Youngsters Seize the Day

The first half of this match was totally forgettable from a Leamington point of view as they were disorganised, weak in the challenge and struggled to pass to another Leamington player. It must have been a shock to the Stafford players when in the 19th min Nick Kyriacou pounced on a loose ball to slot home the opener. This however was the only bright spot of the half as Stafford continued to dominate and after mammoth lapses in communication at the back they duly equalised and then took a deserved lead in the 28th and 37th min.

Half time could not come quick enough as Leamington went in 2-1 down, and as the players went out for the second half some supporters muttered that that must have been 'some' half time talk as Leamington finally came out of their shells and produced a far better performance.

The best goal of the game was by young Adam Butcher (remember the name he's one for the future), after picking up the ball and running at the Stafford defence he unleashed an unstoppable 25yrd shot which flew into the motionless goalkeeper's top right corner (he had already drawn Leamington level but the strike was not quite in the same league).

The game ended brightly for Leamington as they grabbed two goals in the final seven minutes through Kyriacou and the impressive midfielder Crowley. Although the 5-2 score line flattered Leamington a little in the end it was good to see the younger members of the squad produce up until the final whistle as in previous friendlies this has not been the case.

We look forward to the return friendly on the 22nd March when I'm sure Stafford will look for some revenge.

Leamington Youth from: Gary Moore (GK), Nick Collen, Leigh Barton, Ben Halstead-Smyth. Jonathan Cupit, Phil Thompson, Kyle Crowley, Mark Beezley, Ryan Howell, Chris Lewis, Nick Kyriacou, Adam Butcher