Brakes Win Battle of the Mud to See Off Saints

There was drama aplenty at Banbury Road with Brakes winning through by the narrowest of margins against local rivals Southam to consolidate their lead at the top of the Midland Combination Premiership. With goalkeeper Pete Dye sent off for handling outside of his area in the first half, Saints' ten men succumbed to a 48th minute strike from Brakes' leading scorer Josh Blake which sent the visiting supporters who made up the majority of the bumper crowd of 420 home happy.

Saints attacked early and Richard Morris had to save at the feet of ex-Sphinx and Marconi striker Tom Thacker. At the other end, Steve Thompson put Richard Adams through but, for what was to become a regular occurrence for the Brakes forwards, he was ruled offside. Home 'keeper Dye (who played for the old AP Leamington club in my time as Deputy Chairman) then saved a Paul Nicholls shot from the edge of the penalty area before denying Josh Blake an opening goal.

Brakes' passing style of football was becoming less and less effective as the green grass gave way to a brown bog and it was Saints who appeared to be adapting best to the difficult conditions. Steve Smith came to Brakes rescue clearing from Don Cramp and then, at the other end, Leon Morgan picked up a cross from the right by Jon Adams only to see his shot deflected for a corner.

On 25 minutes, Jon Adams again crossed this time to Blake who was upended in the penalty area. Having missed a spot kick at Meir earlier in the month, Adams showed no sign of nerves in walking up, but he shot straight at Dye who then acrobatically saved the follow-up. Five minutes later, there was a goalmouth scramble that saw Morgan, Richard Adams and Blake all try to dig the ball out of the mud and into the goal.

The match turned on 36 minutes when Morgan tried to lob Dye but, in making the save, the home 'keeper had strayed from his area and, although Nicholls put the ball into the net for what appeared to be the Brakes' opener, the referee brought play back and sent Dye off. Then, with Gary Puddifoot taking over in goal, Nicholls sent a good chance over the bar. As the interval approached, Nicholls cut in from the left and crossed to Richard Adams who headed over.

The crucial strike for Brakes came in the 48th minute when Richard Adams lobbed the ball past Puddifoot for Blake to come sliding in from the left and put the matter beyond doubt, 0-1. Once again, Blake showed both his scoring instincts and his phenomenal workrate in what is becoming another good season that could even top 2003/04. Saints almost hit back straightaway and Morris had to get down low to save from Neil Austin. Then, Richard Adams picked up a Nicholls pass and ran the length of the Southam half of the pitch only to be denied by the 'keeper.

Saints used all three substitutes, including former Brakes youth player Neil Stacey, as they searched for an equaliser. They almost got one a minute from time as Graham went on a strong run into the Brakes' area only to see his shot get stuck in the mud at the foot of the post allowing Morris to smother the ball and save the day.

This was win number 20 for Brakes so far this season and, although not at their best, showed that they are real championship material ahead of what will be a very testing January. Manager Jason Cadden was pleased with the result saying, "The pitch was very difficult, but we should still have had it wrapped up at half-time. It was a cracking result that sets us up for the new year, but there is a long way to go and we have 19 hard fixtures left to play."

Southam United: Pete Dye; Wayne Britton; Adrian Fitzhugh [Capt]; Gary Puddifoot; Aidey Wyatt; Calvin De-Voisey (Rob Brassington 58); Lee Constable; Mattie Graham; Tom Thacker (Jamie Russell 70); Don Cramp; Neil Austin (Neil Stacey 62)

Leamington: Richard Morris: Jon Adams; Darran Tank; Steve Smith: Andy Gregory; Stuart Herlihy; Leon Morgan; Josh Blake; Richard Adams (Ben Adams 83); Paul Nicholls; Steve Thompson [Capt] (Martin Thompson 75)
Sub(s) Not Used: Simon Walker