Brakes hold league leaders

Leamington held league leaders Telford United to a 2-2 draw this afternoon in front of a crowd of 843 at the New Windmill Ground. They may be league leaders, but Telford were exponents of a hit it hard and hope style of play, along with physicality and unsportsmanlike behaviour.

Brakes faced some early danger and the ball had to be cleared off the line. Then on 15 minutes Daly for some reason best known to himself handled the ball, conceding a penalty. Farrell scored decisively from the spot for the visitors.

However, their lead only lasted 12 minutes with Newton equalising after Telford had failed to clear a Flanagan corner, temporarily silencing the cocky Telford supporters. However, what looked like a miss kick led to Telford going 2-1 ahead in a crowded area. Their supporters were now boasting of 4-1 to them in the second half. On 40 minutes Newton and Chilton combined well, but Wint shot wide.

In time added on, there was a copy of the earlier handball incident, this time on the part of the visitors, and the referee pointed to the spot, Hicks scoring for Leamington. That was the way the score stayed, but there was plenty of incident in the second half.

Leamington's Reece Flanagan once again showed his skill on the ball and his anticipation of where it might go. However, he got involved in some exchanges with Telford charm merchant Shaun Walley and referee Michael D'aguillar, who had a good game, came over and told them to 'relax'. Dodd came on in place of Wint and soon showed his skill on the ball.

A push in the area on Magunda led to a penalty call for Leamington. I think that the referee was right not to award it, but presumably Magunda got his yellow card for dissent. Moogan cynically fouled Dodd and got a yellow card for his trouble. The Brakes free kick came off the wall. A cynical dive by Telford in the area brought a free kick for Leamington but no yellow card. Lee Chilton was withdrawn in favour of Peter Till. Danny Newton picked up a yellow card for dissent and was replaced shortly afterwards by Ricky Johnson.

In time added on, Breeden kicked the ball out when a Brakes player went down, but Telford refused to return the ball to the keeper. Fortunately, it didn't benefit them, but it just about summed up their approach to the game. I have seen better teams at the NWG this season, but the table, they say, doesn't lie. Anyway, a determined and often accomplished game by the Brakes.

Am I at the wrong ground?

That what was one wag asked tonight as Leamington beat Oxford City 4-0 at the New Windmill Ground in front of a crowd of 389 and one dog. I thought that I might be hallucinating as the Brake developed pacey attacks, passing to each other intelligently and even keeping the ball on the ground quite a lot of the time.

The first goal came on ten minutes when Lee Chilton forged through to score after the Brakes provided good approach play. Reece Flanagan then supplied a brilliant goal on 23 minutes, advancing along the goal line and getting past the keeper to score. The third goal came from Hicks on 36 minutes, a low drive into the corner of the net.

Oxford made a double substitution after the break and did look more of a threat. However, Newton put the match beyond doubt on 65 minutes when he scored in a crowded goalmouth following a corner.

There was to be no 'old five', but most fans went home well satisfied.

Brakes creep towards safety

Leamington continued their crawl towards safety in the Skrill North with a 1-1 draw with Barrow at the New Windmill Ground today in front of a crowd of 548, quite a few of whom had made the long journey from Cumbria. The Brakes are 16th in the league and 8 points clear of financially troubled Histon. Gainsborough Trinity, level on points, also drew 3-3 at home today.

The accomplished Ryan Higgins closed down early danger for Brakes with some good defensive work. Then on 14 minutes the visitors scored what had to be admitted was an excellent goal. A good cross found the head of Tom Corner, who has played in Spain, and he made no mistake with his header to make it 1-0 to Barrow.

Barrow's two giant centre backs were causing a few problems for the Brakes attackers, but the home side forced two corners as the half hour approached. On 36 minutes an inspired (or fortunate) substitution saw Peter Till coming off and Matty Dodd coming on.

I couldn't see where a goal was coming from, but just before the break Dodd was brought down in the area. At first I thought the referee was not going to give it, but the lino flagged for the penalty which was taken emphatically by Dodd to make it 1-1.

Leamington provided some early pressure in the second half with three corners in succession. With an open goal in front of him, but not an easy angle, Danny Newton hit the post. Breeden had to make a save at close range from Nick Rushton who had come on as a substitute. Around the 70 minute mark Lee Chilton came off and Ricky Johnson came on to the joy of his claque of followers.

Stefan Morley tested the keeper and won Brakes a corner which led to a second, but despite a goalmouth scramble the ball went wide. In three minutes added on, Barrow did have a penalty call which had more justification than their earlier appeals.

Despite some clogging from the Barrow players, and a certain amount of petulance, no cards were awarded. It was a better performance than on Tuesday, but that set a low benchmark.

Brakes fail to motor

An inept and frustrating display saw Leamington lose 0-1 at home to Vauxhall Motors at the New Windmill Ground tonight. When I saw the Motors coach arriving late, I thought they might be tired. However, when I managed to drop and smash the bottle of wine I had bought for the vice-presidents' raffle in the turnstiles, it was an omen for what followed.

We had three chances to score in the first five minutes and we wasted all of them. Ricky Johnson managed to put the ball wide when he was one on one with the keeper. A corner was cleared off the line. Motors then showed their intent by hitting the post and then burst away on 22 minutes to score the winning goal.

Motors may only be playing for pride, but they certainly played for each other. They passed the ball along the ground and kept possession. Our idea seemed to be hit the ball as hard as we could and hoof it up the pitch.

We used all three substitutes in the second half, but although we showed a little more determination, we never looked like scoring. It was just like the second half at Oxford. Four minutes were added on and Breeden went up for a free kick, but if we had had forty-four minutes we wouldn't have scored.

One point gained or two points lost?

That was the question that faced Brakes fans after this afternoon's 2-2 draw at Oxford City. For me it was two points lost after we sacrificed a 2-1 lead at half time to concede the draw.

I'm grateful to the Brakes Trust minibus for taking me down and getting me back very speedily, as well as a rather battered Nimrod the cardboard dog and a cardboard cat. On the way down this included a tour of some picturesque Cotswold stone villages, but in fact it made sense to go via Islip to position correctly for the stadium located on the A40 with an excellent view of the John Radcliffe hospital. I recalled that the chairman of Oxford City was once Sir Norman Chester, warden of Nuffield College, Oxford, but also author of the Chester Report on football.

We started the game with the usual hoof ball, but started to settle down. We weren't helped initially by the antics of the linesman on the dugout side who gave an early corner to the home team when it should have been a throw in. Increasingly losing his cool with the Leamington bench as the game went on, he later yelled at Holleran to 'Shut up!' Unlike those linos from preserved railways who are always waving their flag, he was reluctant to recognise an offside.

One sensed that a goal was coming and Newton provided one on 25 minutes with a header, although it was poorly defended. Three minutes later City equalised: it was one of those goals where pressure in the box led to a result but no Leamington player was at fault. Newton then put us ahead with an excellent goal: he paused calmly before selecting his shot.

It was very much a game of two halves. On top in the first half, we started to be sloppy and casual in the second half with Ricky Johnson often at fault. Then Breeden had a rush of blood to the head and left his goal exposed. With no one on the line, City scored. Breeden did redeem himself not long afterwards with a spectacular save.

Matty Dodd collided with the keeper and got a harsh yellow card. The keeper continued after treatment, but not long afterwards he collapsed while taking a kick. Both female physios came on, leading the wag beside me to shout that he also had a bad back. The keeper had to be stretchered off and a paramedic ambulance later appeared.

I am told that the substitute keeper was a midfielder, but we never really tested him. A free kick from Stephan Morley in a promising position went wide when he could have fed the well positioned Daly. One of the best moves was when Richard Batchelor intercepted the ball as it went out of play, leading to an appreciative chant of his name from the Brakes supporters. It looks like we are staying up but not with much glory.

I think I heard that the crowd was 239, and at least a third of those attending were from Leamington. There were two dogs who had come together.

The disapperance of the works team

The impending resignation of Vauxhall Motors from the Conference North reminds us how much works teams have declined in non-league football. Read more here: Works teams

Brakes see off County

It doesn't seem so long ago that I was watching Charlton play Stockport County in what is now the Championship. Today I was able to go to the New Windmill Ground and see Leamington beat County 2-1 in front of a crowd of 1048 plus two dogs.

It was a valuable three points for the Brakes, but I must admit that at times I had doubts whether we could secure them, particularly after the visitors scored their opening goal. I and others thought that there was too much of the long ball and the ball was in the air too much, sometimes to such a height that air traffic control needed to know. Above all, we did not seem creative enough and I couldn't see where a goal was going to come from. Fortunately, I was wrong.

I knew it was going to be a different day when a steward came into the vice-presidents' 'lounge' with a confiscated drum. She said that she had taken it off a 'gobby little ****' and asked me where she could store it. The County fan had objected that there were no neighbours to disturb, and one could see his point, but then we know what people from the farm quarter of a mile away think. Should we ever move to the town ....

Neither side created that many chances in the first half, although we did put one just wide. The main incident of the half was a serious injury to Lee Chilton which held the game up for five minutes. I heard that he has done his ligaments which would probably mean him out for the rest of the season. Joe Magunda came on in his place.

We seemed to be getting caught quite a lot by the offside trap, but then the very young linesman on the main stand side (one wonders if his mum knew where he was) seemed to be very eager to wave his flag. I only learnt later that he is also a guard on a preserved railway. Having said that, I should say that the referee had an excellent game, firm but fair and no cards issued.

County piled on the pressure after the break and Tony Breeden had to make two excellent saves. We seemed to be happy to play for a 0-0 draw. County's opening goal on 66 minutes was a good one, a cross followed by a header leaving Breeden with no chance. I thought it was going to be another 0-1 home defeat, but then the impressive Danny Newton equalised on 76 minutes. He then made it 2-1 with a header from a free kick. After that we controlled the game reasonably well, even if we were forced back a bit too much at times.

Man of the match for me was Matty Dodd, you see him there, you see him everywhere.

A very full and balanced report with lots of photos from a Stockport blogger here: Hedgegrower. He thinks that their midfield went awol, but describes the NWG as 'small but perfectly formed.'

Way Back Then

For the benefit of anyone who didn't buy the programme here is my 'Way Back Then' article on Stockport County, but with a mistake in one of the dates corrected!

Our opponents today, Stockport County, have a long football pedigree, so it is interesting to see what was happening to them one hundred years ago. The 1912-13 season had not ended too happily for them as they had finished bottom of the second division of the Football League and had had to seek re-election. They also lost 5-1 away to Everton in the first round of the FA Cup.

County made a promising start to 1914. On New Year’s Day, according to the Manchester Courier, the team that had won handsomely away against Bristol City 5-1 faced Birmingham City at Edgeley Park in front of 8,000 spectators. This was above their average attendance of 7,000 for that season which was in itself an improvement on the 5,695 recorded in 1912-13. Only Blackpool (where there was presumably a seasonal factor) and Glossop at 2,750 had worse average attendances in the Football League. Attendances picked up after the war following the formation of the Third Division North. In their first season in that competition County averaged 11,050 rising to 12,440 the following year. Presumably the number of derby matches helped, but County also competed more effectively.

On New Year’s Day 1914 ‘the ground was hard and slippery and falls frequent and Stockport lost the services of Bluer, their centre half, after half an hour’s play’. This was a key position and there were no substitutes, so Rodgers had to fall back. County had the better of the opening exchanges and a run down the right looked promising, but when the cross came in the ball was too far ahead of the advancing forward for him to make contact. Even in the absence of Bluer, County continued to attack in determined fashion, although Birmingham got into the game more against ten men. Finally, they opened the scoring on 40 minutes through Wood. Just before what was referred to as ‘the interval’, Bluer struggled to get back on, but only lasted for one or two minutes.

Ten man Stockport continued to press their opponents after half time, but unfortunately over anxiety led to an open goal being missed. With another scoring opportunity missed, Birmingham launched an attack which drew a good save from Evans in the Stockport goal. Eventually, Stockport were able to score a second to make the final result 2-0.

It was six weeks before Bluer, who was regarded as one of their best players, was able to recover from his injury, appearing in February. This was when County completed the double over another team now playing in the Skrill North, Bradford Park Avenue. Whilst the visitors ‘enjoyed a fair share of the play’, their finishing was poor. Stockport took their chances and were 1-0 ahead at half time. In a ‘fine game’, County went 2-0 ahead in the second half, Bradford replied with a goal of their own, but Proctor scored the third for the home side with the last kick of the match.

Between 3,000 and 4,000 people attended a Manchester Senior Cup game between Manchester City and County, despite both teams putting out reserve sides. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. A crowd of 2,000 attended a Shrove Tuesday match at Edgeley Park between County reserves and Manchester United reserves, United taking the lead. County finished the season in an improved 12th position, managing to beat Woolwich Arsenal 2-0 at home.