By Roger Vincent

Walker Runs the Defence With Crisp Display

Brakes scored a goal in each half with a thunderbolt header from Timms in the 27th and a trademark Dhesi free kick in the 55th. Brakes' attack made little impression against a strong, Brownhills defence but the Brakes' defence, superbly marshalled by Walker, limited Brownhills to even fewer chances and never looked like conceding though Brownhills had most of the second half possession.

An early, mid-week, evening kick-off and interminable roadworks meant that some of the 80-100 travelling fans arrived up to 1/2 hour late and the team's warm-up was extremely curtailed. The bright, hot sun streaming through the coach windows spoke of summer warmth but kept quiet about the gusty wind which made it chilly and, later, quite cold. The pitch didn't seem to have benefited from recent rain and was hard and bumpy.

The game started untidily and, apart from a few purple patches, never really progressed from there. A Walker through ball in the 8th put Nicholls on goal but his strong drive was well turned round the post. Timms headed straight at the goalkeeper from the resulting corner. A Mort short corner saw Timms head over from a Dhesi cross in the 21st as Brakes struggled to make an impression but the defence was restricting Brownhills to long-distance shots at the other end.

The deadlock was broken in the 27th when Timms made it 1-0 to Brakes meeting an inswinging, low Mort corner from the left with his head to power the ball into the net. Blake nearly added to the score withing 2 minutes when he brilliantly flicked the ball over a defender's head and turned to drive a hard shot off the top of the bar. Blake missed another chance in the 32nd when Dhesi released him but his first touch let him down. The half ended with Thompson being kicked up in the air just outside the box on the goal-line, astonishingly ignored by the referee and a nearby linesman.

Sidwell replaced McGovern at the start of the second half. Thompson was being given some rough attention as he constantly threatened to breach the Brownhills defence. In the 53rd he was bundled over as he broke from the half-way line. 2 minutes later Brakes were awarded a free kick when, with play moving upfield, a Brownhills player pushed Thompson a few yards outside the box. The referee incensed the Brownhills supporter by raising his arm as if to signal, wrongly, an indirect free kick but then allowing a direct kick from Dhesi who drove a quick, low strike into the corner past the stationary goalkeeper to make it 2-0 in the 55th.

Timms had a long-distance attempt in the 60th but the attack was making little impression. Agar replaced the hard-working Blake in the 72nd and Caddsie's surprise package, Paul Eden, came on in the 77th for Dhesi who was playing as no. 8. But it was Brownhills who were fighting for a goal and dominating the play. Time and again the magnificent Walker cleared up at the back and restricted Brownhills' chances. But, after a succession of Brownhills corners, Brakes broke in the 89th and Eden controlled the ball well on the left before threading an inch-perfect pass through to Nicholls who just failed to gather.

Leamington: Richard Morris, Simon Walker, Jamie Barr, Liam McGovern (Tom Sidwell 46), Andy Gregory, Darren Timms, Nick Mort, Harj Dhesi (Paul Eden 77), Josh Blake (Brian Agar 72), Paul Nicholls, Steve Thompson [Capt.]
Subs Not Used:

Team News: Youth team goalkeeper Amrit "Umbi" Sidhu makes his first team debut on Saturday with Richard Morris having to work.