Vanarama National League North
The Brewery Field
Tuesday 21 March 2023

by Max Passantino

Leamington are anxiously looking over their shoulders more than ever now, with Tuesday night’s defeat at The Brewery Field added to Farsley Celtic’s 3-1 victory over play-off chasing Darlington bringing the Brakes right back into the middle of the National League North relegation battle.

Paul Holleran made the decision to restore club captain Jack Edwards to the starting eleven in the place of Liam Cross who was carrying a knock, Devon Kelly-Evans therefore moving out of the number 10 role and out wide.

The hosts started like a house on fire and thought they had taken the lead five minutes in. Ted Cann dropped the ball at the feet of Rob Ramshaw despite it looking like a routine catch for the on-loan goalkeeper and Ramshaw pounced with Leamington needing Theo Streete to hook the ball off of the line.

Cann did redeem himself a minute later, getting down to meet a Paul Blackett effort. Blackett was getting into the right spaces and was found by Lebrun Mbeka but the former Gateshead man couldn’t keep his effort down.

Brakes had their first chance 20 minutes into the game, a corner forced a scramble in the area but Harry Flatters in the Moors goal got down quick to smother the ball with Jack Edwards lurking. 

Leamington’s start to the game was underwhelming, and Spennymoor continued to apply pressure. Ted Cann was forced into another save, this time from Ryan Wombwell before Jack Lane was called upon a minute later to deflect a Lebrun Mbeka effort wide.

Mark Anderson was the next Moors player to have an effort, but his long drive fell wide of Cann’s woodwork. Brakes finally got a grip on the game and started to nullify Spennymoor’s attacks but were yet to have a shot themselves when the referee blew the whistle for half time.

The second half started much like the first, with the hosts dominant. Wombwell saw an effort saved by Cann and substitute Jake Day volleyed wide. 

However, just twelve minutes into the second period the hosts’ persistence paid off and they took a deserved lead but no one wearing blue would have been happy about the manner the goal was conceded in. A corner was floated in and somehow Day was able to beat three Leamington defenders to the ball and head down to his foot, tapping in past a helpless Cann.

Paul Holleran brought on Kelsey Mooney for Ollie Hulbert with 20 to go and suddenly Leamington looked like a different team. Mooney’s first involvement saw him link up with Adam Walker but the midfielder was stopped by the superb Joe Tait.

Mooney was centre stage again just minutes later and almost finished a move he started. He played a ball out wide to Meredith before following in and making a dart into the box, meeting Meredith’s pin point cross but heading wide, nonetheless registering Leamington’s first shot of the game 75 minutes in. 

Despite looking revitalised going forward since the introduction of Mooney, Brakes still looked shaky at the back and Lane’s header back to Ted Cann looked to be heading for his own net but somehow Cann was able to dig his centre back out of a hole with a remarkable save with the ball almost behind him.

Lebrun Mbeka had Spennymoor’s final chance of the game with 88 played as he fired into the side netting. 

It took Leamington 90 minutes to have a shot on target, but they should have been level from it if it wasn’t for a very good save by Flatters. Edwards won a free header at the back stick but his powerful header was somehow kept out by Flatters who parried out to Theo Streete who fired over the open goal with Leamington’s last chance of the game.

The defeat finally brings Leamington’s run of Tuesday games to an end, with a massive seven games to go. 

Attendance: 1171 (13 Leamington)

Spennymoor Town: 21 Harry Flatters, 3 Ryan Wombwell, 5 Joe Tait, 6 James Curtis ©, 10 Rob Ramshaw, 11 Mark Anderson, 17 Joe Wheatley (28 Corey McKeown, 53’), 18 Reece Kendall, 20 Lebrun Mbeka, 25 Tom Angell (31 Connor Shanks, 77), 30 Paul Blackett (29 Jake Day, 40’) 

Subs not used: 15 Callum Ross, 16 Charlie Watt

Leamington: Ted Cann, Dan Meredith, Louis Hall, Sam Perry, Theo Streete, Jack Lane, Dan Turner, Adam Walker, Ollie Hulbert (14 Kelsey Mooney, 71’), Jack Edwards ©, Devon Kelly-Evans (15 Ben Usher-Shipway, 86’) 

Subs not used: 12 Joe Clarke, 13 Dan Moore, 16 Junior English

Referee: Mr James Bancroft

Assistant referees: Mr Kirk Freeth, Mr Stephen Birkett

Brakes Man of the Match: Kelsey Mooney

Photos courtesy of David Nelson