Young Brakes Sink Hinckley in Seven-Goal Thriller

Young Brakes played some of their best football of the season, and newcomer Reynolds added pace up front. Twice they went into a 2-goal lead and twice Hinckley came back from the dead, to make it 2-2 from 2-0 then to reduce the arrears in the 90th after going 4-2 down. But this time Brakes hung on for a valuable win, which moves them to the top half of the table, as the fog spread across the New Windmill Ground pitch. Tolley and Thompson scored inside 25 minutes but Hinckley equalised either side of the break. Iain Groves and Alex Taylor seemed to have it sown up with goals in the 61st and 70th minutes but Hinckley's late response set up a finish that threatened to spoil the occasion.

Brakes were well on top in the opening stages with two saves and a clearance off the line denying them the lead in the first 10 minutes. But Tolley made it 1-0 in the 15th minute crashing a penalty off the underside of the crossbar following an infringement in the area. When Thompson doubled the advantage at 2-0 in the 25th, with a low drive from 20yds into the corner, a big victory seemed on the cards.

Tolley was getting down the wing and new signing, Arron Reynolds, was showing pace up front without the guile that will come from playing more games with his new colleagues. But Hinckley have some star players capable of creating goals from nothing and, in the 33rd, they were back in contention at 2-1 with a half chance smashed into the net

The second half started with a much-improved Hinckley wresting possession from Brakes and, despite the threat from Tolley and Reynolds who nearly created goals in the 50th and 52nd minutes, it was no great surprise when they levelled it at 2-2 in the 54th minute. A quick break left an otherwise excellent Brakes defence with a chance to clear. But the ball was let through to 'keeper Kerr who had to sprint across goal in an attempt to get to the ball first losing out to a Hinckley forward who made it count.

But this stunned Brakes into action and they responded by playing some of the best football they've played all season. With constant pressure on the Hinckley goal Iain Groves made it 3-2 in the 61st with a superb knock into the corner for his first goal of the season. Reynolds was very unlucky not to score twice, particularly so in the 67th when he rounded the 'keeper with Pele-like skill only to lose his composure with the hard part done. He will undoubtedly score goals for Brakes, and soon, if he improves over the coming games as much as he did during this one. Tolley hit the bar in the 70th before Alex Taylor slotted home a loose ball in the area to make it 4-2 in the same minute.

Now young Brakes were buzzing, a joy to watch. Reynolds had yet another shot tipped away for a corner as Brakes stroked the ball around to keep possession and threaten the increasingly shaky Hinckley defence. Tolley, Lewis and Reynolds combined well to set up yet another chance for Reynolds, again denied by the 'keeper at the expense of a corner. Despite shipping two goals the defence had played well all match but then came one of those moments that can cost games. After a late substitution, with the players reorganising themselves, Hinckley took advantage with a quick, incisive break and a too simple goal in the 90th minute, 4-3. Fortunately with very few stoppages in a good, clean, but well-fought game, Hinckley had no time to realise that they were one goal away from salvaging a point, and the fans had little time in which to suffer the realisation of that knowledge.

Leamington Youth: Dan Kerr; James Taylor; Jamie Coleman; Alex Shaw; Martin Groves; Mark Anderson [Capt.] (Ben Halstead-Smyth 89); Philip Thompson (Kyle Crowley 78); Iain Groves; Arron Reynolds; Alex Taylor (Chris Lewis 71); Josh Tolley
Sub(s) Not Used (3 From 5): Nik Kyriacou

Team News: Ben Elkington injured