Report

The returning Jack Edwards was Leamington’s saviour as his scrambled close range finish just minutes after coming on rescued a point from this Warwickshire derby.

Brakes had struggled to break down a dogged, resilient and effective Stratford side who performed even better after losing Charlie Dowd to a needless red card just before half time.

Both sides were aggrieved at some of the decision making over the course of the afternoon, and both will feel they had chances to take all three points, but on balance both deserved to take something from the game, so a draw was probably the right result from what was an entertaining game, probably more so from a neutral perspective than for both sets of fans.

Brakes came close early on when Cally Stewart struck the ball against Paul McCone, one of several former Leamington players in the visiting side, and it flashed just wide for a corner which was headed behind by another in Liam Daly.

Devon Kelly-Evans’ curling ball in from the left evaded everyone in the penalty area to drop past the far post, while some great work by Stewart to hold up play in the box saw him lay the ball off for Ben Usher-Shipway to strike first time towards the near post, where Bards keeper Liam O’Brien only just managed to prevent it from squirming over the line.

Despite the relatively bright opening from Brakes it was Stratford who struck first when Riley O’Sullivan’s half volley beat Callum Smith just inside his near post.

McCone’s header at the far post from a recycled right wing cross was held by Smith as the visitors began to dictate proceedings, clearly galvanised by the goal. However, their good work was threatened right on half time when Charlie Dowd inexplicably kicked out at Usher-Shipway off the ball, and Referee Daniel Hitchell did not hesitate to brandish a red card.

There was still time for a penalty shout for Leamington as Josh Quaynor went down under a challenge from Lee Vaughan, but it was waved away by the man in charge, and Brakes returned to the dressing room a goal down.

There was little indication in the early stages of the second half that things would get any better, as Stratford continued to spray the ball around as they had done in the first, despite their numerical disadvantage.

An awful miscued effort from Usher-Shipway dribbled wide, while Jack Storer fired a free kick well off target at the other end. A long throw into the box from Usher-Shipway was then calmly headed into the arms of his goalkeeper from inside the six yard box by Vaughan.

A Stratford free kick was headed dangerously onto the roof of the net by a Leamington defender as frustration began to build among the home support. Quaynor saw his fierce strike deflected through to O’Brien by Dan Lafferty, before Stewart’s cross was bundled behind McCone for a corner, from which Junior English hurled himself towards the delivery, only missing it by inches.

A tussle between Stewart and McCone in the box saw another penalty shout, more from the stands than the pitch, as the two players involved were more concerned about a spectator who had been struck by the ball in the aftermath.

Another deflected strike, this time from Devon Kelly-Evans went safely through to O’Brien, before Edwards replaced Usher-Shipway on 66 minutes. He was involved immediately as he was tripped by Lewis Ludford-Ison as he prepared to run through on goal, but with other defenders in the vicinity the Stratford man was spared the same fate as his team mate Dowd, receiving just a booking.

Just three minutes after his introduction Edwards was on hand to stab home from close range after Stratford failed to clear a free kick into their penalty area. This provided Leamington with fresh impetus, and they showed more of what they could be capable of in the closing stages of this contest.

However, they could easily have fallen behind again were it not for an outstanding save by Smith with his legs to deny O’Sullivan his second of the afternoon. Brakes were guilty of surrendering possession on more than one occasion, and Smith held another shot to his near post from Storer.

Heads were in hands in the Harbury Lane End as a clever reverse pass by Jack Lane set up Henry Landers to drive the ball low across goal, Stewart steaming in and missing it by a hair's breadth at the far post.

The former Coventry Sphinx striker has certainly been one of the bright sparks in the early weeks of the season, and he turned inside the box to fire in a shot that was deflected into the side netting as Leamington finally began to push Stratford back towards their own goal in the closing stages.

A good ball in from the left by Quaynor was met by an overhead kick from English on the far side, and helped towards goal by another from Tyrone Barnett, but the ball landed on the roof of the net. Kelly-Evans saw another shot blocked, before Landers was brought down just inside the box for what looked like a certain penalty, but yet again it was waved away to howls of derision from the home support.

A late goal would have been harsh on Stratford, who certainly deserved to take something away for their efforts, as they were the better side for long periods, and will probably wonder what might have been had they kept a full complement of players on the field.

Speaking to BBC CWR’s Brian Halford after the game, Paul Holleran was aggrieved that once again his side hadn’t made more of the chances they created, but felt a draw was the right result given the endeavours of both sides.

‘I sometimes watch the old Match of the Day from the 70’s now and again, it was like one of those games,’ chuckled the Brakes boss. ‘It was full blooded. We will look back at opportunities early in the game; late in the game. We were wasteful, especially when it was 11 against 10. We got into some good areas, but we didn’t get it in and around the box quick enough and bounce it off. But we still had enough chances to win the game.

‘You’d have to say for them that with the effort they put in today, they deserved something out of the game - i’m not disputing that. For us, over the weekend as a whole - Saturday we’ve had to travel and play on a 4G pitch against a young, energetic team - it’s taken a bit out of us, and there were two or three I would have liked to have taken out of the firing line today, but I haven’t got that luxury at the moment.

‘I’m delighted we got something today, we’ve taken four points from the weekend, but we’ve got to start taking more of our opportunities, but for the life of me I cannot understand how we haven’t got a penalty for the challenge of Henry Landers at the end. It’s the clearest thing you’ll see in your life! We’d have loved to have won the game, but it’s a fair result for different reasons I think.’

Attendance: 951

Leamington: Callum Smith, Junior English, Josh Quaynor, Devon Kelly-Evans, Theo Streete (14 Connor Taylor, 90+4), Jack Lane, Henry Landers, Adam Walker, Ben Usher-Shipway (15 Jack Edwards, 66), Callum Stewart, Tyrone Barnett.

Subs not used: 12 Jiah Medrano, 16 Dan Baldwin, 17 Joe Clarke.

Stratford Town: 1 Liam O’Brien, 20 Lee Vaughan, 3 Alex Worley, 4 Liam Daly, 5 Paul McCone, 6 Kasonga Ngandu (16 Charlie Williams, 75), 7 Charlie Dowd, 8 Lewis Ludford-Ison, 9 Jack Storer, 10 Dan Lafferty, 11 Riley O’Sullivan (17 Sidik Atcha, 87).

Subs not used: 14 Jamie Molyneux, 15 Dan Vann, 18 Devon O’Sullivan.

Referee: Mr Daniel Hitchell

Assistant Referees: Mr Mark Reilly & Mr Paul Sparrow

Brakes Man of the Match: Callum Stewart.