Pre Season Friendly
Sphinx Industrial Supplies Arena 
Tuesday 9th July 2024

Leamington kicked off their preparations for the 2024/2025 season with a short hop into Coventry to take on Sphinx. The hosts, who consolidated in their first season at Step 4 in the competitive Northern Premier League Midlands Division, welcomed back their former striker Cally Stewart, along with another former player in Jack Edwards. 

Three of Paul Holleran’s summer signings, George Ward, Caine Elliott and Tim Berridge all started this first warm up match, Ward at right back in the absence of Dan Meredith, while Jiah Medrano started at left back. 

Ward laced a first time drive over the bar from distance early on as Brakes moved the ball around well, while Adam Walker forced the first shot on target from inside the penalty area that was held by the home goalkeeper. Ward quickly followed that up with another pop from distance, this time along the ground, but it was well held by keeper Zach Hedge. 

Sphinx already had 90 minutes under their belts having beaten Barwell on Saturday, and they were snapping into challenges early on, harking back to some of the fiery clashes we enjoyed here back in the Midland Combination days. Callum Hawkins held a well struck low drive from Ashanti Pryce. 

Kyle Carey then pounced on a loose ball that cannoned off Theo Streete inside the box with a first time strike that was straight at Hawkins. 

Berridge bagged his first goal in his new colours on 19 minutes. Stewart picked up the ball on the right by the corner flag and drove it in low across the face of goal, Elliott helping it back into the centre for the former Coalville man to tap in from a yard out. 

The home side responded with off-target efforts from Jack Downes and Carey, who also went very close with a deflected effort that zipped inches past Hawkins’ left hand post. Ryley Nicholson then came steaming onto a right wing corner from Carey, but powered his header wide. 

Landers shot straight at the keeper after some neat interplay, with Ward at the centre of it. 

Sphinx were certainly ensuring that this was a stern first test of pre season for Leamington, and a well struck free kick by Downes was watched all the way and held down at his right hand post by Hawkins. 

The hosts continued to get good balls into the Brakes penalty area, and after Walker cut out one such cross, Medrano was well positioned to head another behind at the expense of a corner. 

Jack Edwards was penalised for a foul on the left edge of the penalty area, but Carey drove the free kick straight into the defensive wall. 

The first half came to an end after a sickening clash of heads between keeper Hedge and one of his defenders, but thankfully after treatment both were able to walk off the pitch unaided. 

Half time brought the usual raft of changes, and Sphinx saw a couple of early efforts travel wide of the target, but Jack Lane, back on the pitch for the first time since his unfortunate season ending injury last December, almost marked his return with a goal as he flicked the ball just wide from a corner. 

Lane was involved again in the build up to Leamington’s second; proving hard to knock off the ball as he slalomed towards the penalty area. He was eventually blocked, but the ball fell to Landers, whose fierce first time strike took a deflection that sent the ball looping over the keeper into the net. 

Landers tormented the Sphinx defence again with his movement, and arrowed another effort towards goal that the keeper dived full length to help behind. 

The Sphinx attacks were less frequent in the second half, but they probably should have had a goal back when there was a miskick in front of goal, and a follow up shot cannoned off Theo Streete and behind. 

Streete peeled off his marker to glance a header just over the crossbar from Landers’ right wing corner. 

The Sphinx substitute keeper was forced to palm an inswinging corner from the left from Landers out from under his crossbar as Brakes, with a number of young substitutes from the academy now on the pitch, applied some late pressure. 

This was certainly a useful first run out for the squad, and they now face a different challenge in the shape of a young Coventry City side at Your Co-op Community Stadium on Saturday. 

Coventry Sphinx: Zach Hedge, Ryley Nicholson, Jordan Hayward, Joe Pursey, Louis Guest, Callum Martin, Stanley Dube, Jack Downes, Andre Williams, Kyle Carey, Ashanti Pryce. 

Substitutes: Trialists, 16 Patrick Zito. 

Leamington: Callum Hawkins, George Ward, Jiah Medrano, Caine Elliott (16 Joe Doyle-Charles, 46), Theo Streete, Rob Evans (14 Jack Lane, 46), Henry Landers, Adam Walker © (15 Josh Quaynor, 46), Tim Berridge, Jack Edwards (19 Ewan Williams 46), Callum Stewart. 

Substitutes: 12 Will Shorrock, 13 Jack Humphries (GK), Trialists.