Sun, 07 Dec 2008 @ Cecil Street, Rothwell.. vs Rothwell Town (6-0). British Gas Business Southern League Midland Division. By P Edwards. Saturday December 6th, 2008.
It was back to the business of winning league points at a soggy Cecil Street, and Brakes proved that Tuesday's League Cup exit at Atherstone was merely a blip, as they pulverised poor Rothwell. The match was effectively over before ten minutes were on the clock, as Mark Bellingham helped himself to the first two goals of what would be his second hat trick in a matter of weeks.
The Bones simply had no answer to wave after wave of attacks during the first half, and they were behind with less than two minutes of the match played, as Jai Stanley lifted the ball over the back peddling defenders for Mark Bellingham to race on and clip his shot beyond keeper Alex Malong, whose first job was to retrieve the ball from the far corner of his net. Another swift attacking move saw a cross from Bellingham headed back into the area at the far post, but Stuart Herlihy and then Liam Reynolds were closed down as they attempted to make space for a shot. Jamie Lenton sent in a fine ball from the left, but Malong came off his line to claim.
As the season has progressed, Jai Stanley and Mark Bellingham have become increasingly influential players in the Leamington side, and in this game they were certainly operating on the same wavelength. Stanley advanced from midfield again, and fed Bellingham from an almost identical position to the left of goal, just outside the penalty area, and this time the ace marksman smashed his shot past Malong into the far corner.
Richard Morris was a virtual spectator at this stage, but he was alert enough to grasp a long range effort from Fazel Koriya under his crossbar. Marcus Jackson then tested Malong again with a vicious curling cross from the right, which the goalkeeper was equal to. It was not long before the Brakes support behind him had another goal to cheer. A deep free kick from midfield by Martin Hier was powered across goal into the far corner by the head of Stuart Herlihy, for his second goal of the week. Shortly afterwards, Jamie Lenton thought he had scored his first Leamington goal, when he headed in at the back post, only to see it disallowed. Guy Sanders saw his thirty yard free kick saved by Malong, while Marcus Jackson hit a powerful shot wide of the left hand post. Malong then made a smart save to deny Adam Cooper his first goal of the season as he thumped in a header from a corner. Jamie Lenton then turned Adam Bridgeford inside out on the left, before whipping in a cross that Malong did well to push away from his goal.
Jai Stanley curled a free kick off target, before Morris was forced to tip over another long range effort, this time from Mark Hackett, as Rothwell got a rare sight of goal. Their captain, Peter Sneddon, also shot wide from distance, but the home side had precious little opportunities to get the ball into dangerous positions during the first forty five minutes, and their cause looked hopeless six minutes before the break, as they conceded a fourth. It is unlikely that Mark Bellingham has ever scored three goals that have been so similar in creation and execution, but once again Jai Stanley broke from midfield with the ball, the Rothwell defence failed to pick up the number nine, and he ran through to place the ball into the far corner for his hat trick. To their credit, although they were being forced to shoot from distance, most of the home sides' shots were on target. Richard Morris came out confidently to meet a free kick from David Glass. There was almost a fourth goal for Bellingham as he was played in on goal, but a challenge came in as he shaped to shoot. The ball ran loose to Herlihy, who laid it off to Mykel Beckley, but his shot went over the bar.
As is usually the case when a team builds up such a commanding advantage with only half of the game played, the second half was not quite so full of goals, but the two that were scored were probably the best of the game.
Not long into the half came an incident that was rather out of context with the rest of the game, which left most of the 276 present rather bemused, as they hadn't seen what had happened. Stuart Herlihy and Rothwell skipper Peter Sneddon were both shown straight red cards by the Referee. Apparently Herlihy had reacted to Sneddon aiming a headbutt at him, the result being that they both walked. There was not a dirty challenge in the whole match, and the general consensus was that the decision was the wrong one, and that the official could have been more lenient. Hopefully the club will be able to successfully appeal, as it will mean losing another player for three matches. Another man from the home side was cautioned shortly afterwards, but there were no further flash points during the match.
This setback did not affect Brakes' rhythm for too long, and although Bridgeford registered the first effort on goal in the half, on fifty three minutes, Jamie Lenton netted his first goal in Leamington colours, curling a fine effort into the corner after Mykel Beckley had held the ball up well for him on the edge of the box. The young striker worked hard during the game to try and get the goal that will no doubt boost his confidence after injury, but with little reward. He was clearly being held back as he made a dangerous run towards goal later on, but did not even get a free kick.
The players who had won the game for us in the first half were replaced with fresh legs, as Leamington went in search of more goals. Adam Cooper saw a shot saved, and Josh Blake fired across goal from a good position. Guy Sanders smashed a powerful free kick from distance straight into Malong's hands, while at the other end, Morris dealt with another shot from outside the area. Cooper was again unfortunate not to score, as he saw his shot cleared off the line.
The final moments of the match saw the best move, and with it, the best goal. Martin Hier's free kick from out on the right touch line was headed away from goal by Robbie Maddox, but with Fazel Koriya unable to complete the clearance, James Husband picked up the ball outside the penalty area and moved it left to Jamie Lenton, who skipped past a defender and knocked a pass to Beckley on the penalty spot. The return ball was back heeled into the path of Lenton, who took a touch and clipped it over the diving Malong and inside the near post. A fantastic goal to crown a fantastic performance.
Jason Cadden was clearly well pleased as his team trooped off to loud applause, saying: 'We did the job we came to do. I never expected us to get six, but I'm chuffed to bits with the performance.' Certainly, it was a fine way to begin a demanding month of fixtures.
Rothwell Town: Alex Malong, Adam Bridgeford, David Glass, Peter Sneddon [C], Paul Rice (Dale Linton), Robbie Maddox, Mark Hackett, Michael Boyle-Chong (Danny Pownell), Kevin Byrne (Rashid Koriya), Dan Rogers, Fazel Koriya.
Sub not used: Simon Underwood.
Leamington: Richard Morris, Marcus Jackson, Martin Hier, Adam Cooper, Guy Sanders [C], Liam Reynolds (James Husband), Stuart Herlihy, Jai Stanley (Jamie Towers), Mark Bellingham (Josh Blake), Mykel Beckley, Jamie Lenton.