Sat, 03 May 2008 @ The New Windmill Ground. vs Stourbridge (1-2 (AET)). British Gas Business Football League Midlands Division PlayOff Final. By D Hucker. On 7 May 1983, AP Leamington beat Poole Town to win the Southern Premier League in front of a crowd of 1,307 at the Windmill Ground in Tachbrook Road.
Twenty five years on, Leamington FC drew 1,634 people to the New Windmill in Harbury Lane, but failed to secure a place in the Premier Division, losing for the fourth time this season to Stourbridge in extra time.
On a day when the sun finally shone down Harbury Lane, showing the ground at its best, the atmosphere was so tense that, for periods of the first half, you could almost hear a pin drop. Not that the match lacked excitement but, after finishing 11 points clear of their rivals in second place, so much was riding on this one-off encounter.
Ben Mackey almost put Brakes ahead in only the fourth minute, but was thwarted by at timely tackle by Nathan Bennett. However, Brakes leading scorer added to his tally in the 17th minute from the penalty spot after Justin Marsden had been brought down by 'keeper Lewis Solley. It was only at the second attempt that Mackey got the ball in the net, after Solley saved his initial shot with his feet.
The euphoria lasted only three minutes, as a shot rebounded off the Brakes defence and Bennett was on hand for the easiest of equalisers. Stourbridge could have added a second when Damian Whitcombe crossed from the left and Leon Broadhurst just failed to connect right in front of goal.
Home 'keeper Richard Morris needed treatment after a collision with Andy Wright, before Adam Cooper had a good long-range shot well saved by Solley. Broadhurst then headed wide and, as the first half drew to a close, Mackey was just inches away from connecting with a superb cross from the right by Jamie Towers.
The lively Marcus Jackson cut in from the left only to see his shot blocked and, from the rebound, Marsden put the ball wide. Mackey was stopped in his tracks on 57 minutes when Ross Collins pulled his shirt, earning the Stourbridge defender a yellow card, and then put a shot over the bar from another Towers corner in the 74th.
Shortly after, Collins fouled Marsden and, with the Stourbridge defence not clearing the resultant free-kick, James Husband had a chance to score, but put his shot wide. Brakes did get the ball into the net with just four minutes remaining when Towers met Jackson's cross from the left, but the flag was up for offside and it counted for nothing.
Husband and Marsden both had chances near the end, but it remained 1-1 and the match went into extra time.
Another long-range shot by Cooper almost brought a goal, but Bennett's miskick was safely gathered by Solley. Substitute, Josh Blake, fired over before Morris made a close-range save from Craig Slater. The excellent Solley then made two crucial saves from Husband to deny Brakes a winner and the match went in Stourbridge's favour when Sam Rock stretched the home defence and crossed to Leon Broadhurst for the decisive strike in the 116th minute.
The returning Liam Reynolds joined well with Scott Hadland in midfield and Justin Marsden was always a threat up front, carrying and holding the ball. Returning captain, Arron Parkinson, was a tower of strength alongside Adam Cooper and Guy Sanders in a defence that wasn't threatened for long periods as Brakes took control.
So, it's Stourbridge who will play in the Premier Division next season and we wish them well in the future. For Brakes, it is a time for reflection on what might have been, but with no regrets for a season that saw the team exceed all expectations in taking promotion to the wire, as well as reaching the First Round of the Carlsberg FA Trophy, beating Margate and Fisher Athletic on the way.
It took the club three seasons to win the Midland Football Combination Premier Division and two to take the Midland Alliance title. So, perhaps, expecting to triumph in the higher level of the Southern League at the first time of asking was more than we could reasonably have hoped for. Whatever your ambitions when you set out, getting to within touching distance fires you up to win and the result from a match which Brakes dominated for long periods was hard to take.
Coach Morton Titterton summed up the disappointment, saying " We wanted the second half to go on as long a possible as we were hitting them hard in the last 15 minutes. Their back three were magnificent and kept out everything we threw at them. Having come this close, it is a bitter pill to swallow, but we will reflect on the season and gear ourselves up for another crack."
As this is the last report of the season, my thanks go to everyone who has put so much time and effort into the club and who deserved all the success going. Safety Officer, Kevin Hancock, and his team of stewards handled the transport and crowd management superbly, although inevitably there will be some who will not have had the freedom to roam that they would have liked. Any other club in the Midlands Division would have loved to put on a match like today's, but it takes planning and skill to pull it off.
Brakes Richard Morris. Jamie Towers (Ryan Parisi 104), Arron Parkinson [Capt.], Adam Cooper, Guy Sanders, Liam Reynolds, Scott Hadland, James Husband, Justin Marsden, Ben Mackey (Josh Blake 97), Marcus Jackson
Subs Not Used: Shay Morgan, Martin Thompson, Andy Harper
Stourbridge Lewis Solley, Sam Rock, Gavin Winsper, Ross Collins, Kyle Hadley, Nathan Bennett, Craig Slater [Capt.], Leon Broadhurst, Andy Wright (Calum Martin 71)(Ryan Broadhurst 88), James Dyson, Damian Whitcombe (Ryan Mahon 65)