Report

Vanarama National League North
Your Co-op Community Stadium
Saturday 4th March 2023

Leamington recorded their biggest win since the opening day of the season on an afternoon of stunning goals in the chilly Warwickshire countryside.

Liam Cross and Ollie Hulbert both scored their first goals for the club to put Brakes in a commanding half time position, only for a super strike from Hayden Campbell to halve the deficit barely a minute into the second half.

However, rather than buckle under the pressure, which they might have done at times earlier in the season, Paul Holleran’s men added another two goals to their tally courtesy of Dan Turner and Devon Kelly-Evans. Even a late red card for Theo Streete could barely dampen the winning feeling as Brakes turned in one of their best performances of the campaign.

With the manager forced to watch from the stands after receiving a touchline ban for being sent from the dugout during the home game against Telford at the beginning of October, Cross returned to the starting eleven as Joe Clarke dropped to the substitutes bench after Tuesday night’s draw at Banbury.

Brakes won the first corner of the afternoon on six minutes courtesy of Turner, and when the ball was punched clear by Chris Renshaw back to the taker Cross on the left, he decided on a different course of action and cut inside sharply before exploding a powerful drive from his right boot that curled into the far corner - a fantastic strike.

The visitors may have felt a little aggrieved as central defender Devon Matthews was off the pitch at the time having to change his shirt after suffering a blood injury of some sort.

The goal lifted the home support, who were buoyed as Jack Lane met another corner from the left, but could only find the side netting.

There was certainly only one team exerting any real pressure in the opening twenty minutes, as Leamington looked to press home their advantage and the visitors struggled to gain any momentum despite some neat passing.

The ball was spending a worrying amount of time in the air however, with neither side being able to keep hold of it at times.

Curzon Ashton forged their first opportunity on 28 minutes when a neat move to the edge of the box saw the Referee in the way somewhat before Finlay Armstrong stabbed a shot wide.

Shortly afterwards Streete was well placed to prevent Tom Peers from getting a shot off inside the box as The Nash began to look more threatening.

Other than the goal the game had been very light on goalmouth incident until a bizarre moment saw Hulbert open his account for Brakes ten minutes before half time. The visitors appeared aggrieved in the aftermath at what they perceived to have been a foul just inside the Leamington half prior to the build up, but the ball was sent down the right channel by Streete for Hulbert, who looked to be simply trying to play it high into the penalty area, but somehow sent it spinning past Renshaw and in off the far post into the net, to the utter delight of his team mates and the Harbury Lane End. It was a well deserved goal for a player who has worked hard for the team since coming in on loan from Yeovil Town at the end of January.

A great turn by Campbell inside the area on the right saw Peers test Ted Cann for the first time with a low strike straight into the goalkeeper's arms minutes before half time.

Leamington countered from the edge of their box to the edge of Curzon’s; Devon Kelly-Evans feeding Turner, who cut in and stung the palms of Renshaw with a fierce low strike.

The manager would have doubtless told his team to make sure they kept things tight in the opening second half exchanges, so if he had any hair left he would have been tearing it out as the visitors halved the deficit within seconds of the restart thanks to a stunning strike from Campbell, who latched onto a long ball knocked on by Peers to thump a first time volley wide of a helpless Cann.

At times this season that might have been the signal for a worrying second half, but Leamington composed themselves and reasserted their dominance. Turner set up Hulbert for a shot that was curled wide, before Dan Meredith was fouled on the right. Kelly-Evans sent the free kick into the penalty area where it was met by a powerful header from Streete, who was denied by a superb save by Renshaw as the Curzon keeper helped the ball onto the post.

Cross was having the best game so far of his loan spell from Northampton Town, and a neat move up the right saw him dance into the box before placing a perfect cross onto the head of Turner at the far post, who nodded in his fourth goal in as many games. There was a brief pause in the celebration as the players thought it was going to be chalked off for some reason, but Referee Ben Robinson overruled his assistant on the far side.

Five minutes later it was four, and Kelly-Evans rounded off the scoring for the afternoon with another fine strike, picking up possession after Turner had won the ball back midway through the visitors’ half, advancing towards goal before dispatching a brilliant effort beyond Renshaw into the net.

Inevitably the visitors were afforded a few sights of goal as the game drew to its conclusion. Although a superb block from Jack Edwards denied Nash skipper Adam Barton a strike on goal, while Jimmy Spencer’s header was saved by Cann, who also saved from Peers from close range as the confidence at being in a commanding position coursed through the Brakes team.

Meredith was desperately unlucky not to add his name to the scoresheet when Renshaw denied him with an outstretched glove as his piledriver from distance headed for the bottom corner.

A few moments of madness will cost Leamington the services of the influential Streete next weekend when Chester come to town, as he unfortunately picked up two bookings in the space of a few minutes. Spencer is well known for getting under opposing players’ skin, and he and Streete enjoyed a brief set-to which ended with the Curzon striker body slamming the Leamington man to the floor. A booking for each player was the Referee’s decision, something which would come back to bite Streete minutes later as he received a second booking for an apparent elbow on Peers.

Substitute Will Hayhurst sent the resulting free kick just wide of the left hand upright, before Spencer found another substitute, Ryan Hall, just yards from goal with a seemingly simple task to prod it into the net, but he could only divert it into the arms of Cann.

Leamington frustrated their visitors as they won free kicks up by the corner flag to wind down the clock. There was time for one more opportunity for Curzon, Dylan Boyle firing straight at Cann, before Brakes first team coach Martyn Naylor was sent to join the manager in the stands, apparently for kicking the ball away; a decision which looked a little on the harsh side.

Nevertheless, it did little to detract from the celebrations at full time as Leamington enjoyed a win after one of their best performances of the season, that will hopefully serve as a springboard to propel them away from the bottom four.

Attendance: 437

Leamington: Ted Cann, Dan Meredith, Louis Hall, Sam Perry, Theo Streete, Jack Lane, Liam Cross (15 Ben Usher-Shipway, 80), Devon Kelly-Evans (16 Junior English, 83), Ollie Hulbert (14 Kelsey Mooney, 73), Jack Edwards ©, Dan Turner.

Subs not used: 12 Joe Clarke, GK Dan Moore.

Curzon Ashton: 1 Chris Renshaw, 4 Marcus Poscha, 5 Devon Matthews, 6 Dylan Boyle, 9 Tom Peers (11 William Hayhurst, 83), 12 George Waring (7 Ryan Hall, 70), 15 Finlay Armstrong, 17 Jordan Richards (21 Craig Mahon, 83), 19 James Spencer, 22 Adam Barton ©, 24 Hayden Campbell.

Subs not used: 16 Eoin Hogan.

Referee: Mr Ben Robinson

Assistant Referees: Mr Tom Wall & Mr Wayne Gray

Brakes Man of the Match: Ollie Hulbert.