Brakes' Comeback In Vain

This was a match that Brakes could and should have won. Having clawed their way back from a two-goal deficit to level with 19 minutes to go, they then snatched defeat from the jaws of victory when allowing Danny Carter free rein to score his second goal and Coleshill's third with two minutes of normal time remaining. Talk of the championship is now muted and the travelling support which swelled the Packmeadow crowd to a respectable 175 went home depressed by another off-colour performance.

Coleshill started brightly pegging Brakes back in the early exchanges. However, the visitors started to make an impression and looked the more likely to score until, in the 20th a long clearance from the Coleshill half found Danny Carter wide on the left who raced onto the ball and beat Richard Morris low into the far corner of the net, 1-0. Josh Blake could have struck back immediately but, after good work by Vernor Sleem and Leon Morgan, he drifted into an offside position. Five minutes later, Richard Adams made a fine solo run from his own half, but fired his shot into the side netting with only the 'keeper to beat.

On 30 minutes, Brakes had a golden opportunity to equalise. An inswinging corner form the right by skipper Steve Thompson was eventually met by Morgan whose goalbound header was handled on the line by Carl Smith. The referee pointed to the penalty spot and, after several minutes of protest from the Coleshill team, sent Smith off. The player left protesting the decision all the way back to the dressing rooms and, when the match got underway again, Josh Blake stepped up to put the penalty wide. As half-time approached Richard Adams went on another run cutting in from the left and beating three players before pulling his shot across the face of the goal.

Brakes pushed forward in the second half and on 52 minutes, Blake charged down a clearance from 'keeper Craig Jones and Adams fired the ball across the face of the goal. Three minutes later, a cross from Thompson was punched away by Jones and picked up by Morgan, but the goal was disallowed as Blake had taken up an offside position. Morgan was then booked for dissent (he had exchanged words with the officials at the end of the first half) and it all went pear-shaped for Brakes as Coleshill got a second in the 61st minute. Richard Morris, who had been a spectator for all the opening period of the half raced from his goal to upend the dangerous Carter and Craig Davies showed how penalties should be taken netting his twelfth goal of the season, 2-0.

The introduction of Stuart Herlihy in place of Vernor Sleem started the comeback for Brakes. Although he missed a good chance to score when slicing his shot wide with only the 'keeper to beat, he more than made up for it in the 69th minute letting fly with a stunner from outside the penalty area into the corner of the net, 2-1. Then a long punt out of defence two minutes later found Josh Blake whose header beat the advancing Jones to make it 2-2 in the 71st. Further efforts from Chris Hanrahan and Ben Adams could have won it for Brakes but Andy Gregory (who has looked out of sorts since returning from Racing Club Warwick) was outpaced by Danny Carter who sealed the match for Coleshill in the 88th, 3-2.

There was added time for that spent by a Coleshill official using a corner flag to retrieve the matchball from a high hedge (the other two also having disappeared out of the ground) but it was not enough for another Brakes comeback.

A special mention goes to Darran Tank who, after a shaky start with the club, has been the most dependable member of a defence that has a less than solid look about it at times. Brakes continue as the league's leading scorers, but it is at the back that matches are being lost.

Manager Jason Cadden put on a brave face saying "After the flak that has been flying around in recent days, we all wanted to do well and the whole team is gutted at the result. We created enough chances to win and conceding the third was plain sloppy."

Leamington: Richard Morris; Ben Adams; Simon Walker; Andy Gregory; Darran Tank; Chris Hanrahan; Leon Morgan; Josh Blake; Vernor Sleem (Stuart Herlihy 64); Richard Adams; Steve Thompson [Capt]
Subs Not Used: Darren Timms; Steve Smith