Wind and rain fail to dampen spirits as Brakes roll on

On a wet and windy afternoon at the New Windmill Ground, Brakes overcame a resolute Alvechurch side to secure their 16th consecutive league win and consolidate their position at the top of the table.

Alvechurch were forced to make a late change to their line-up when goalkeeper, Tim Clarke, pulled a muscle in the warm-up and was replaced by Adam Marusiak. However, the match turned into a nightmare for the substitute as he was taken to hospital with concussion following a goalmouth scramble and the visitors played the last 30 minutes with central defender Simon Redhead between the sticks.

For Brakes, Andy Gregory and James Husband were unavailable and Jon Adams missed a rare match through illness. Richard Morris retained his place in goal and Ryan Parisi, back from university, was on the bench.

Despite the heavy rain over the weekend, the pitch was in superb condition, but the darkening clouds threatened to bring more falls before the match was over. So, it happened with the rain starting before half-time and becoming a downpour throughout the second period. The good crowd of 606 that had braved the elements saw few chances for either side in a dour first half that did little to lift the spirits.

Brakes did have one good opportunity as early as the third minute when Craig Dutton's pass found Dave Pearson out on the right, but his shot was cleared off the line by Alvechurch's man of the match, Redhead. Brakes other front-man, Ben Mackey, was getting little change from Redhead and, apart from a good cross by Jamie Towers in the 29th minute, the league leaders didn't really threaten the Alvechurch goal.

At the other end, the industrious Josh Blake cleared a Jamie McWilliams shot off the line on 32 minutes and Adam Cooper had to concede a corner shortly after to thwart Alvechurch's hotshot Keith Rostill. With the interval approaching, Tom Bates found Jamie Towers on the right and his run took him into the penalty area only for Redhead to come once more to the rescue and block the shot.

With the rain making the surface increasingly more difficult, the match livened up after half-time. In the 50th minute, Dave Pearson's shot was pushed round the post by Marusiak and, with Alvechurch failing to clear the resultant corner, the ball fell to Ben Mackey who sent an unstoppable shot into the net.

However, the lead was short-lived as the Brakes defence also failed to clear the ball properly on 56 minutes and Rostill punished them with a low shot past Morris to make it 1-1.

It was all to play for now and Brakes went in front again only three minutes later as Jamie Towers squeezed the ball through a crowded goalmouth past Marusiak who had made valiant efforts to keep the ball out and was injured in the process. Spectators behind the goal attributed the injury to a kick by one of his own players but, whatever the reason, seeing someone carried off on a stretcher to await the ambulance is a sad sight. We wish him well for a speedy recovery.

Alvechurch could have equalised when Stephen Thompson's run seemed to be carrying him towards goal, but Towers timed his tackle to perfection. With three minutes to go, Thompson put another shot wide and Brakes' substitute, Martin Thompson was denied by the legs of Redhead.

It was back on 28 August that Brakes last dropped league points, giving away a three-goal lead at Alvechurch's Lye Meadow ground. This win stretches the lead at the top to 19 points but, with Romulus due to play tomorrow night, it could be cut back before the visit to Westfields next Saturday. There are 20 matches still to play, so nothing can be taken for granted, but the Modwel Products Team of the Month Award for December was richly deserved.

Assistant Manager, Darran Tank, said "we made hard work of that. The first half was a bit flat and we tried to give the team a lift at half-time. It was a great strike by Ben Mackey to give us the lead, but it was disappointing to let them back in with a soft goal. However, we kept going and Josh Blake did great work to set up the winner for Jamie Towers. You can't always play good football if the conditions don't allow, but this was another three points and we are pleased with that."

Leamington Richard Morris; Jamie Towers; Tom Cudworth; Adam Knight; Adam Cooper; Craig Dutton [Capt.]; Stuart Herlihy; Tom Bates; Ben Mackey (Martin Thompson 65); Dave Pearson (Scott Darroch 82); Josh Blake
Subs Not Used Ryan Parisi; Tom James; Jason Pearcey

Alvechurch Adam Marusiak (Lee Millard 62); Gareth Davies; Andy Doss; Scott Richards; Simon Redhead; Oliver Harthill; Callum Gittings (Neil Kitching 70); Jamie McWilliams [Capt.}; Stephen Thompson; Keith Rostill; Lee Chilton
Subs Not Used Leon Brown; David Pawelczyk

Attendance 606

Author's Man of the Match Josh Blake