Cooper sees Red as the curse of the Red and White stripes strikes again!
Wed, 14 Jan 2009 @ The New Windmill Ground. vs Leighton Town (3-3). British Gas Business Southern League Midland Division. By P Edwards. Tuesday January 13th, 2009.
For the second time in three games, Brakes let a 3-1 lead slip, as they conceded a late equaliser at the New Windmill Ground. Despite the fact that it had been nearly 3 weeks since the last league fixture, this clash between two of the top six sides in the Midland Division was, for the most part, an entertaining one, but it was spoilt by some patchy decision making from the officials in charge.
This was without a doubt, a tricky first fixture of the year, especially with the weather enforced lay off, as the visitors have been having a good season. They were first to threaten inside the opening minute, forcing two early corners. The heavy rain in the 48 hours before this game had made the pitch slippy in places, and this showed early on, as players from both sides struggled to keep their footing. Leamington's first sight of goal came from an excellent cross field pass from Jai Stanley to James Husband out on the left, but the winger screwed his first time cross into the Harbury Lane End. It was a sluggish opening quarter from Brakes, with Leighton looking the brighter side, but gradually they began to impose themselves on the game, and when Jamie Towers took on and beat his man with a cross from the right hand side on eighteen minutes, Mark Bellingham was lurking in exactly the right place to meet it with a well timed jump, and he nodded past keeper Steve Root from close range to give Leamington the lead. Within sixty seconds it was as you were, however, as Enzo Silvestri took advantage of hesitancy in the Brakes defence to equalise.
It was after this that we began to see the sort of play we are used to from Brakes. Bellingham was saw Root get down well at his near post to save a fizzing low drive. Adam Cooper was booked for kicking the ball away in frustration at one or two decisions that were not going the way of his side. However, the other half of the deadly strike duo, Luke Corbett, rose with keeper and a defender to head Brakes back in front from close in on thirty four minutes, and the visitors were fortunate not to go in at the interval more than one goal behind, as the home side looked to turn the screw.
An enforced substitution saw a change on the Leamington goal saw Richard Anstiss join the action after a lengthy stoppage. Richard Morris fell awkwardly as he punched a corner kick clear, and left the field on a stretcher. Early reports indicate that he twisted his knee. Leighton earned another corner from the their initial attack, which was cleared away at the far post.
Jai Stanley had another superb game until he was replaced midway through the second half, and can count himself extremely unfortunate not to have got on the score sheet. Mark Bellingham was bought down on the left hand side of the penalty area by Leighton skipper Peter Clifford, a challenge not deemed worthy of a booking by Referee Mr Stretton. Stanley struck a curling dead ball through a sea of bodies inside the area, and it clattered back off the inside of the far post. The clearance reached James Husband on the edge of the area, and he worked the ball back across to Stanley, who curled another shot towards goal, only to see it cannon back off the crossbar. He completed an unwanted hat trick when hitting the outside of the post with a corner, seconds before the break.
The second half began in much the same way that the first had ended, with Leamington doing the bulk of the attacking, but the visitors were asking questions when they pushed forward. Corbett stepped inside and was unfortunate to see his searing drive from thirty yards clear the crossbar by a matter of inches. Adam Cooper was given time and space to advance from defence, and let fly from a similar distance, but he too was just off target. A dangerous cross to the back post saw Enzo Silvestri chest the ball down, but he was only able to poke it weakly towards goal, and Anstiss collected the ball. Another flag kick looped past the far post, as the visitors began to press. James Husband was doing his best to decapitate the Leighton right back Sam Chapman with some of his crosses, and one took a deflection which fell kindly to Luke Corbett. He was able to turn and get a shot away in a crowded penalty area, but it lacked power.
The Referee finally decided to clamp down on some of the tackles that had gone unpunished for over half of the game when he booked Silvestri and Wes Lewis in quick succession. The visitors had a goal chalked off for offside, before a dangerous left wing cross from Husband was almost put into his own net by Chapman at the far post. From the resulting corner Mark Bellingham rose highest to power home another header and put his side 3-1 to the good. This is a scoreline which will be starting to give Brakes fans nightmares now though, and with just over half an hour to play, they began to let Leighton back into the game. They barely had another attempt at goal after this, save for a header from Josh Blake, which went well over.
Adam Cooper was fortunate to receive only a ticking off from Mr Stretton after a rash challenge in midfield, but unfortunately it was to be only a temporary stay of execution. On seventy minutes Wes Lewis lashed a loose ball that really should have been cleared into the far corner of the Leamington net to set up a tense final period, which might possibly have been avoided had the assistant on the Sheepside not raised his flag for offside as Corbett cut out a pass and played a fine ball over the top for his strike partner Bellingham. To most people in the ground it did not look to be the right decision, and it could have been the difference between one and three points in this game.
Silvestri sent a good strike just over the bar, before Leamington were reduced to ten men, as Adam Cooper and Jamie Towers both went in for a challenge in midfield. The Referee decided that Cooper had been the aggressor, and he was shown his second yellow card of the game. Marcus Jackson followed him into the notebook for merely trying to wrestle his way past a challenge in the middle of the park, as frustrations rose. Liam Reynolds hooked a dangerous cross away from the goal line, and Blake cleared a low shot away, as Leighton sensed they could yet gain something from the contest. Anstiss was forced to push away a cross shot, before Blake launched the ball towards the Leighton goal from inside the centre circle, but Root was alert to the danger, and claimed it easily. The almost inevitable equaliser arrived with a couple of minutes left on the clock, James Hatch ramming home from close range after a scramble in the area, and Leamington were left to rue the loss of their two goal advantage, and the first points dropped at home this season. Although the team are now 20 games unbeaten, there are cracks starting to appear in the defence, which is missing the presence and leadership of Guy Sanders, although Josh Blake has performed admirably, filling in out of position in his absence. Guy is recovering from his illness, and will hopefully be back to lead his troops shortly. Mykel Beckley was among the substitutes, which was good to see after his injury lay off, and it is to be hoped that we will see Andy Gregory back in a Leamington shirt soon, after nearly 18 months out. Unfortunately it probably won't be soon enough, as Jason Cadden will lose Adam Cooper to suspension again, and the strength of the squad will be tested. The opportunity to bounce back comes when Soham Town Rangers visit the New Windmill Ground on Saturday. Three points would be a very welcome fillip, as the next fixture after this one is the eagerly awaited trip to Nuneaton Town, a match which could prove to be pivotal in this exciting campaign.
Leamington: Richard Morris (Richard Anstiss, 37), Jamie Towers, Martin Hier, Adam Cooper, Josh Blake, Liam Reynolds, Marcus Jackson, Jai Stanley (Stuart Herlihy, 78), Mark Bellingham [C], Luke Corbett, James Husband (Jamie Lenton, 70).
Subs not used: Mykel Beckley, Glenn Webb.
Leighton Town: Steven Root, Sam Chapman, Leon Cashman, James McNulty (Scott Thomas, 56), Peter Clifford [C], Liam Howley, Wes Lewis, Enzo Silvestri (Joel McCormick, 81), Ben Gallant, James Hatch, Aston Goss (Jamie O'Grady, 81).