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It may come as a surprise to supporters of both clubs, but this Saturday is not the first time that Leamington have visited Scunthorpe!

We had never faced The Iron’s first team in a competitive fixture before this season, but their Reserve side were opponents in the Midland Counties League between 1965 and 1968. The two clubs faced each other on six occasions, with Brakes winning four, Scunthorpe winning one, and one draw.

The Lincolnshire club first visited us at the Windmill Ground back in November 1965; with their last visit coming March 1968, which they won by three goals to two. Scunthorpe were a Division 3 club at this time, with Brakes regularly facing members of their first team in these fixtures. 

We certainly enjoyed our visits to United’s Old Show Ground, which was famous for having the first cantilevered stand in the country, winning on each of our three visits.

As you will see from the match reports, the stadium was mistakenly called The Shay (which is of course Halifax Town’s ground) by Leamington Courier on our final visit there. Thanks go to a number of Iron supporters on the Scunny United Fans Group on Facebook, who confirmed that the club did indeed play their reserve games at the Old Show Ground during that period. 

I was also able to chat on the aforementioned group with a chap called Ian Armiger, who told me that he played in goal for Ashby Institute against Lockheed Leamington in the same league in the late 1960’s/early 1970’s. Ashby is one of five villages that became part of Scunthorpe as it is today. We didn’t enjoy our visits there quite as much as the ones to Scunthorpe, nor theirs to us, as Ashby Institute won four of the six games Brakes played against them. 

1965/1966 - Midland Counties League 

09/11/65 Scunthorpe United Reserves 1 (Neale) Lockheed Leamington 3 (Holmes 2, Shorthose)

25/11/65 Lockheed Leamington 4 (Ward, Hancocks, Holmes 2) Scunthorpe United Reserves 4 (Hutton 3, Mahy) 

1966/1967 - Midland Counties League 

03/12/66 Lockheed Leamington 3 (Holmes 2, Morrow) Scunthorpe United Reserves 1 (Coatsworth)

10/01/67 Scunthorpe United Reserves 3 (Barker, Rusling, Coatsworth) Lockheed Leamington 5 (Holmes 2, Hall, Morrow, Salmon) 

1967/1968 - Midland Counties League 

28/10/67 Scunthorpe United 0 Lockheed Leamington 1 (Vest)

*With some help from Scunthorpe fans on their Facebook group, we have established that the Leamington Courier copywriter must have mis-heard the reporter when typing up this match report. The Shay is in Halifax, which is not exactly near Scunthorpe! 

16/03/68 Lockheed Leamington 2 (Holmes, Vest) Scunthorpe United Reserves 3 (Verity, Rusling, Foley)

2024/25 - National League North

23/11/24 Leamington 0 Scunthorpe United 2 (Roberts 2) - Report

Leamington's next home game is on Tuesday 11 March, as rivals Kidderminster Harriers head to Warwickshire for the first time in over two years.

This game will NOT be segregated. 

Tickets

You can purchase tickets online and on the gate. We recommend using our online ticketing portal to purchase your tickets in order to minimise queues at the turnstiles. On the day one turnstile will be signed for online tickets so you can easily scan your ticket and gain entry and another turnstile will be accepting card and cash payments. 

Adult: £15
Over 60: £11
Student (with NUS Card): £8
Under 18: £5
Under 12: £0

Car Parking

Car parking costs £3 when bought in advance and £5 when bought in cash or card on the day. We ask all supporters to either car-share or make use of our free shuttle double decker service, which is being implemented on this Tuesday night fixture as it is a high-interest game.

Leamington FC season ticket holders get free parking when their season card is shown at the gate, and blue badge holders must email info@leamingtonfc.co.uk to reserve a free space, as these are limited.

FREE Double Decker Bus Shuttle

A free double decker bus shuttle will run from Leamington Station, to our park & ride location at the Windmill Inn, to the ground. 

Park & Ride parking is opposite the pub all along Ashbourne Drive, free on-road parking for a minimum of 200 cars next to the new Wickes store. 

Post-match, the service will leave for the park & ride stop and the station at the end of the game, with another journey back scheduled at 22:30. 

For those coming to the Your Co-op Community Stadium for the first time, please note that although there is ‘ON-SITE’ parking for approximately 370 vehicles, there is NO alternative ‘on-street parking’, as we are located on a busy country road with no pavements and surrounded by farmland.

Facilities

Your Co-op Community Stadium has facilities to please everyone! There is a burger van in the tunnel corner of the ground, serving hot food and drinks with cash & card accepted.

If you don’t feel like hot food but want something to snack on, then Debbie’s Sweet Shop is the place to go. Hot drinks and cold snacks (including a wide selection of sweets) are all available from the sweet shop which you can find at the Harbury Lane End side of the ground, but please note this is cash only.

Alcohol can be consumed on the terraces at our ground, and you can purchase it from our clubhouse which is situated in between the Harbury Lane End stand and Debbie’s Sweet Shop.

The ground is covered on three of the four sides, as you walk in up from the turnstiles the covered Harbury Lane End behind the goal will be on your right. Straight ahead of you is the joint Main Stand and Car Park Terrace on the west side of the ground, on the Sheepside side of the ground sits the Mick Brady Stand, in honour of our Life President who passed away in 2020 and the North Bank behind the goal is the uncovered side. 

Clubhouse

The clubhouse can be used by both sets of fans and boasts a wide range of drinks, including local Warwickshire Church Farm Brewery products. Our bar has live sports, with Barcelona vs Benfica pre-match, live Champions League during the game, with the players present after the game to mix with fans in the bar and our post match presentations.

Both Leamington and Kidderminster Harriers fans are welcome in the bar.

Bus Travel

Due to this being a Tuesday night game, the 665 Stagecoach bus will not be running.

Matchday Magazine

Our official matchday magazine ‘New Windmill Wonderland will be available to purchase for £3 just as you enter the turnstiles. Read the thoughts of the chairman, manager and captain, learn everything you need to about Kidderminster Harriers and much more in our bumper programme.

Turnstiles Opening Time

Turnstiles and all facilities inside the ground including the clubhouse open at 6:30pm.

Live Coverage

Match updates can be found on our X (in-depth here only), Bluesky, Threads, Instagram and Facebook pages and there will be live commentary on BrakesLiveFM. Coverage will start approximately ten minutes from kick off.

Extended highlights and reaction will be available on Leamington FCTV the day after the game. 

Programme Shop

Our programme shop, ran by Andy Protheroe, will be open when the turnstiles do and is a must visit for all!

50/50 Draw

Donna and Yvonne will be in their new 50/50 kiosk, located next to the club shop, selling tickets. These cost £1 each with half of the takings going to the club and the other half going to the winner. The draw will be made and announced at half time.

We hope everyone enjoys their time at Your Co-op Community Stadium.

We look back at previous games played on March 1 in Brakes’ history…… 

1947 - The first team’s Coventry & North Warwickshire League Division 2 fixture at home to Bedworth was postponed for a second consecutive week, while in the Coventry District Football League Division 1, the Reserves, who were having a wretched season, went down 5-2 at Napton. 

1952 - A 1-1 draw at home to Bilston in the Birmingham Combination left the Courier reporter Peter Kyle distinctly unimpressed! Mickey French was our goalscorer.  

Team: Bill Branston, Cedric Bennett, Dennis Tooze, Alf Stubbs, Les Latham, Ken Hawker, Mickey French, Frank Grimwood, C Stubbs, Bill Morris, Jack Day.

In the Birmingham & West Midland Alliance (West Section), our reserve side drew 2-2 with Hall Green Amateurs. We do not yet have the names of our goalscorers, but we do have the line up, which contained goalkeeper Mick Brant as an outfield player!

Team: Thacker, Coope, Sneddon, Brant, D French, Baldwin, Hartley, Atkins, Hughes, Gardner, Griffiths.

1958 - A Birmingham & District League game away at The Lamb Ground against Tamworth saw Lockheed Leamington go down 2-1 in front of a crowd of 680. Jack Evans was our goalscorer.  

Team: David Partridge, Ken Jones, Mick Lane, Gordon Dougall, Gordon Hancocks, Ken Hawker, Hawkins, George Dean, Bernard Hackett, Jack Evans, George Burrows.

Meanwhile, in the Warwickshire Combination, our Reserves defeated West Bromwich Albion’s B Team 5-2. 

1969 - A home game in the Midland Counties League against Heanor Town saw Brakes win by three goals to two. Ray Holmes, Peter Lawton and Geoff Skellington scored the Leamington goals,  

Team: Bob Steane, David Pyle, Peter Lawton, Ralph Ramshaw, John Roberts, Bill Tedds, Bill Salmon, Geoff Skellington, Ray Holmes, Alan Vest, Richard Gretton. Sub: John Anthony. 

In the Coventry Works League Division 1, the Reserves won 2-1 at home to Massey Ferguson. 

1975 - A long away trip to Norfolk to take on King’s Lynn at The Walks saw goals in each half from Mickey Boot and Roger Brown earn a 2-1 win for AP Leamington in the Southern League Midland Division. 

Team: Dave Garratt, Dennis Taylor, John Brady, Doug Griffiths, Roger Brown, Mickey Boot, Bobby Horne, Steve Lee, Adrian Stewart, Dave Scriggens, Mick Keeley. Sub: Ivor Talbot. 

1980 - An Alliance Premier League game at the Drill Field against Northwich Victoria saw future Stratford Town manager Lenny Derby score his first goal for Brakes, but we went down 2-1 in front of 1,151 people. 

 Team: Alan Dulleston, Paul Cooper, Paul Montgomery, Alan Jones, Gary Brown, Tom Kilkelly, Dennis Taylor, Shaun McNulty, Lenny Derby, Duncan Gardner, Steve Briscoe. Sub: Tommy Gorman. 

1983 - A trip to The Oval to face Bedworth United in the Midland Floodlit Cup saw a strong Brakes side go down 3-0 to their Southern League Premier Division neighbours. It would be their only defeat in a run of 14 games in all competitions between late January and early April. Graham Rodger, a Brakes Youth Teamer and future FA Cup winner with Coventry City, was in the starting eleven for this game. 

Team: Tim Garner, Steve Rigby, Mark Buckland, Malcolm Kavanagh, Graham Rodger, Martin Woodall, Graham McKenzie, Mark Rosegreen, Alan Ollis, Nick Hartland (Cliff Campbell), Phil Griffin. Sub: Kim Casey. 

1986 - The arrival of March meant that Brakes could get back on the pitch again, but the went down 2-0 at Queen Street against Bilston Town in the Southern League Midland Division. 

2003 - A 1-1 draw at home to Alvechurch in the Second Leg of the Semi Final of the Endsleigh Challenge Cup was not enough for Leamington to progress to the final, as the visitors had won the First Leg 1-0. Brian Agar’s 78th minute strike  proved to be in vain. 473 saw what was described in the match report as ‘one of the best games ever seen at the New Windmill.’

https://brakestrust.com/history/2002-03/s-m042.php

Team: James Gettings, Ben Adams, Tom Saunders, Tom Sidwell, Andy Gregory, Andy Ellis, Paul Eden, Barry Shearsby (Darren Timms 66), Brian Agar, Paul Nicholls, Steve Thompson ©,

Subs Not Used: Nick Mort, Harj Dhesi

2008 - Dunstable Town were the visitors for a Southern League Midland Division fixture, Jason Cadden’s men winning 2-1 thanks to goals from Josh Blake and Ben Mackey in front of a crowd of 560. 

https://brakestrust.com/past-report.php?matchnumber=57

Team: Richard Morris, Jamie Towers, Arron Parkinson ©, Guy Sanders, Martin Hier, Craig Dutton, Stuart Herlihy (James Husband 69), Marcus Jackson (Keith Rostill 53), Josh Blake, Ben Mackey, Ryan Parisi.

Subs Not Used: Adam Cooper, Martin Thompson, Andy Harper.

2014 - Brakes defeat Stockport County at home in the Conference North: 

Leamington 2 Stockport County 1 
The Skrill North
New Windmill Ground
Saturday 1st March 2014

Brakes stunned visitors Stockport County by snatching their first win since New Years Day to provide a timely boost in their efforts to maintain a healthy distance from the bottom three in the Skrill North.  

Danny Newton’s late brace came after the visitors had taken the lead having started the second half strongly, but the introduction of Ricky Johnson and debutant Aron Wint helped swing the pendulum the way of Paul Holleran’s men. For those aware of the well used comparisons of the fortunes of these two clubs over the last ten years or so, this was a momentous win for Brakes but also an important three points towards the safety target against a side occupying that safe mid table position that Leamington are aiming for themselves. 

The first half was somewhat poor as a spectacle and was marred by an injury to Lee Chilton. The midfielder landed awkwardly after an aerial challenge and it was immediately apparent that he was in considerable pain. The initial worry on the terraces that he had broken his ankle was thankfully quelled later on, but possible ligament damage may keep the popular playmaker out for the remainder of the season.

There were few chances for either side in the opening 45 minutes, and while Ian Ormson in the County goal saw far more of the ball it was frustratingly easy for him to pluck a number of crosses and free kicks out of the air unchallenged. At the other end Tony Breeden was relatively untroubled other than having to palm the ball behind for a corner kick at one stage. Stockport maybe should have done better with a shot that flashed across goal and a side footed effort from skipper Phil Jevons that flew over the bar after he was played in by Rhys Oates in a great position. 

Newton fashioned the first real sight of goal for Brakes when he got the better of Scott Duxbury on a mazy run from midfield, turning sharply inside the box only to fire across goal and wide of the far post. 

Chilton was left hammering the New Windmill Ground turf in agony after Stockport had successfully defended a free kick, both sets of fans applauding him as he was stretchered off. Matt Dodd fired an inviting ball across goal that nobody was able to get on the end of, and Nicky Platt’s intervention prevented Josh Hawker’s flicked header from troubling Ormson before half time, Chilton’s replacement Joe Magunda curling just over the angle following the corner. 

The visitors began the second half in determined fashion and began to put pressure on the Leamington goal. Breeden was forced into his first save from Iain Howard’s powerful drive, pushing the ball away. A second effort from Chris Churchman was blocked before Howard put another shot over the bar. The Brakes defence were forced to charge down further shots from strikers Oates and Jevons before Breeden kept out a stinging drive from Mark Battersby. Adam Cowen headed straight at the keeper from a free kick, but the pressure finally told on 66 minutes. The persistence shown by Oates to chase the ball towards the touchline and hook it back across goal was rewarded as Howard stooped to head home at the far post to the delight of the 350 odd Hatters fans. 

Up to this point Leamington had been unable to make any impression on the Stockport back line, but that was to change in dramatic fashion. Paul Holleran introduced Ricky Johnson and debutant Aron Wint to give the Stockport defence a different kind of threat to deal with, and it paid almost instant dividends. Johnson made a nuisance of himself as a long throw was launched into the box by Stephan Morley, and Cowen’s attempted headed clearance only found Danny Newton, who bought the ball down superbly before holding off a defender and turning to fire in a shot across goal that was helped into the net with the aid of a deflection. 

There was a different complexion on the game now, but Breeden was still called upon to hold a well struck dipping shot from Oates, before Magunda won a free kick just inside the Leamington half. Liam Daly played the ball into the area where it was met by the head of Newton, the ball somehow finding its way past Ormson again, the keeper appearing to think the ball was going wide before realising too late that it wasn’t. 

The striker, who now has 4 goals in 6 appearances since arriving at the club, had a great opportunity to grab his hat trick goal when he picked up a pass out of defence from Morley in injury time. Selling his marker a dummy bought him space to shoot, but Ormson was behind the shot all the way. The full time whistle blew soon afterwards, and Brakes were able to celebrate a win that restores their 12 point buffer on those in the drop zone, and they can now travel to Guiseley on Tuesday night in high spirits. 

Leamington: Tony Breeden, Ryan Higgins, Stephan Morley ©, Craig Owen, Liam Daly, James Mace, Matt Dodd (12 Aron Wint, 71), Josh Hawker (14 Ricky Johnson, 71), Danny Newton, Lee Chilton (17 Joe Magunda, 30), Peter Till. 

Subs not used: 15 Lee Moore, 16 Josh Green. 

Stockport County: Ian Ormson, Nicky Platt, Scott Duxbury, Tunji Moses, Adam Cowen, Mark Lees, Mark Battersby, Chris Churchman, Rhys Oates, Phil Jevons ©, Iain Howard. 

Subs not used: 12 Robert Lofthouse, 14 Kieron Charnock, 15 Stephen O’Halloran, 16 Adriano Moke, 17 Shane Lewis. 

Attendance: 1,048

Referee: Mr Ian Dudley

Assistant Referees: Mr Harry Hawkins & Mr Hristo Karaivanov

Brakes Man of the Match: Danny Newton. 

2016 - Courtney Baker-Richardson’s first half goal was enough for Leamington to see off neighbours Stratford Town at the New Windmill Ground in the Southern League Premier Division in a midweek fixture. It was the first league game between the two clubs for almost ten years. 

Team: Tony Breeden ©, Richard Taundry, Connor Gudger, Joe Magunda, Jamie Hood, James Mace, Lee Moore (15 Ross Oulton, 90), Jack Edwards, Ben Mackey (12 James Fry, 78), Courtney Baker-Richardson, Sam Austin.

Subs not used: 14 Ben George, 16 Jamie Tank, GK Eddie Caviezel-Cox.

Link to match report and highlights: https://www.leamingtonfc.co.uk/index.php/component/content/article/17-2015-2016-match-centre/89-leamington-1-stratford-town-0?Itemid=355