By Roger Vincent

Kenilworth Put the Brakes on Leamington

276 travelling fans saw unbeaten Brakes struggle to dominate Kenilworth Town who have yet to win a point. A solitary goal in the first half from Mort was followed by two more from Ariss and Thompson early in the second. With still 1/2 hour to go it seemed as though Brakes might get the 5 or 6 goals that many had predicted but despite hitting the bar twice it was Kenilworth who scored, in the 90th, as Brakes' 10th win in a row proved more difficult than expected.

On a cold, overcast afternoon, with the first players' gloves of the season on show, Brakes started well with Mort playing 2 defence-splitting passes from one of which Thompson, captain for the first time, drove just wide. But frustration set in as the early breakthrough anticipated by the team and over 270 travelling fans didn't materialise.

Missing the intricate skills up front of Agar, Billington and the departed Eden, Brakes substituted power and pace for subtlety by playing long balls down the middle and paid the price with several offside decisions. With the Kenilworth defence, and particularly the goalkeeper, already playing for time there was a sense of exasperation compounded by a difficult, uneven pitch which encouraged mistakes and discouraged flowing football.

And yet with Dhesi again magnificent in defence, Adrian Dix showing flair and control in a promising first appearance and the increasingly impressive Morris controlling his area, Kenilworth didn't look like scoring and Brakes' pressure finally was rewarded when a Thompson corner was knocked back to Mort who drove low into the corner in the 36th, 0-1.

Brakes started the second half with more controlled football and Thompson started to impress on the left so it was no surprise when Brakes went further ahead in the 54th when Ariss rose at the far post to head home a Webb cross from the left, 0-2, a magnificent goal followed by an equally magnificent "Rugrat" celebratory somersault. Within 5 minutes Brakes nearly added to their goal tally when the otherwise quiet Perry had a powerful shot kicked off the line with Blake's follow up somehow kept out before a third try from Ariss was scrambled behind for a corner.

With the powerful Timms on for Burgess in the 62nd Brakes continued to press and went further ahead in the 64th when Blake, who had battled hard all game for little personal reward, crossed for Thompson to blast home, 0-3. With Sidwell on for Rippon and Miyoba for Ariss in the 72nd Kenilworth broke through before Brakes could resettle and forced an excellent save from Morris.

Brakes were now well on top and, in the 77th, the best move of the match saw a Blake throw-in back-headed by Perry to Timms who slipped a superb ball through for Mort to run onto and drive against the underside of the bar. A game of many missed chances was typified by top-scorer Blake who drove just wide from a Webb cross in the 86th and put a diving header just past the post from a Perry cross a minute later. With Brakes rueing the missed opportunity to radically improve their goal difference it was left to Kenilworth to score an unlikely goal on 90 minutes when a momentary lapse of defensive reason left a Kenilworth forward in front of goal and he drove home a shot into the corner that Morris got a hand to but could not keep out.

Interesting statistic: The crowd was a record for Kenilworth Town's ground easily beating the previous record of 126 - set by Leamington's Youth team "home" match there last Wednesday.

Team news: Guy Rippon's suspension has been reduced on appeal from 21 days to 14 effective from 26 November; it was good to see the "fabulous" Fabrizio in the crowd; Paul Eden has signed for Rugby United and our best wishes go to him for success at this much higher level; Brian Agar was "Louise with the sponge" for this match, clearly recognised by the fans despite the attempted hat disguise, and nothing is known about a Steve Newton who mysteriously appeared in the Kenilworth programme instead of Jason Cadden as joint manager with Barry Proctor - unless there's something Caddsie's not telling us!

Leamington: Richard Morris, Kevin Ariss (Benson Miyoba 72), Harj Dhesi, Adrian Dix, Guy Rippon (Tom Sidwell 72), Nick Mort, Glen Webb, Jonny Burgess (Darren Timms 62), Neale Perry, Josh Blake, Steve Thompson [Capt.]