By David Hucker

Brakes Ease Into Third Round

Brakes eased their way into the third round of the Endsleigh Challenge Cup with a comfortable win over Warwickshire rivals Alveston on Tuesday night. In front of a crowd of 415, Leamington put on a show of football to maintain their good start to the season that has now seen seven wins from eight league and cup matches.

The match was for the most part one-way traffic and the writing was on the wall for the visitors as early as the seventh minute when a free kick by skipper Steve Thompson was headed home by Brian Agar for his second goal of the season. Despite constant pressure, the young Alveston side held out until the fifty-second minute when Glen Webb rose to meet a Nicholls cross to head Brakes into a 2-0 lead. Thompson almost made it three on 70 minutes when he met a cross from the industrious Agar, only to see his header cleared off the line. Man-of-the-match Ben Adams also came close to scoring three minutes from the end but this time the post came to Alveston's rescue. At the other end, Myles Day had only one shot to save throughout the second half, which reflected the total command of the home side.

Commenting on a job well done, joint manager Jason Cadden said "We played some good football and created a lot of chances, particularly in the first half. Ben Adams had a cracking game and the back three played well to keep a clean sheet".

Leamington: Myles Day, Ben Adams, Jag Bahi, Tom Sidwell, Andy Gregory, Chris Hanrahan (Jonny Burgess 73), Glen Webb (Chris Hammond 65), Glen Webb, Barry Shearsby (Darren Timms 68), Brian Agar, Paul Nicholls, Steve Thompson [Capt.]

Team News: Simon Walker joins Josh Blake on the injured list while Nick Mort is still unwell and has passed it on to Barry Proctor; Brian Agar misses the next game through holiday.

Bird News: The Herring Gull seen wandering the pitch has a broken wing and is thought to have flown into a floodlights stanchion; it was rescued, and is being cared for, by qualified veterinary nurse, Doreen Barton.