Vanarama National League North
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Saturday 19th March 2022

It wasn’t the best of games, but a first ever win over Guiseley in ten attempts was the outcome of a scrappy 600th game in charge for Paul Holleran that saw Leamington pick up three points that pushed them further into mid table, while a very disappointing afternoon of results for the visitors has them nervously looking over their shoulders at the bottom.

It was a bright spring afternoon but still very cold, with a low sun and strong wind making conditions difficult for both sides in each half.

The ever reliable James Mace stepped into central defence to fill the hole left by Kyle Morrison’s departure to AFC Fylde late on Friday, while Under 18’s & 23’s starlet Josh Beeson was called up to the substitutes bench.

There was a surprising amount of forward movement from both sides in the opening minutes, the visitors coming close to fashioning a chance when Callum Hawkins did well to snatch a low left wing cross away from three Guiseley players.

With a strong swirling wind at their backs the visitors pinned Leamington back into their own half early on. Dom Tear was taken by surprise as Adam Walker’s attempted clearance inside the Brakes penalty area fell to him, scooping a shot into the arms of Hawkins.

Guiseley continued to cause havoc as they pressed forward, and Joe Clarke conceded a free kick in a dangerous position out on the left wing opposite the penalty area. The initial ball in was headed off the line, Regan Hutchinson heading back towards goal and just over the bar.

There was a controversial moment around the 20 minute mark when Kelsey Mooney was felled by what looked like a trailing elbow from the Lions captain Hamza Bencherif. The Brakes players were already a little irate at some of the decisions that had gone against them, but a free kick was awarded and for a few seconds confusion reigned as Referee Claudio Gavillucci took out his red card only to quickly replace it with a yellow.

Leamington were struggling to string any kind of forward movement together, never mind an attack, but to their credit they continued to work hard to prevent the visitors from truly threatening their goal. The lively Jason Sraha drove an effort straight at Hawkins from distance.

Brakes finally began to enjoy some possession in the opposing half as the interval approached, but still found it difficult to put together a passage of play that might threaten Guiseley.

Half time arrived with the only real positive being that there was still all to play for.

The haphazard pattern of the game continued into the second half, with both sides battling hard but neither really looking capable of producing a moment of quality to illuminate the game.

However, the stalemate was finally broken on 62 minutes. A long throw into the Guiseley box from Dan Meredith was flicked on by Dan Turner for Devon Kelly-Evans to drill a low first time effort into the net to finally bring the game to life.

Kelly-Evans saw a free kick deflected over the bar as Leamington pushed forward in the aftermath of the goal, but the corner came to nothing.

Guiseley had a great chance as they broke up a Leamington attack that briefly saw 4 on 3, but an ill timed pass from Mooney saw George Cantrill get a challenge in to set up a Guiseley counter attack. Lively substitute Josh Stones tore towards the area but could only find the hedge behind the North Bank goal with his shot.

James Gale saw a shot deflected behind following some slack Leamington defending, but Guiseley were unable to capitalise.

In the final throes of added time Kelly-Evans sent Joe Parker scampering clear down the right, the second half substitute sending in a cross that was almost bundled into the net by Kelly-Evans, who had done superbly to keep up with the attack. Mason did well to block, and follow up to prevent Mooney from putting in the loose ball.

Attendance: 405

Leamington: Callum Hawkins, Dan Meredith, Steph Morley, Joe Clarke (14 Callum Gittings, 88), James Mace, Jack Lane, Dan Turner 12 Joe Parker, 66), Adam Walker, Kelsey Mooney, Jack Edwards ©, Devon Kelly-Evans.

Subs not used: GK Jake Weaver, 15 Junior English, 16 Josh Beeson.

Guiseley: Owen Mason, George Cantrill, Jason Sraha, Andrew Kellett (15 Thierry Latty-Fairweather, 67), Hamza Bencherif ©, Lebrun Mbeka, John Johnston, Oliver Brown, James Gale, Regan Hutchinson, 11 Dom Tear (14 Josh Stones, 67).

Subs not used: 12 Andrew Hollins, GK Declan Lambton.

Referee: Mr Claudio Gavillucci

Assistant Referees: Mr Harley McKittrick & Mr Karl Donaghey

Brakes Man of the Match: Dan Meredith.