In a high tempo, no holds barred game with Stourbridge at the New Windmill Ground last night Leamington secured a 1-1 draw. I wouldn't argue that it was an unfair result, although the referee took a benign stance towards cynical fouling by the visitors, only awarding two yellow cards to the visitors and one to Brakes at the end.
Stour turned up with a rag, tag and bobtail self-styled Red Army who informed us that 'We are Stourbridge.
Leamington showed some real moments of skill, but the way the midfield sometimes disappeared in the face of an admittedly high tempo Stourbridge attack was a matter for some concern.
Sawyer in the Leamington goal showed once again that he is an excellent acquisition and made some great saves, showing real agility that one might not necessarily expect in someone of his size, most notably in dealing with a chaotic situation following a Stour corner. He also made a great save with his feet just before half time. He could not be blamed for the Stour goal.
Our goal was scored by Berwick on 10 minutes. Stour rattled the crossbar with some force in the second half. Their goal on 71 minutes came from a move that started with a free kick.
We threatened from a corner at the end of the game, then Stour broke away and got a free kick and then a corner, but it ended all square.
An acceptable result against a side that are something of a bogey team for us and will be there or thereabouts at the end of the season. Hopefully we can get three points on Saturday to move us up the league.