Vanarama National League North
Your Co-op Community Stadium
Saturday 5th November 2022

These two towns have met in football before, many many years ago, but the first visit of Scarborough Athletic to Harbury Lane saw a thoroughly entertaining contest between two teams that are largely on an upward trajectory at present.

Meetings between Scarborough FC and Lockheed/AP Leamington were frequent during the mid to late 1960’s and again in the late 1970’s/early 80’s with the formation of the Alliance Premier League (Today’s National League), but the fortunes of the two went in markedly different directions after the last of those meetings in April 1982. However, with Athletic having won promotion through the Northern Premier League Play Offs last season the two towns met in football for the first time in 40 years.

Backed by a healthy and vociferous travelling contingent the visitors looked bright early on, and the dangerous Kieren Weledji fired an early warning shot just over the Leamington crossbar when he was afforded a little too much space as Scarborough poured forward.

Another break from the Seadogs saw Brakes outnumbered at the back but they were denied as Callum Hawkins made a smart stop to block the cross. The visiting supporters thought they had scored in the next attack as a furious goalmouth scramble ended with Boro’s midweek hat trick hero Kieran Burton stabbing in a shot from close range which was somehow hacked off the line.

Leamington began to settle down after this, with returning loanee Charlie Williams pulling the strings in midfield. There was what looked to be a fairly credible claim for a penalty as a defender looked to move his arm towards the ball inside the Scarborough penalty area, but Referee Dale Baines was not interested. Williams then saw a shot blocked.

Ciaran McGuckin saw a low strike saved by Hawkins, but the Brakes stopper was left helpless on 36 minutes as a sweeping move forward by the visitors ended with a fine strike from skipper Michael Coulson that curled beyond the dive of Hawkins into the net.

The veteran striker was played in again before half time but fortunately from a Leamington perspective the ball was deflected through to Hawkins. Brakes had been a little sloppy at times and allowed their opponents onto them a little too easily, but they perked up before the interval, and Devon Kelly-Evans stung the palms of Joe Cracknell with a powerful strike from distance that the keeper could only parry. Jack Edwards was just beaten to the loose ball by Burton, who cleared away from goal.

Leamington emerged from the dressing room with far more purpose, and proceeded to boss the second half. Kelly-Evans saw another shot flash wide from a free kick, before the tireless running of Rackeem Reid saw him fashion the equaliser just five minutes in. Dancing into the penalty area on the right the striker reached the dead ball line and looked to have been crowded out by two defenders, but he somehow not only managed to keep the ball in play but cut it back to the on-rushing Adam Walker, who crashed his second goal of the season first time under Cracknell into the net to the delight of a raucous Harbury Lane End.

Edwards was left punching the turf in frustration as he got his angles all wrong on meeting a free kick from Kelly-Evans unmarked in the centre of the box, glancing his header just wide; while Kelly-Evans himself curled another effort just past the angle of post and bar.

Walker drove powerfully just over the bar as Leamington continued to ask all the questions, while not allowing Scarborough to get into the game in the way they had during the opening half. Despite plenty of enterprise and attacking, played out to the noisy backing of both sets of fans, Brakes were unable to find a winner but could certainly not be disheartened with a point from a cracking game.

‘I thought it was a proper, really good National League game,’ said Paul Holleran afterwards. ‘The Referee’s just said that to me, he said it was the best game he has refereed this season. It was played in a good spirit. Both teams had spells, both teams had chances; it was end to end - You can see why people are coming back to Non League football - it just had everything.

‘I thought possibly at half time they edged it. We were disappointed with the goal and the build up to it - we gave the ball away cheaply. It was a super finish from the boy. We did question the amount of space they had on the edge of our box.

‘I think you’d have to say that in the first half they had the upper hand but in the second half we played higher up the pitch. We started winning the individual battles, the duals, the combinations; and that sets the tempo for the game then. We were more aggressive, with and without the ball, we were a bit more purposeful, we spun around and got Rackeem away. Was the result about right? Probably, but with the chances we had in the second half I thought we might just nick it, but you could never be disappointed with that performance and that point.

‘It was a good follow up from last week. With the travelling we had to do, the lads had to dig deep. We kept going right to the end and kept the levels up. How we’ve been at home for 90% of the season so far is where we need to be, so I was delighted with that.’

Attendance: 634

Leamington: Callum Hawkins, Dan Meredith, Louis Hall, Joe Clarke, Theo Streete, Jack Lane, Charlie Williams (12 Simeon Maye, 84), Adam Walker, Rackeem Reid (14 Tom Hewlett, 85), Jack Edwards ©, Devon Kelly-Evans.

Subs not used: 15 Connor Taylor, 16 Junior English, 17 James Mace.

Scarbrough Athletic: 1 Joe Cracknell, 2 Kieran Weledji (8 Ryan Watson, 74), 3 Ashley Jackson, 4 Lewis Maloney, 5 Will Thornton, 6 Bailey Gooda, 7 Michael Coulson © (20 Daniel Brammall, 71), 10 Kieran Glynn (14 Brad Plant, 64), 11 Luca Conville, 15 Kieran Burton, 33 Ciaran McGuckin.

Subs not used: 17 Dom Tear, 18 Simon Heslop,.

Referee: Mr Michael Crusham

Assistant Referees: Mr Peter Brown & Mr Luis Griffiths

Brakes Man of the Match: Rackeem Reid.