Wed, 28 Jan 2009 @ The New Windmill Ground. vs Romulus (2-1). British Gas Business Southern League Midland Division. By P Edwards. Tuesday 27th January, 2009.
An improved second half performance saw Brakes nick the three points from old foes Romulus on a soggy evening at the New Windmill Ground, but they could perhaps count themselves fortunate to go in level at half time, after the visitors dominated the opening forty five minutes. There were changes from Saturdays' line up, with Richard Softley making his debut in place of Ryan Parisi, and Martin Hier restored to the starting line up in the absence of the suspended Adam Cooper. Jai Stanley started in midfield, with James Husband dropping to the bench.
The opening quarter of the game was played almost entirely in the Leamington half, as Romulus pressed for an early goal. They were first to every ball, pressing and preventing Leamington from even playing a pass in some areas. Jason Lanns registered the first shot on goal, an ambitious effort from way out that was watched all the way by Richard Anstiss. There was nothing that the goalkeeper could do about the next chance for the Roms, which resulted in the opening goal. When looking back at the clashes Leamington have had with Romulus over the years, one name will crop up more than most - Tyrone Fagan. He is as synonymous with Romulus as Josh Blake is with Leamington, and he pounced on an awful pass back towards goal to move the ball wide and slip it under Anstiss to put his side in front on 6 minutes. He saw another shot blocked not long afterwards. The New Windmill Ground crowd were not so much restless, more stunned at what they were seeing. The visitors were dictating proceedings, and Leamington had barely moved over the half way line before they were presented with a gift that almost equalled the one they had handed to Romulus, on 13 minutes. Marcus Jackson was able to wriggle free of his marker on the right, and his low cross found Luke Corbett inside the penalty area. The striker found enough space to get a shot away, but keeper Matty Harris looked to have it covered, only for the ball to squirm from his grasp and roll gently over the line for the softest of goals.
This was a real let off for Brakes, but Romulus continued to ask more questions of them. They were closing down the play very high up the pitch, and stopping Leamington from playing their usual game. Tom Franklin headed onto the roof of the net following one of several dangerous looking corner kicks. Richard Anstiss was seeing far more of the ball than his opposite number, and as he rushed from his line to try and make a clearance, it was picked up and lifted towards goal from way out. Fortunately Martin Hier got back in time to steer it away from the net.
After more than 25 minutes of play, there was a hint of another attack for Leamington, but Mark Bellingham stood little chance against three defenders, as he twisted and turned, desperately trying to find a way through. The visitors had clearly marked him down as one of the main threats, and he saw very little of the ball in front of goal all night, but that did not stop him from being effective.
Around the half hour mark, Brakes began to come out of their shell a little, and some good play almost resulted in a second goal. Jamie Lenton played the ball out from the left to Jai Stanley in the middle, who in turn moved it over to Marcus Jackson on the right. Jackson looked to have over run the ball with his first touch, but recovered it well, and flashed in a low cross to the near post, where a combination of Luke Corbett and a defender saw the ball strike the outside of the post.
Romulus continued to look threatening, and an excellent ball played across towards Fagan saw the striker inches away from connecting with a volley which surely would have tested Anstiss. Another attack for Leamington saw Bellingham do well on the right, despite having a defender on his back, and his cross saw Lenton and Corbett both blocked from getting a shot in.
The ball was being given away in midfield far too frequently, and another misplaced pass saw Jason Lanns break down the left. He managed to get a cross in, which was eventually sent over the bar by an acrobatic effort from Fagan.
There had to be an improvement in the second half if Leamington were to continue their winning streak, and whatever was said in the dressing room seemed to do the trick, as Brakes reappeared for the second period with renewed vigour. They started to get in amongst their visitors, and as a result were able to start playing their normal game a bit more. Richard Softley had a reasonable debut, and certainly made his presence felt, with a crunching challenge to win the ball cleanly in midfield. Harris then came off his line to try and claim a free kick into his penalty area, but missed the ball. Luke Corbett seemed to get a touch, and it nicked the crossbar before being cleared away. The Referee waved away claims for a penalty after Mark Bellingham looked to be shoved in the area, just as he thought he had a sight of goal. The same player then shot over from out on the left. Jamie Lenton struck a free kick into the hands of Harris, but Leamington were starting to win more of the midfield battles. Romulus gave further warning of their attacking prowess, however, when Fagan capitalised on another sloppy pass, and played the ball out to the left, with Anstiss unable to keep the resulting shot in play. From the corner kick, a shot struck the top of the crossbar.
James Husband and Jamie Towers were introduced to the proceedings, and this seemed to give Leamington more fluency in attack, as they began to drag the play out into the wide areas. Bellingham played Husband in down the left with a good ball, and his cross was put behind for a corner. Jamie Towers headed in the flag kick from Lenton at the back post, but the goal was disallowed for an infringement. An excellent cross in from Towers after some neat play up the right was palmed away by Harris, with nobody following up, before Leamington went in front on 74 minutes. There was a sea of bodies inside the six yard box as the ball was played in, but Liam Reynolds got the final telling touch to send it into the net.
There was certainly far more purpose about Brakes now, and they were forcing Romulus to work harder in defence. Matty Harris came out well to clear a good cross from Jamie Lenton away from the head of Mark Bellingham, and there was a sniff of a chance at the other end when a free kick was pounced on in the area, but a combination of Guy Sanders and Richard Anstiss saw the shot deflected over the bar. The final moments saw the ball penned in over on the far touchline, and the full time whistle went with more than a few sighs of relief around the ground, with another hard earned three points safely in the bank.
Games against Romulus are always testing, and this one was no exception, but for once there were no flash points, on or off the pitch, which was nice to see. AFC Sudbury come a visiting this Saturday, and they are another good footballing side who are sure to provide another obstacle for Brakes to overcome in their challenge for the title.
Leamington: Richard Anstiss, Marcus Jackson, Richard Softley (Jamie Towers, 68), Guy Sanders [C], Martin Hier, Liam Reynolds,
Stuart Herlihy, Jai Stanley (James Husband, 59), Mark Bellingham, Luke Corbett (Josh Blake, 75), Jamie Lenton.
Subs not used: Mykel Beckley, Ryan Parisi.
Romulus: Matty Harris, Colm Tiernan, Richard Evans, Melvyn Gourlay, Peter Folkes, Jason Lanns (Richard Allen, 84), Nick Heath (Seb Hamilton, 71), Tom Franklin, Tyrone Fagan [C], Leon Blake, Sam Smith.
Subs not used: Chris Charles, Tom Wilmore, Lei Brown.