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.