sides needlessly got involved. Magunda and Breeden were both shown yellow cards, and many inside the ground believed that the Paulton player who was booked had already received a card in the first half, but was not sent off.

Time was against Leamington now. The game was screaming out for someone to show that little bit of composure to swing things, and it was emphatically provided by Oulton, who had been introduced along with Will Green with around 20 minutes to play. Picking up the ball midway through the Paulton half he set off on a slaloming run, evading the challenges of defenders who were walking a tightrope because of earlier cautions. This should in no way detract from the quality of the goal however, as Oulton capped his fantastic run by slotting under the advancing Ben John before wheeling off to celebrate with his relieved team mates.

Due to all the stoppages there was still ample time to find a winner, but although Paulton were deflated they dug in and held out for a point. Their caretaker manager Aaron Brown will no doubt have been very pleased with how his side performed, while Leamington boss Holleran reflected that his side should have been more clinical with the amount of chances they created in the second half, but was still pleased with how they performed in testing circumstances.

Attendance: 190

Paulton Rovers: Ben John © , Steve Williams, Jack Allward, Adrian Harris, Craig Allan, Josh Ford, Ben Bament (12 Jordan Ricketts, 87), Darren Mullings, Tom Knighton, Josh Morgan-Williams (16 Peter Trego, 85), Kyle Tooze.

Subs not used: 14 Alex Grimshaw, 15 David O'Hare,

Leamington: Tony Breeden © , Ben George, Richard Taundry, Joe Magunda, Jamie Hood, James Mace, Rob Ogleby (12 Ross Oulton, 72), Lee Chilton, Ben Mackey, Jack Edwards, Lee Moore (14 Will Green, 72).

Subs not used: 15 James Fry, 16 Jamie Tank, 17 Edward Caviezel-Cox

Referee: Mr Iain Parsons

Assistant Referees: Mr James Welsh & Mr Nigel Whitfield

Brakes Man of the Match: Ben George.