Leamington beat St. Ives Town 5-0 at the Community Stadium in the FA Trophy tonight, earning an away fixture at Wrexham. Lance Smith scored a hattrick. It was the tenth match unbeaten in all competitions for Leamington.
It was an assured performance from the Brakes, but the visitors were competitive and looked threatening in the first ten minutes of each half.
It was a blustery, cold evening at Harbury Lane, but thanks to the streaming service I was able to watch the game from the comfort and privacy of my own home.
It was a cagey and somewhat lacklustre start for Leamington while St. Ives showed some composure and confidence. Former Leamington player Nathan Hicks looked like a potential danger man. Weaver had to make a couple of early saves.
Osborn flashed the ball across the face of the goal, but there was no one there to connect. A good ball from Waldron saw Smith's effort go just wide.
The first goal on 31 minutes was a Route 1 effort. A free kick from Weaver was picked up by Waldron who made it 1-0. A few minutes later Smith made it 2-0 with a poacher's goal.
Clarke had to defend well. An Osborne header hit the outside of the post. Weaver made a good save from Richards.
HT: 2-0
Meredith came on for Martin and had a good half. Brakes had a lot of defending to do in the opening minutes. St. Ives had plenty of attacking impetus, but there was no end product.
On 62 minutes Osborne turned provider for Smith who made it 3-0. Osborne was then replaced by Anderson and three cars left the car park.
Brakes hit the post twice, the second time from Anderson. English replaced Edwards. On 76 minutes Waldron's shot squirmed through the keeper to make it 4-0. A Waldron header was just off target.
On 87 minutes Smith made it 5-0 to claim the ball.
In the second half, Leamington's passing was accurate and fluent and the ball was moved well from one side to another.
