Tony Breeden has left the Brakes after a training ground incident that left Jack Edwards with a broken nose: Breeden departs
This is sad end to a long career at the Brakes during which Breeden has contributed much, not just to results but also in entertainment value. It is not a good start to the impending National League North season.
Unfortunately I couldn't make this game because my knee flared up, but here is quite a detailed report, albeit from a Walsall perspective: Brakes 1, Walsall 1
That was the consolation one fan took from Leamington's 4-0 defeat by Coventry City in front of a crowd of 1,552 at the Phillips 66 Community Stadium this afternoon. Today's attendance was the 3rd highest at the NWG. It beats the 2007 Retford FA Vase crowd in 2007 of 1,380, but is behind the Stour playoff in May 2008 of 1,634.
Last time I remember the two teams playing at Harbury Lane it was Leamington who were 5-0 winners (although there has been a 0-0 since then), but the Sky Blues brought their first team, albeit swapped around at half time. Brakes were missing some of their key players who had gone to a wedding, including Jack Edwards.
I had difficulty in finding a seat although I was there 50 minutes before the start and was surrounded by Sky Blues.
The difference in levels of skill and pace was apparent from the off, but Brakes held on to the 16th minute when Gervane Kasteneer scored for the visitors. He is a current Curacao international who spent last year at NAC Breda before signing a three year deal with Coventry.
Double the time to 32 minutes and the Sky Blues doubled their lead, making it three before the break. All of them were close range shots and Tony Breeden might have dealt with them better than reserve keeper Ben Newey, but it was valuable experience for the young shot stopper who is seen as having potential.
Brakes received two yellow cards in the first half and Coventry supporters were complaining about tackles inappropriate to a pre-season friendly, but the first one was largely the result of sliding on the damp ground.
With the raining continuing to pour down, Coventry might have expected to score another three in the second half. If anything their fluency of play was even better and I would not like to have seen possession stats. Colby Bishop was not happy with the service he was getting. However, the Sky Blues were less direct in the second half.
In the 90th minute Newey brought down a player in the area and the resultant penalty was driven into the top left-hand corner to make it 4-0.
'A Trialist' was energetic and showed some real skill in midfield.
