Brakes win derby at a canter

Manager Jason Cadden got his perfect Christmas present as Brakes wrapped up all six points from the two festive fixtures, with this win against local rivals Racing Club being gained with something to spare.

Any doubts that Saturday's epic encounter with second-placed Romulus may have left its mark were soon dispelled as, after Racer's Jamie Newland had failed to connect with a chance in the fourth minute, there was only one team in this match. Ben Mackey who, along with Tom Cudworth, was returning to his former club, had a number of chances to score, but was faced with some close and, at times robust, marking from Sam Hanney and Martyn Hutchcox, who was one of three Racing players to be booked.

In the 6th minute, Mackey latched onto a cross from the left by the excellent James Husband, but put his shot wide. Then, just three minutes later, he failed to get onto the end of another good cross from Husband.

However, the Brakes opener was not long in coming as, on 11 minutes, Adam Cooper's header from a Tom Bates cross was saved by Racer's 'keeper Tom Farmer but, in the next move of the match, Bates sent over a corner which was cleared by a defender only for the ball to bounce off Dave Pearson into the goal. (0-1).

Brakes soon doubled the lead when, in the 16th minute, a Tom Cudworth free-kick was headed on for Pearson to send a superb strike past the helpless Farmer. (0-2). Surely, a contender for goal of the season when the awards are handed out in May?

It took until the 22nd minute for Racing Club to force their first corner which Brakes 'keeper Richard Morris failed to gather and Cooper cleared the danger. At the other end, Mackey had another chance which he put wide and the half ended with one of the best moves of the match with Craig Dutton putting a superb ball over the top of the defence to Husband, but the Brakes wing-back sent his shot across the face of the goal after Farmer had done well to narrow the angle.

Brakes were buzzing at the start of the second half and could have added two more within the opening minutes. Farmer had to save with his legs to deny Jon Adams and then the Racers 'keeper pulled off a fantastic save to deny Mackey, who had turned and shot in one movement. Herlihy again set up Mackey whose shot went wide, but the pressure finally told in the 56th minute as Bates cut in from the left to put Pearson through and the Brakes striker sent a low shot into the bottom corner. (0-3).

There were more chances for Brakes, including a shot into the side netting by substitute Jamie Towers with twenty minutes remaining, but the league leaders played out time comfortably, mindful of another two matches coming up over the holiday period.

Apart from the odd corner, Brakes 'keeper Morris was a virtual spectator throughout the match and came off the pitch without a speck of mud on his jersey. The same couldn't be said for the other players as the cloying mud made passing difficult and Brakes' superior strength was always likely to win the day. On any other occasion, both Craig Dutton and Stuart Herlihy would have been obvious candidates for the Man of the Match accolade but, for scoring a hat-trick and creating chances for his fellow forwards, the vote went to Dave Pearson.

With Romulus only drawing at Boldmere St. Michaels, this win was Brakes' 15th in a row in the league and stretched their lead to 18 points. The season is only halfway through, but it gets tougher by the week for the chasing pack to close the gap, although it is the table at the end of April that counts, not the end of December.

Manager Jason Cadden was understandably pleased saying "It was a local derby and Racing Club could well have sprung a surprise. We anticipated the conditions and changed the side a little to cope with that. We were strong in all departments with Andy Gregory outstanding in defence, Craig Dutton and Stuart Herlihy commanding in midfield and a fine Dave Pearson hat-trick, the first by any player this season. Despite the size of our lead, we have to keep our feet on the ground and concentrate on a tough match at Stratford, who are an in-form team."

Racing Club Tom Farmer; Lee Hunt; Richard Powell (Dave Care 83); James Vale; Sam Hanney; Martyn Hutchcox; Matthew Brown; Obong Umotong; Ian MacVarish (Ben Clay 55); Joe Hanney [Capt.]; Jamie Newland;
Subs Not Used: Ryan Allen; Jamie Hammersley; Sam Manoochehri

Leamington Richard Morris; Jon Adams (Jamie Towers 60); Tom Cudworth; Adam Cooper; Andy Gregory; Craig Dutton [Capt.]; Stuart Herlihy; Tom Bates; Ben Mackey (Martin Thompson 69); Dave Pearson; James Husband (Tom James 76)
Subs Not Used: Josh Blake, Adam Knight

Attendance 800

Author's Man of the Match Dave Pearson

Photographs from the match here»