I'll settle for a point

Leamington drew 2-2 with Spennymoor Town at the Phillips 66 this afternoon leaving them 15th in the table on the same number of points as next week's cup opponents AFC Telford.

I'll settle for a point. For much of the game we were outpaced by the visitors who were very fast, particularly on the counter attack. Our second ball was often poor.

The double headed coin did its work when Brakes lost the toss and had to change ends. There were shouts of 'We're doomed'. However, a fast attack down the left enabled Kaiman Anderson to score in the first minute.

Spennymoor soon replied with a scorcher to make it 1-1 within the quarter hour. Before the half hour mark they had scored another excellent goal.

In the second half poor defending gave Spennymoor the chance to put the game beyond doubt with a penalty but it was blasted over. Brakes then had their own penalty, confidently dispatched by Josh March. He then put in a great strike from distance which hit the crossbar. What a goal that would have been.

Dexter Walters did not match his performance on Tuesday and was replaced in a double substitution which also featured the disappointing Callum Maycock. New signing Josh Martin did not get off the bench.

Once again the attendance was not announced.

Sparking performance by Brakes

It was a cold night at the Phillips 66, but Leamington put in a sparking performance against Darlington to win 3-0. Brakes moved to 15th in the table and only three points off 9th place.

Darlington were late arriving after traffic problems, but came with a substantial body of support for a Tuesday evening in winter. They did provide some early pressure, but Jack Edwards opened the scoring with a header. He had thought he had got a second, but was ruled offside. He was only marginally so and there were calls for VAR.

From a corner, the ball bounced off the crossbar. For a moment it was uncertain whether it was a goal, but the lino ruled that James Mace had scored to give Brakes a 2-0 half time lead.

That was what we had on Saturday, but this time the only card shown was a yellow to a Darlington player. Carline scored his first goal for the Brakes to make it 3-0.

Although Darlington were capable of some fluent passing, Weaver was never really tested during the game.

Game of two halves

It was a classic game of two halves at the Phillips 66 this afternoon as Leamington drew 2-2 with Guisely on a freezing cold day. Leamington went 2-0 ahead before half time, but Guisely looked like a different side after the break and were assisted by Stephan Morley being sent off to reduce Brakes to 10 men.

Visiting charm merchant Jamie Spencer received an early yellow card after obstructing a Junior English throw in and was complaining to the referee for some minutes afterwards. A fierce low shot from Joe Clarke put Brakes 1-0 ahead. On 28 minutes March scored with a shot along the ground from the left.

The second half saw a lot of end to end play and much use of the long ball. Then Morley was shown the red card for denying a goal scoring opportunity after the referee had consulted the linesman. Guisely scored from the resultant free kick and then equalised following a corner on 88 minutes.

Attendance was 522 and it was too cold for dogs.

Leamington fail to score again

Leamington's inability to score goals was once again in evidence at the Phillips 66 Community Stadium this afternoon when they went down 0-1 to Alfreton Town. Leamington are now 16th in the table and if this form continues a relegation struggle looms.

Alfreton went ahead with an unstoppable shot in the 8th minute from Conor Branson. I cannot recall Leamington having a shot on goal in the first half.

Alfreton certainly fouled a lot and some fans alleged bias on the part of the referee. I lost count of the number of yellow cards he gave to the visitors, and was surprised that it was only five, but he doesn't have to give a yellow card for every foul.

The problem was not with the referee but the lack of pattern or purpose in Leamington's play, only Dexter Walters showing some ingenuity. There was a brief period in the middle of the second half when Brakes started to threaten with one shot going across the goal and another drawing a save from the keeper.

Alfreton could have gone further ahead but for two good saves by Weaver in the closing minutes.

Some fans complained about only five minutes being added on, but you could have added fifteen and Leamington would not have scored.

The attendance was 521 and two dogs plus one wizard from Alfreton.

Unbelievable!

Leamington earned themselves an unwanted trip to Staffordshire on Tuesday evening after they drew 2-2 with 10-man Chasetown at the Phillips 66 Community Stadium today in fromt of a sparse crowd of 395 and one dog.

Leamington went ahead 1-0 with a well-struck penalty and then saw Chasetown charm merchant Alex Melbourne sent off after a nasty tackle saw Callum Gittings stretchered off. However, it was very much hit and hope for the rest of the first half and Brakes failed to extend their lead.

Brakes stepped up a gear after half time and a free kick was converted into a second goal scored by March. However, they then conceded a rather soft penalty which was struck into the left-hand corner. An own goal from a corner then completed their misery.

They bombarded the Chasetown goal but could not find the back of the net while Chasetown keeper Curtis Pond defended his goal well. Brakes had a total of 29 shots on goal but only four were on target. It looked as if Leamington had scored a late winner, but it was ruled marginally offside.

Why Hereford game has been postponed

I can't remember a Brakes game being postponed because of an opposition player being called up on international duty but that is what happened to next Tuesday's fixture against Hereford United.

Rowan Liburd and Raheem Hanley have been called up by St Kitts and Nevis, whilst Reece Styche has been called up by Gibraltar.

Convincing win for Brakes

Leamington went fourth in the table after a 2-0 victory over Brackley Town at the Phillips 66 Community Stadium this evening in front of a crowd of 608. It was Paul Holleran's 500th match in charge and he received a presentation before the game.

The opening exchanges had little real pattern to them, but then an Edwards header from a free kick allowed Lane to put the Brakes 1-0 ahead. The visitors stepped up the pressure after the goal, but Connor Gudger put in some great defensive work, while Weaver made an excellent reaction save. He impressed throughout the game. Edwards had a chance to score from a header, but put it just wide.

In the second half the referee at last began to book some of the Brackley charm merchants, starting with No.10 Carl Baker. Murphy had a brilliant run on goal which enabled him to put the ball in the net to make it 2-0. Brackley never gave up, but Leamington stood firm.