Rangers Routed by Rampant Brakes

On a poignant afternoon when the crowd of 452 stood in silence to remember long-serving club official Don Hartwell, Brakes turned on the style to demolish their FA Vase opponents in another powerful first-half display. Racing to a four goal lead at half-time, they effectively killed the game off and only relaxed their grip in the last ten minutes to allow the visitors a consolation goal.

Highfield hail from Leicester and had conquered fellow Combination side Shifnal Town in the first qualifying round. It is always difficult to gauge the strength of the opposition from a different league but Brakes settled any nerves within the first minute. Highfield's 'keeper Andy Gowan found himself under pressure on the edge of the penalty area and attempted to head the ball clear. Unfortunately for him, Brakes' new hero Martin Thompson was lurking and gained possession through sheer persistence before slotting home into the corner (1-0). The new strike force of Thompson and last season's leading scorer Paul Nicholls is beginning to gel and they are gaining a good understanding which augurs well for the future.

The match went a little quiet from the home supporters' point of view after the opening salvo but, although Highfield had enough possession, they didn't put any pressure on Richard Morris in the Brakes goal. However, on ten minutes, Morris came out to collect and missed the ball forcing Darren Timms to head clear. Highfield wasted the resultant corner putting the ball straight into the side netting.

Highfield were using the offside trap well catching out the Brakes forwards but a corner on 16 minutes from skipper Steve Thompson nearly brought a second goal, Tom Sidwell heading just wide. The first booking of the match occurred on 18 minutes when Martin Thompson was tackled from behind. The resultant free kick was well-worked by Nicholls and Steve Thompson, but the cross into the goalmouth didn't find the foot of a Brakes attacker. However, the second goal was not long in coming as, on 28 minutes, Nicholls picked up on a free-kick and rounded Gowan to double the lead (2-0).

Brakes were starting to motor now and Chris Hanrahan was at the heart of many of the attacking moves. It was that man Nicholls again who was the provider for the third, crossing to Josh Blake to score with his right on 28 minutes (3-0). Just three minutes later, an inswinging corner from the right from Steve Thompson was met powerfully by Nick McFarlane whose header sailed into the roof of the net to make it 4-0. At this stage, a fifth looked on the cards and Dave Care twice went close weaving his way through the defence.

As half-time approached, a little cameo was played out for the those on the sheepside when, with Steve Thompson winding himself up for a long throw, the referee was heard to remark "hurry up, I am sinking in the sand here."

The second half never lived up to the first and Hanrahan (for a foul) and Care were booked. The highlight was the entrance to ironic cheers from the North Bank of Santana Heskey, brother of England striker Emile, as a substitute for Highfield. Both Hanrahan and Timms missed chances that would have been easier to score and Andy Gregory saw one of his often-struck long shots well held by the 'keeper. Then to cap it all, Josh Richards got the ball into the net for Highfield and, with Morris believing that a free-kick had been given for handball, play was brought to a halt on the halfway line by the referee who decided to award a goal after all. Perhaps he was still getting the sand out of his eyes, but it was bizarre moment that nobody around the ground understood.

Highfield ended the match with ten men as Anton Amoo was sent off two minutes from time for a second bookable offence. Despite this, Highfield were not a dirty team and, to their credit, tried to play football throughout. This win puts £500 into the kitty for the clubhouse plus the share of the gate receipts. A pretty good day at the office.

Manager Jason Cadden rated the first half display as "superb" but added "I was a little disappointed with the second half as we lost our discipline and had two bookings as well as conceding a goal. We had four quality strikes and Martin Thompson has made all the difference to the attack. Overall, it's been a good week in cup competition and we can get back to league action now"

Leamington: Richard Morris; David Care; Nick McFarlane (Harj Dhesi 86); Tom Sidwell; Andy Gregory; Darren Timms; Chris Hanrahan; Josh Blake (Jonny Burgess 60); Martin Thompson (Vernor Sleem 65); Paul Nicholls; Steve Thompson [Capt.]

Subs Not Used: James Gettings; Niels Kristensen (3 from 5 this competition)

Team News: Simon Wickson out for "months" as last time as he has a groin problem (on the other side) that needs an operation.