Wed, 22 Aug 2007 @ The New Windmill Ground. vs Stourport Swifts (5-1). British Gas Business Football League Midland Division. By P Edwards. Leamington banished the memory of Saturdays' dismal draw with Leighton Town by hammering five past a bemused Stourport Swifts at the New Windmill Ground tonight. The scoreline perhaps did not reflect the game, but Brakes were sharper in attack, with Richard Adams introduced to the starting eleven alongside Ben Mackey. Josh Blake also pushed forward, and our visitors were punished with the kind of clinical finishing that was missing against Leighton.
Josh Blake forced a defender to put the ball out of play for a corner kick, from which Ben Mackey fired the first shot of the game over the bar, but the visitors from Worcestershire shocked their hosts when their skipper Mark Wolsey fired in a free kick from the left wing on four minutes which everyone seemed to miss. Their joy was short lived, however, as barely two minutes later, some fine work up on the left touchline by James Husband saw him wriggle free of two defenders and burst into the box, before he laid the ball off to Ben Mackey, who curled a fantastic shot into the top corner from just outside the box.
Leamingtons' second on twelve minutes was the result of poor defensive play by Swifts' Richard Field, whose pass back towards keeper Steven Parker was pounced on by an alert Richard Adams, who danced past the challenge and rolled the ball into the net to put Brakes in front.
Stourport took advantage of a number of free kicks awarded by Referee Mr Horton out on their left wing, to fire in some efforts on goal. Richard Morris was equal to one well struck shot from distance, and palmed another one over his crossbar, after Adam Cooper had been booked.
The match was never a dirty one, but after a tackle from behind on Ben Mackey went unpunished, a few hard challenges went in, and Martin Hier took exception to one from Swifts goalscorer Wolsey, which saw both players enter the Referees' notebook.
As half time approached there were efforts which did not trouble the goalkeeper from Mackey, Craig Dutton and James Husband.
The second half saw Leamington push forward early on in search of a third goal to try and kill the game. Marcus Jackson was seeing more of the ball, and Richard Field headed a dangerous cross from the Brakes number 2 behind for a corner. Ben Mackey shot wide of the right hand post, and then went on one of his mesmerising runs, with three defenders tailing him, one of whom managed to get a block in as the striker looked for an opening.
Stourport were still pumping balls into the Leamington area at every opportunity, but one of their attacks broke down when Craig Marshall fell over the ball in the penalty area, and the play was quickly transferred to the other end of the pitch, were Richard Adams shot horribly over. Ben Mackey screwed an ambitious effort towards the players entrance, before the third goal arrived on fifty four minutes. Josh Blake battled for the ball on the edge of the penalty area, and just as the defender looked to have won possession, Tom Fountain steamed through from midfield to win the ball, and squared for Ben Mackey, whose sharp turn and shot left Parker grasping thin air as the ball nestled in the back of his net.
Swifts substitute Matthew Aubrey added some height to their attack, and he headed just wide moments after coming on, but Leamington struck a fourth goal on sixty six minutes when Marcus Jackson stabbed home after a scramble in the area. Ben Mackey had held the ball up superbly on the left before firing it across, and Jackson got the final touch to bag his first goal for the club.
The game petered out a little after this, with the destiny of the three points decided, but the final word went to Ben Mackey, who was given the chance to land his first Leamington hat trick when the assistant referee on the dugout side ruled that Marcus Jackson had been impeded just inside the area on eighty four minutes. Prior to this, Richard Adams had weaved his way through the tired visiting defence and hit a scorching shot that cannoned back off the inside of the post. The ball was not properly cleared, and eventually, after some consultation, the spot kick was awarded.
Mackey stepped up and confidently fired past Parker to complete a scoreline which was a little unfair on the visitors, but Brakes will need to put teams to the sword in this fashion, especially at home, if they are to have a successful season. Jason Cadden will surely have been much happier with this performance, and it puts the team in a good frame of mind for the first away game at Rushall Olympic on Saturday.
Leamington : Richard Morris, Marcus Jackson, Aaron Parkinson, Adam Cooper, Martin Hier, Tom Fountain (Liam Reynolds,75), Craig Dutton (Capt), Ben Mackey, Josh Blake (Tom Bates,68), Richard Adams, James Husband (Stuart Herlihy, 64).
Subs not used : Chris Gibson, Ryan Parisi.
Stourport Swifts : Steven Parker, Andrew Smith, Adam Robinson, Richard Field, Scott Stamps, Steven Frost (Matthew Aubrey,58), Mark Wolsey (Capt), Craig Webb, Craig Marshall (Darren Andrew,58), Richard Burgess, Alex Lavery (Richard Colwell,75).