Sat, 05 Jan 2008 @ The New Windmill Ground. vs Barton Rovers (3-1). British Gas Business Football League Midland Division. By D Hucker. After recent disappointing draws against Romulus and Bedworth United, Brakes got back to winning form in a match which was fast and exciting from beginning to end. Another good crowd of 574, the second highest of the day in the league, certainly got their money's worth in what was Brakes 400th competitive match since being relaunched in August 2000.
In an even first half, both goalkeepers were frequently called into action with the highlights being Richard Morris's acrobatic save to tip a Tony Thorpe free-kick onto the bar to deny Rovers and Martyn Patching's equally good save, diving to his right to thwart Brakes' Russell Dunkley. Ben Mackey had also been denied by Patching saving with his legs after the referee had played advantage after a foul on Dunkley by Chris Wild.
Probably the best move for Brakes came in the 26th minute, when Morris made a clearance to Dunkley and, with Vijay Sidhu and Towers also involved, the ball ended up on the left with Stuart Herlihy who couldn't quite get a shot in from an acute angle.
The lively Steve Sinclair was at the heart of much of Rovers' attacking play and Leamington's Adam Cooper had his work cut out in keeping Sinclair in check. For Brakes, Jamie Towers was the main threat, putting in a number of good crosses from the right.
Rovers took the lead within minute of the re-start when the experienced Thorpe ran through unchallenged to beat Morris. Almost immediately from the kick-off, Thorpe looked to be in with another scoring chance, but was brought down on the edge of the penalty area by Arron Parkinson. Robbie Kean took the free-kick, only to see the ball come back off the Leamington crossbar with Morris beaten.
This seemed to be the spur that Brakes needed and they went on to dominate the rest of the match. Sidhu opened his account for the club on 56 minutes and, in the process, scored Brakes 750th goal in the Southern League. Sidhu then doubled his tally six minutes later with a spectacular goal, beating two defenders inside the penalty area before sending a right-foot shot curling into the top corner.
Both Herlihy and Parkinson saw goalbound shots beaten away by Patching before substitute James Husband put the result beyond doubt, scoring from close range from yet another good cross by Towers with just four minutes to go.
There were several candidates for the Man of the Match award, particularly Arron Parkinson and Adam Cooper in defence and Craig Dutton and Stuart Herlihy in midfield But, for turning the game with two goals in six minutes, the vote went to Vijay Sidhu, who played his part in the Brakes long and distinguished history in the Southern League.
Manager Jason Cadden said "We were pleased to get back on the winning trail and it was great for Vijay to score his first goals for the club. We were creating a lot of chances in the last fifteen minutes of the first half and didn't deserve to go a goal down so soon after the break. We showed our strength of character to come back against a good Barton side who will take points off other leading clubs this season. This win sets up nicely for the trip to Halifax on Tuesday."
Brakes Richard Morris, Jamie Towers (Dale Jones 90), Arron Parkinson [Capt.], Adam Cooper, Guy Sanders, Craig Dutton, Stuart Herlihy, Vijay Sidhu ((James Husband 77), Ben Mackey, Russell Dunkley (Martin Thompson 71), Marcus Jackson
Subs Not Used: Martin Hier, Andy Harper.
Barton Rovers Martyn Patching, Neil Pugh (Adam Cunnington 83), Stuart Strange (Stuart Maynard 62), Leon Hibbert, Dean Buss, Chris Wiild [Capt.], Robbie Kean, Gary Sippetts, Tony Thorpe, Steve Sinclair, Frazer Toms
Subs Not Used: Russell Preston, Paul Covington, David Tilbury