Vanarama National League North
Your Co-op Community Stadium
Saturday 21st December 2024
Leamington ended a run of seven straight National League North defeats in emphatic fashion by defeating league leaders Curzon Ashton at Your Co-op Community Stadium to end what has been a memorable 2024 on a high note.
Brakes were aided by the welcome return of Dan Meredith after four games out injured, while Dan Turner made a second home debut after starting last week at Spennymoor.
Henry Landers got a shot in to the near post of Bobby Jones in the opening couple of minutes, but the goalkeeper was right behind it. Captain Adam Walker then strode forward and drove in another effort that was deflected, but Cally Stewart was unable to reach the ball as it ran through to the goalkeeper.
The wind was clearly hampering both sets of players, but with Leamington playing with the strong gusts at their backs they were able to utilise it to their advantage, and almost did that when Rob Evans sent a curling cross in with the outside of his right boot that drifted all the way through to Jones, who gathered it at the second attempt.
The visitors pressed forward from this, and Mike Afuye turned Evans inside out before driving in a low strike to Callum Hawkins’ near post which the Brakes keeper parried well. The ball was played back in, and Stefan Mols really should have done better with his header from just outside the six yard box that drifted wide.
Leamington really should have been ahead on 12 minutes. Stewart’s shot was well saved by Jones, his second effort blocked, and the loose ball fell to Turner, who had a glorious chance to score the opening goal of the afternoon, but he put his close range shot agonisingly wide of the left hand post.
Heads were quickly out of hands however, as some fine skill from Stewart saw the Curzon goal threatened once more, and the ball sat up perfectly for Walker to thump in a volley that appeared to fly through the grip of Jones into the net.
It was a deserved goal after a promising start for Brakes, and Stewart quickly sent in another effort on the turn that was straight at Jones.
The Brakes number nine then appeared to be hauled down to the right of the penalty area by Devon Matthews, who had been involved in a number of challenges with the Leamington striker, but this was strangely awarded as a goal kick.
Brakes were refusing to give their high flying opponents a second to settle on the ball, and were snapping into tackles and blocks to deny them time to build up a head of steam. Afuyue had another shot deflected through to Hawkins, but the majority of the game in the opening forty five minutes was played in the visitors half. Stewart, Landers and Meredith were all heavily involved as the ball was played in low towards the near post from the right; Stewart going in bravely with Jones, who claimed the ball but was sent flying by the challenge.
Another scramble in the Curzon penalty area saw the ball refuse to sit up for a Leamington player, but in their next attack they were brutally clinical. Stewarts’ neat flick saw Turner played into the box on the left. His poked effort was blocked by Jones, but the ball flew up for Stewart to send a looping header into the empty net.
Turner saw another effort fly over the bar as Leamington drove forward again, and another low drive from Landers on the right was spilled by Jones, but eventually cleared.
The visitors saw a shot from distance by Jordan Richards, but Brakes were the width of a post from a potential third goal just before half time, as Landers’ free kick drifted over a packed penalty area and struck the upright.
Having made a double change at half time, including introducing player-manager Craig Mahon, the visitors did start strongly, but it was Leamington who engineered the first scoring opportunities of the half. Edwards had both of them, first stretching to head a cross from the right to the back post just wide, and then when Walker dug the ball out from the other side after some good play from Turner and Stewart, Edwards nodded into the arms of Jones.
At the other end Hawkins made some composed collections from high balls into his penalty area as the visitors continued to struggle to put him under any pressure. Isaac Buckley Ricketts, who was clearly one of Curzon’s dangermen, did well in the Leamington half with some neat footwork, before blazing his shot over the bar.
The Nash were back in the game shortly after this however. A huge goal kick from Jones was carried by the wind a little, and bamboozled the entire Brakes defence, leaving Mols to take the ball around Hawkins and place it into an empty net.
Mahon did well when collecting the ball inside the box on the right, turning well to curl in a strike that Hawkins held well. The visitors were starting to turn the screw now, keeping the ball more in the Leamington half. Mahon’s free kick in from the left was met by Marucs Poshca at the far post, but his header was directed straight at Hawkins.
The Brakes keeper got a good fist to another Curzon corner, but the wind held the ball up, and substitute Timi Sobowale thumped his shot well over the crossbar.
Leamington almost added a third goal from a fortunate corner given away by the visitors; Stewart turning sharply before crashing in a shot that was blocked. There was then a brief melee just outside the Curzon Ashton penalty area, started between Richards and Stewart. Edwards, jumping to the aid of his team mate, got involved, and was booked, along with Richards and a member of the visitors bench.
The game was now inside the final ten minutes, and more impressive play from Landers saw him set up Stewart to sweep home a close range third for Leamington, and restore their two goal cushion.
Inside the final minute, Meredith won the ball on the right before steaming away down the wing with three team mates in support and a hopelessly outnumbered defence desperately backtracking. He squared it for Walker, who cut inside before firing in a low drive that was parried into the path of Stewart, who was not about to pass up the chance of a second hat trick of the season, and tucked his shot home to cap a deserved and much needed three points for Leamington.
‘I think everyone probably needed that, 'said Paul Holleran after the game. ‘It’s not so much been the performances but the results. I don’t want to contradict myself but sometimes you get what you deserve. Maybe there have been little lapses in games but we have been very competitive in most games, we’ve just come out on the wrong side. Some of it’s been self-inflicted, we have to be honest about that, but I think generally we’ve kept the levels up, we haven’t gone to ground, the white flag hasn’t gone up; our running stats have been really good, and if you can keep the belief in the changing rooms…
‘With this group of lads I don’t fear anybody. Curzon have been fantastic. I’ve watched a lot of their games, they’ve been a breath of fresh air, they’ve deservedly got the points on the board that they have, because they’ve been the best side in the league. And whether it’s been Scunthorpe the other week or Curzon here today, you can see that with the group of players we’ve got we can go toe to toe with anybody.
‘I thought our performance today was relentless. It was relentless for most of the game. There was just that one moment we didn’t manage well. If we’d come in five or six up at half time nobody could have complained. They’ve got a reaction, the manager’s made a change - he’s put a system out on the pitch that’s probably suited the day. It’s certainly caused us a couple of issues. The disappointing moment is the goal. It’s not the fact that it’s a straight ball, it’s the fact that we haven’t dealt with the first contact, it’s the fact that it’s the left wing back making a great outer wing run. We’ve got to get the block and we’ve got to follow up with that, and you’re thinking here we go again, it’s a bit of deja-vu from recent games where we haven’t dealt with the moments again. It’s a bit of setback, but at Leamington we’ve got another group of players that, on this run, will come back again and bounce back, and I thought the second half performance, against the elements, we played them fantastically. Counter attacking football, we got a couple more passes than we did first half. First half we just wanted to spin them round, getting after them, backing it up. We had five or six players on a high line, kept loading the ball into the box. If it wasn’t for some poor finishing and good goalkeeping, you know… But in the second half I thought Landers and Stewart were on another level. It was a real good day… we’ve deserved a day like this, because we’re not the kind of side that’s leaking goals left right and centre. We’re a good honest hard working bunch. We probably could have picked up another couple of points here and there; we’ve probably deserved to, but that’s where we are. It gives you an idea of what we’ve got here, today, because teams on the run we’ve been on, they can crumble. But we’ve not crumbled, we’ve managed the situation well, and I thought we were tremendous today.’
*Watch the full interview on Leamington FCTV when the highlights are released on Sunday.
Attendance: 434
Leamington: 1 Callum Hawkins, 2 Dan Meredith, 3 Josh Quaynor, 6 Rob Evans, 7 Henry Landers (19 Ant Lynn, 90+2), 8 Adam Walker ©, 9 Cally Stewart (11 Tim Berridge, 90+2), 10 Jack Edwards, 17 Ewan Williams, 23 Dan Turner (5 Theo Streete, 72).
Subs not used: 16 Jiah Medrano, 21 Joe Clarke.
Curzon Ashton: 1 Bobby Jones, 4 Marcus Poscha, 5 Devon Matthews, 6 Isaac Buckley-Ricketts (3 Luis Lacey, 72), 7 Isaac Sinclair, 10 Stefan Mols, 11 Will Hayhurst, 16 Ben Darby (6 Luke Griffiths, 46), 17 Mike Afuye (21 Craig Mahon, 46), 19 Jordan Richards (2 Timi Sobowale, 57), 22 Adam Barton ©.
Subs not used: 13 Joshua Ollerenshaw, .
Referee: Mr Jake Allsopp
Assistant Referees: Me Alexander Perkin & Mr George Eaton
Fourth Official: Mr Adam McAnoy
Brakes Man of the Match: Cally Stewart.
