Vanarama National League North
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Saturday 20th August 2022

By Paul Edwards 

Leamington slipped to a narrow first defeat of the campaign at the hands of Spennymoor Town.

Paul Holleran opted to name an unchanged starting eleven after the draw at Buxton on Tuesday night. Steph Morley looked to be close to a return to the squad as he was out on the pitch doing a fitness test prior to kick off.

Jack Edwards sent an early snapshot wide of the upright after Ben Usher-Shipway had won the ball by the corner flag on the right.

Brakes gave the ball away themselves, and a header back towards Callum Hawkins by Jack Lane looked for a second as though it might be pounced upon by the visitors' attack.

Leamington broke forward again from this, and Devon Kelly-Evans played the ball over the top, Dan Turner getting goal side of his marker to charge into the box, only to see his shot charged down by keeper Max Metcalfe. Adam Walker followed up but his shot flew high over the bar.

Both sides were playing high defensive lines in the opening stages, with the offside flag being raised several times at either end.

Moors’ prolific marksman Glen Taylor had their first effort on goal of the afternoon when the ball was played in to him on the edge of the box, curling a low effort towards goal that Hawkins did well to gather.

Spennymoor looked to have a good chance to press as Jordan Thewlis was played into acres of space on the left, squaring for Jude Oyibo, who mis-cued his shot so badly the ball rolled out towards the corner flag on the far side, where Rob Ramshaw managed to keep it in, but was dispossessed.

Leamington were not helping themselves by giving the ball away in defence, allowing their opponents on to them.

Spennymoor certainly had the better of the opening twenty minutes or so without troubling the Leamington goal any further, and play started to become a little more even. Just before the half hour Finn Cousin-Dawson looped a header towards the near post from a deep left wing cross by Oyibo, but Hawkins watched it all the way and claimed it cleanly.

The Moors continued to look the more threatening as half time approached, and Thewlis set off towards goal only to be stopped in his tracks by a fantastic challenge from Edwards.

Walker volleyed over the bar with the second half in its infancy after some good work by Kelly-Evans on the left as Leamington looked to begin with more intent. Moors pushed forward themselves and Taylor drove straight at Hawkins from out on the left.

Kelly-Evans almost played Turner through with an intelligent clearance from just inside his own half, but the wily James Curtis was on hand to ensure that the ball ran through to Metcalfe to clear for Spennymoor.

The visitors' pressure began to build again however, and they hit the front on 61 minutes when Oyibo picked the ball up from a right wing corner and turned his man inside out before rifling a shot beyond Hawkins into the top corner - a fantastic strike.

Brakes attempted to respond immediately, Turner stretching and missing a cross by inches. Metclafe then plucked a decent left wing cross from Kelly-Evans off the head of Usher-Shipway.

Taylor’s header from a Spennymoor corner was deflected behind for another, and the same player stooped to send a powerful header flying over the bar.

The Spennymoor striker had plenty of opportunities to open his account for the season, and drove a free kick from a promising position into the defensive wall, Josef Wheatley, following up, struck the loose ball straight at Hawkins.

Oyibo almost had a bizarre second goal as Hawkins charged from his box to cut out a through ball, his clearance striking the Spennymoor player and rolling agonisingly wide of the open goal.

Finally in the last ten minutes Leamington began to work the Spennymoor back line. Lane struck the post with a powerful low drive from the right, while substitute Alex Prosser curled another effort wide.

Taylor got goal side of James Mace as the visitors broke quickly, and drew a fine save from Hawkins with his low effort. The Brakes keeper then bravely got over the top of the ball from the resulting corner.

Taylor almost opened his account at the wrong end as he sent a looping header towards his own goal from a Leamington free kick with the game in injury time; Metcalfe having to backpedal to claim the ball. Jamie Chandler then sent a shot high, wide and handsome after being left in far too much space as Spennymoor attacked once more.

The visitors were able to see out time to celebrate a deserved first win of the season, with Brakes left feeling a little flat after a performance that did not match their efforts in the opening three games.

‘They’ve mastered the conditions and game better than us today,’ said Paul Holleran afterwards. ‘We got in at half time without really being penetrated or looking in any real danger. They pinned us in - it was easy to do that with this wind - and that was the most disappointing thing, in the first twenty minutes of the second half. There’s certain ways you need to play, and we just haven’t done it. Our game management with and without the ball today has been nowhere near. The goal has come from a short corner. We’ve been sloppy today. Really sloppy.

‘Three out of the four sides we’ve faced so far have been put together to really challenge in this league. Spennymoor are a really good side with a really good attacking threat. It was a super goal by the boy - I’ll talk about us defensively but what a strike!

‘In the last ten-fifteen minutes I thought there was a bit of purpose in our play. We got the ball in better positions, looked a little bit of a threat, but on a day like today, when we’ve been second best for long periods, you’ve just got to keep that clean sheet intact. Structurally we looked very good, and we dealt with it, so it’s a little bit disappointing that it came from a set play, but listen, we need to be better - we’ve got to be better than we were today. Against Farsley and Buxton we were tremendous, at Kiddy we were dogged, but today was really not where it needs to be. We need to do better.

Attendance: 543

Leamington: Callum Hawkins, Dan Meredith, Louis Hall, Simeon Maye (17 Junior English, 80), James Mace, Jack Lane, Ben Usher-Shipway (15 Kieran Cook, 70), Adam Walker, Dan Turner, Jack Edwards ©, Devon Kelly-Evans (12 Alex Prosser, 70).

Subs not used: 14 Theo Streete, 16 Connor Taylor.

Spennymoor Town: 1 Max Metcalfe, 3 Scott Duxbury, 4 Jamie Chandler, 5 Joseph Tait, 6 James Curtis ©, 7 Jordan Thewlis (16 Charles Watt, 84), 9 Glen Taylor, 10 Rob Ramshaw, 17 Josef Wheatley, 18 Jude Oyibo (8 Daniel Greenfield, 84), 20 Finn Cousin-Dawson

Subs not used: 2 John Lufudu, 14 Niah Payne, 24 Michael Ledger.

Referee: Mr Ben Wyatt

Assistant Referees: Mr Harley Hertherington & Mr Lewis Mansfield King

Brakes Man of the Match: Adam Walker.