Nerves Start to Fray as Brakes Scrape Home Again

Brakes looked to be heading for a comfortable win until Alveston struck back three minutes from the end to give the visiting supporters, who made up the majority of the 372 crowd basking in the sunshine, some anxious moments for the second time over the Easter weekend. Single goal victories against two sides at the foot of the table show that nothing can be taken for granted, but with 96 points on the board and only five matches left, the championship finishing line is in sight now.

Coventry Marconi's home defeat against Sphinx in an evening kick-off rules them out of the title race and Bloxwich Town can now only equal Brakes' points tally after drawing with Feckenham. So a point at Highgate will narrow the field down to two although, given the way that Sphinx are scoring, no chickens can be counted until 104 points are secured. There is still a lot of work to do and talk of having the title in the bag (from opposing managers as well as home fans) makes the task just that bit harder for the players.

Three defensive changes saw Richard Morris replace Andy Harper in goal and Simon Walker and Andy Gregory take over from Darran Tank and Steve Smith, confirming the strength in depth that Brakes have this season compared to last. With Paul Nicholls unavailable, Stuart Herlihy returned to bolster the midfield.

Brakes had most of the possession in the first half and Leon Morgan had given them a 0-1 lead in the 12th minute when heading home from Ben Adams' inswinging corner from the left. Richard Adams almost doubled the advantage on 23 minutes but, following a fine solo run, his rising shot hit the crossbar. Steve Thompson saw his long-range shot come back off the body of Alveston's young 'keeper Oliver Manuel, but there was nobody close enough to take advantage.

Former Brakes player Barry Shearsby was made captain against his old club and his willingness to impress got the better of him when he was booked for a foul on his opposite number Thompson on 35 minutes. Shortly after, defender Simon Walker combined well with Ryan Howell to go deep into the Alveston half, but Howell took too long to set up a shot and the move broke down. Almost immediately, Howell was denied by a good Manuel save and then Richard Adams had the best chance of all to increase the lead, but the ball bobbled unkindly on the hard surface as he was about to shoot.

The second half was a repeat of the first with Brakes having a lot of the play, but not being sharp enough in front of goal. However, they took a 0-2 lead in the 65th minute when the impressive Morgan fed Jon Adams who crossed for brother Richard Adams to beat Manuel from inside the penalty area. That should have been enough, but Brakes took their foot off the pedal and in the 87th minute, Richard Morris, who had been a spectator for much of the match, was left exposed as Alveston pulled a goal back through Luke Edwards. Shearsby could have equalized right at the end, but Brakes had done enough to secure all three points.

With some fresh impetus needed in the run-in to the end of the season, Chris Hanrahan expects to shake off the 'flu and start training on Thursday and Martin Thompson is also close to rejoining the squad. Without Josh Blake, goals are harder to come by, but it's points that matter now and, despite the disquiet amongst the fans about the last two performances, the table will always tell the truth over the full season and there is a lot to be proud of.

Jason Cadden was philosophical saying "We know we are not playing to our full potential but, just like on Saturday, we had a difficult pitch and an expectation of an easy victory to overcome. We gave away a scrappy goal, but we are pleased to get the two wins we were looking for and will be ready for another tough match at Highgate next weekend."

Leamington: Richard Morris; Ben Adams (Ryan Parisi 80); Simon Walker; Tom Sidwell; Andy Gregory; Leon Morgan (Darran Tank 79); Stuart Herlihy; Jon Adams; Richard Adams; Ryan Howell (Paul Eden 76); Steve Thompson [Capt]

Alveston: Oliver Manuel; Tom Carroll; Phil Daly; Luke Edwards; Steve Robotham; Gary Joynes; Chris Gummery; Barry Shearsby [Capt.]; Scott Easterlow; Martin West; Chris Sockett; Chris Turner; Greg Sherrington; Oliver Boyle

Team News: Chris Hanrahan unwell