Pitching In Southern League Premier Division
New Bucks Head
Saturday 6th April 2024

Brakes travelled to Shropshire to face an AFC Telford United side, like themselves, with one eye firmly on the end of season play off lottery. 

It has been a far more enjoyable campaign for both sides. Telford were also relegated from the National League North last season along with Leamington, but prior to kick off there was a noticeable buzz around the New Bucks Head which only comes with a team being successful. 

This was always likely to be a cagey affair with both sides looking to cement their place in the top six; with the added possibility of meeting again in the play offs.  

All five of the previous meetings between the two clubs had ended in draws, and for the first half at least, it looked to be a fair assumption that this contest might be going the same way. 

Unsurprisingly Paul Holleran opted to stick with the eleven which had started the previous Saturday’s win over Halesowen Town. 

Kicking towards their 60 or so travelling supporters in the Frank Nagington terrace in the first half, Brakes were first to show going forward, Jack Edwards seeing a volley saved low down at his right hand post by Brandon Hall. 

There was very little to enthuse either set of supporters in the opening 20 minutes. Jordan Piggot won a rather cheap free kick from Josh Quaynor in a promising central position on the edge of the Leamington penalty area; Fraser Kerr’s strike hitting the defensive wall and bouncing behind for a corner which came to nothing. Montel Gibson then did well to rob Dan Meredith as he attempted to see the ball out of play, feeding Ellis Brown to strike low at goal, but his shot lacked the power to trouble Callum Hawkins. 

Meredith won his side’s first corner of the afternoon, which Tyrone Barnett headed high over the bar. Cally Stewart soon won another, but this proved fruitless. 

Edwards took the opportunity presented to him for another strike at goal some 30 yards out as Barnett held up play. His half volley was well struck, but Hall gathered at the second attempt. 

On the half hour things started to brighten up. As the Referee quickly changed his mind to blow for a free kick on the edge of the Telford box on Adam Walker by Ellis Myles, who had been robustly dispossessed by Stewart seconds earlier, Telford broke quickly, and Gibson and Piggot slowed play down intelligently just inside the Leamington box to set up Brown for a strike that was on target, but Meredith bravely threw himself in front of it to block. 

Theo Streete was next to stand up to defend his goal, as Byron Moore thumped in a low drive on the turn. 

Edwards got to the ball at the far post ahead of Hall to head behind from a free kick, and Sam Whittall shot straight at Hawkins from a good position, but as the half time whistle sounded, as anticipated, there was barely anything to choose between the two sides.

The second half almost got off to a spectacular start when Piggott sent an acrobatic overhead kick flashing past the post as he connected almost perfectly with Gibson’s deflected cross. Straight back to the opposite end, and Hall fumbled a straightforward looking effort from Walker, but Stewart and Barnett were both blocked out of snaffling up the resulting loose ball. 

Streete was furious to be penalised for a challenge on the left of the box. Remi Walker took the resulting free kick, the ball kissing the top of the crossbar on its way over. 

Telford probably should have been ahead in their next attack, but were denied an opening goal by the superb reflexes of Hawkins, who after initially failing to claim the ball as it was crossed back into the six yard box, reacted brilliantly as Orrin Pendley bunded the ball back towards goal to help it onto the bar. 

Walker then cut back inside as Telford pushed forward again, his strike looping off the boot of Meredith to land on the roof of the net. It was unclear who connected with the ball from the resulting corner kick, possibly Kerr, but it struck the bar again. 

The home side were firmly in the ascendancy now, with Leamington defending stoutly as they always do, but they were really going to have to excel to keep out a Telford side who still have second place in their sights. Brakes had barely made an imprint in the opposing half since the resumption, and it was clear they were going to be in for a long 45 minutes. 

Hawkins came to claim a long ball into his penalty area and was unable to hold onto the ball, reacting quickly to clear with his feet, but the ball came back again, and this time Walker, ironically Leamington born and the son of former Brakes defender Simon, made no mistake, curling a powerful effort beyond the dive of Hawkins into the top corner; a fine goal to break the deadlock. 

There was very little of note to report after a moment out of keeping with a lot of what had gone before it. Telford were hungry for a second goal but were kept out by more dogged defending. Leamington did their best to apply some late pressure in search of a leveller, but it was ultimately not enough. 

The manager was quick to acknowledge that his side had not been at their best afterwards. ‘You couldn’t argue - they were the better team. I thought we started the game well, and was quite pleased with the first twenty, but we weren’t aggressive enough; there were too many gaps between us. I just think Telford managed the game better all afternoon really. 

‘I’ve just said to the players, if you go round the team, you struggle to pick out a player today that you can actually go, he’s done well today, he’s done what he’s meant to be doing. Have we had a defender that has dominated? No. Have we had midfield players that have got hold of the middle of the park? No. Have our attacking players got in the game? No. Our set plays haven’t really worked. 

‘Sometimes you have to come away from a game; and it really hasn’t happened very often this year, and admit that we were second best. On another day we might scrape a 0-0, but you have to accept that the better team won today. I’m hoping that it will do us good, this game. We’re used to these games, and these stadiums and these crowds, but we’ve got a few young lads in that dressing room who aren’t. 

‘So basically we’ll take stock. We’ve got to do better, but you have to give them (Telford) credit really - they didn’t allow us to.. Our game in hand is on Tuesday at Stourbridge, but I’m hoping that this result will do us good over the next three or four weeks as we look to get the points we need to get into the play off mix. 

On the upcoming game at Stourbridge, Holleran said: It’s always a tough place to go. They’ve been up and down this season but I watched them win at Redditch on Monday. It was a real polished performance. I feel a bit for the previous managers really, as they were introducing young players. We’re expecting a really tough game, but we’ve just got to be better than we were today.’ 

Attendance: 1,367

AFC Telford United: Brandon Hall, Ellis Myles, Jared Hodgkiss, Jordan Piggott, Orrin Pendley, Fraser Kerr ©, Remi Walker, Sam Whittall, Byron Moore, Montel Gibson (14 Matt Stenson, 82), Ellis Brown (12 Ricardo Dinanga, 65). 

Subs not used: 15 Kyle Storer, 16 Reece Styche, 17 Ty Webster.  

Leamington: Callum Hawkins, Dan Meredith, Josh Quaynor, Ewan Williams (12 Joe Clarke, 79), Theo Streete, Rob Evans, Wil Shorrock (15 Devon Kelly-Evans, 74), Adam Walker ©, Jack Edwards, Tyrone Barnett (14 Henry Landers, 74), Callum Stewart. 

Subs not used: 16 Connor Taylor, 17 Dan Baldwin. 

Referee: Mr Elliott Kaye

Assistant Referees: Mr Daniel Ellis & Mr Ryan Dobson

Brakes Man of the Match: Theo Streete.