Vanarama National League North
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Saturday 18th December 2021

Injury hit Brakes shipped three goals in the final fifteen minutes of this National League North clash against Kettering Town, who recorded their first ever win on Harbury Lane on a miserable December afternoon for Paul Holleran’s men.

With Jack Edwards, Joe Clarke, Simeon Maye, Devon Kelly-Evans all absent from the midfield positions Joe Parker and Callum Gittings were given the nod, while Matt Sargeant continued between the posts in the absence of Jake Weaver, who enjoyed a different view of proceedings from the co-commentary position alongside Matt Delaney in the main stand. Kyle Morrison was handed the captains armband for the first time by Holleran.

Much like the previous week it was the visitors who started the brighter of the two sides, forcing an early corner and keeping Leamington penned in their own half. Unlike Bradford however Kettering pressed home this advantage by taking a sixth minute lead.

It was Alex Brown who caused the initial problems, darting into the penalty area from the left and stinging the palms of Sargeant with a vicious strike that the Brakes keeper was unable to hold onto, leaving Jordan Crawford the opportunity to ram the ball in from close range.

Leamington finally managed to draw the play into the Kettering half with around ten minutes gone, and Junior English won a free kick some 25 yards out which Steph Morley leathered low towards goal, forcing Poppies keeper Jackson Smith into a decent save. A couple of corners were forced without anything being created but it had at least broken the Kettering dominance of the opening exchanges.

Brakes forced a number of corners without being able to threaten the Kettering goal any further, and the visitors looked relatively comfortable while threatening briefly themselves. George Cooper’s header was held comfortably by Sargeant but Kettering looked certain to double their lead moments later when Connor Kennedy squared for Crawford, but a fantastic block challenge denied him as he connected with the ball.

There was further injury woe for Leamington at half time as Alex Prosser had to be withdrawn, James Mace coming on to replace him for his first appearance since returning from his dual registration deal at Bromsgrove Sporting.

Brakes had clearly taken a rocket in the dressing room at half time because they emerged a different side, putting their visitors under severe pressure. Kelsey Mooney did well to latch onto a ball over the top down the left and cut inside towards the penalty area, striking the ball low towards the near post and forcing a good save from Smith. From the resulting corner Morrison rose highest to clatter a header against the crossbar.

Kettering then replied in kind; Cooper lacing a half volley towards goal through a crowd of players that Sargeant must have seen late, but got down well to push the ball behind.

The Poppies players believed they had a good shout for a penalty when a red shirt went to ground inside the box, but Referee Darren Rogers was unmoved. The visitors continued to push forward, and Powell cracked a shot across goal from the right which bounced just past the far post.

Brakes' heads were in hands when Dan Meredith’s shot was blocked on the line by Connor Johnson as Leamington’s search for a leveller continued to come to nothing.

Crawford and Powell both saw shots blocked as Brakes hung on a little inside their own penalty area, and they invited pressure on themselves as Joe Parker brought down Powell on the left just outside the penalty area. The ball was whipped in dangerously, and Crawford looked to have got the final touch with his head as the ball ricocheted into the roof of the net.

Four minutes later the game was made safe by a stunning strike from Cooper, who thundered the ball past a startled Sargeant from fully 35 yards.

Powell then drew a foul from Meredith four minutes from time to win a penalty which Sargeant got a hand to but couldn't keep out, as the scoreline started to become embarrassing for Leamington.

‘We were second best - there were enough people here today to see that,’ said Paul Holleran after the game. ‘Kettering did what Kettering are very good at - they put the ball in good areas, and backed it up. Having Powell and Stohrer back in the side makes a big difference to them. We didn’t really deal with it, and probably came in at half time thinking we’d be happy with 1-0.

‘We had a good period then for half an hour really where we were the better side. You can talk about Kelsey Mooney’s chance; Kyle Morrison’s chance; Dan Meredith’s chance - we don’t take them again - similar to the Chester and Bradford games. And then we fell apart at the end. I think it took its toll on us at the end. We’ve got 5 good players missing. I’m well aware the group needs more - we’ve done a deal this week with a good player from League 1, it’s all been sorted, but sadly he’s part of a Covid batch, so we won’t have him until next week now.

‘You can’t be without the likes of Jack Edwards and Devon (Kelly-Evans) without it affecting you. We had to patch up Alex Prosser today and we thought he would be alright but sadly he wasn’t. It’s difficult for us, and we’re playing against a side that’s full of energy, full of legs, and sadly we showed, certainly towards the end, that with a number of players not training, it’s caught up with us. I’m not making excuses, but it has. I was disappointed with a couple of the goals, of course I was, but over the course of the season so far this is our first blip, our first run of games where we haven’t managed to get a win. Performance levels have been ok, we’ve dug in and worked hard, but I think today was a bit of a wake up call for everyone that we can’t carry on putting square pegs in round holes. I’m looking forward to the next week and getting stuck in, hopefully adding to the squad, getting a couple of players back over Christmas - and then lets respond; because most people probably think Leamington will come falling down the league, but I’ve got a group of players that want to stay in the top half of the table, and they will work very hard to do that.’

Attendance: 553

Leamington: Matt Sargeant, Dan Meredith, Steph Morley, Alex Prosser (12 James Mace, 46), Kyle Morrison ©, Jack Lane, Joe Parker (14 Kaiman Anderson, 75), Callum Gittings (15 Kieran Cook, 81), Kelsey Mooney, Junior English, Dan Turner.

Subs not used: 16 Jack Sang, 17 Kurtis Wood.

Kettering Town: Jackson Smith, Connor Barrett, Alex Brown, George Cooper, Connor Johnson, Chris Smith, Callum Powell, Connor Kennedy ©, Gary Stohrer, Jordan Crawford, Harrison Neal.

Subs not used: 12 Isaac Stone, 14 Decarrey Sheriff, 15 Rhys Sharpe, 16 Luke Ward, 24 Kyle Perry.

Referee: Mr Darren Rogers

Assistant Referees: Mr Ashley Clarke & Mr David Burton

Brakes Man of the Match: Stephan Morley.