Pre Season Friendly
Your Co-op Community Stadium
Tuesday 12th July 2022

By Paul Edwards 

Brakes earned a creditable draw against Sky Bet League 2 Walsall in their third pre season friendly.

The visitors arrived with a 23 man squad containing first teamers and trialists, and with the conditions having cooled very slightly following a brief rain shower, they began at a pace, moving ahead with only five minutes played. Haydon White’s ball in from the right found Andrew Williams, who found the bottom corner past a wrong footed Jake Weaver.

Brakes began to enjoy some possession as they settled into the game, and after Kieran Cook had made space for a shot that lacked the power to trouble Owen Evans in the Walsall goal, Trialist A set up Simeon Maye for a low first time strike that was straightforward enough for Evans.

Walsall countered and Flynn Clarke crashed in a powerful strike that Weaver claimed after taking the sting out of, and the Brakes stopper had to be at his best to keep out the Saddlers’ next effort, as Williams took down an accurate diagonal ball from the left superbly before driving in a strike that produced an acrobatic save from the Brakes number one.

Leamington hit back, with Trialist A holding up the ball in the right corner before laying back for Dan Meredith to drive into the box and cross for Jack Edwards to win a corner off a defender. Edwards rose for the resulting dead ball but headed wide.

With half time approaching Trialist A was replaced by Adam Walker after brief treatment for an injury. Theo Streete forced a late corner for Brakes with a deflected shot, but the score remained in favour of the visitors as the half time whistle blew.

Walsall made seven changes for the beginning of the second half and two of them combined to first opening when Ronan Maher’s free kick was met at the far post by former Leamington loanee Taylor Allen, who forced another fine save from Weaver with a downward header.

Clarke saw another effort saved by Weaver, and Maher struck the post with an effort from distance, but Brakes forced themselves level with a brief attacking flurry with a little over ten minutes to go. A corner was forced after Dan Turner, Junior English and Jack Lane, and when the ball arrived at the feet of Turner after being headed back across goal he made no mistake; sweeping it first time into the net.

Maher clipped the top the crossbar after being set up by Allen late on, but a well fought contest ended all square.

Attendance: 455

Leamington: Jake Weaver, Dan Meredith, Devon Kelly-Evans, Alex Prosser, Theo Streete, Jack Lane, Trialist A (12 Adam Walker, 42), Simeon Maye (14 Junior English, 56), Dan Turner, Jack Edwards © (16 Trialist C, 77), Kieran Cook (15 Trialist B, 65).

Subs not used: 13 Tom Day, 17 Martyn Naylor.

Walsall: 1 Owen Evans, Trialist A, 26 Peter Clarke, 5 Donovan Daniels ©, Trialist B, Trialist C, 14 Brandon Comley, 2 Haydon White, Flynn Clarke, 15 Douglas James-Taylor, 11 Andrew Williams.

Subs: 31 Adam Pryzbck, 8 Liam Kinsella, 30 Liam Bennett, Trialist D, Ronan Maher, 25 Manny Monthe, Trialist E, 21 Taylor Allen, 23 Isaac Hutchinson, 24 Rollin Meneyase, 19 Brendan Kiernan, 7 Joe Riley.