Brakes bounce back in style

Brakes bounced back to form with an impressive win over their Leicestershire visitors to consolidate their position at the head of the table.

Right from the kick-off, Brakes looked a different proposition to the side that had surrendered its unbeaten home league record the week before. Jamie Towers found plenty of space down the right side and almost opened the scoring in the third minute when rising to meet a Martin Hier free-kick, only to see 'keeper, Ben Hall tip the ball over the bar. Andy Gregory then headed just wide from another free-kick, this time taken by Adam Cooper and, on 10 minutes, Ben Mackey got the ball onto the net, heading home a Towers cross, only to have his effort disallowed for off-side.

It was one-way traffic towards the North Bank and, in the 20th, Hall denied Mackey again. Almost immediately, Towers drove the ball low and hard across the face of the goal with Martin Thompson agonisingly close to connecting. It was then Jon Adams' turn to be thwarted by Hall before Friar Lane finally had a shot on goal in the 28th minute, Lewis Gibbons hitting a free-kick from the edge of the penalty area in the defensive wall.

The breakthrough came in the 36th minute when Towers went down the right once again and his perfect cross was met by Martin Thompson who headed home. The lead was doubled a minute later through Ben Mackey whose thunderbolt from outside of the penalty area gave Hall no chance and made it 25 goals for the season for the former Racing Club Warwick striker.

Richard Morris was called upon to save smartly from Adie Taylor four minutes before half-time, but the Friar Lane attacks were few and far between and a two goal margin was the least that Brakes deserved at the interval.

The visitors almost pulled one back in the 50th minute when a free-kick by Lewis Gibbons rebounded off the wall to Lee Westley whose shot hit the top of the bar. For Brakes, Towers combined well with Mackey before sending his shot into the side-netting and then Thompson was denied a second goal by the woodwork on 66 minutes.

Brakes duly got a third in the 69th as Towers' cross went over the defence to the far post where James Husband rose to head home. The bubbly Jon Adams, revelling in a midfield role, finished off a great move on 73 minutes to score the fourth and final goal.

Andy Gregory made a good clearance to deny Friar Lane a chance of a consolation and, at the other end, substitute Avun Jephcott spotted Hall off his line and fired just over from long-range in the final seconds.

This was a good team performance and manager Jason Cadden described it as a "massive improvement on last week." He added "we got our appetite back tonight and are back on track after a couple of disappointing performances. We now need to take this into our remaining twelve matches to the end of the season."

Leamington Richard Morris; Jamie Towers; Martin Hier; Adam Cooper; Andy Gregory; Morton Titterton [Capt.] (Craig Dutton 50); Stuart Herlihy; Jon Adams; Ben Mackey (Josh Blake 81); Martin Thompson (Avun Jephcott 74) James Husband
Subs Not Used Adam Knight; Tom James

Friar Lane and Epworth Ben Hall; Lee Westley; Lee McCloud; Nick Brett; Michael Brookes (Mark Orton 70); Daniel Gibbons [Capt.]; Ross Trevor (Adam Clarke 77); Mark Connolly; John Chapman; Adie Taylor (Kris Stevenson 78); Lewis Gibbons

Author's Man of the Match Jamie Towers

Attendance 360

Photographs from the match here»