Leamington FC fall behind as Chester take 4-1 victory

Via a treacherous and ill-advised bike ride, I arrived at the New Windmill Ground to see Leamington FC take on visitors Chester in a Tuesday night fixture in the Vanarama National League North. For the uninitiated, this is the sixth tier of English football. The home side are nicknamed The Brakes after the products the company which founded them used to produce and gained promotion from the Premier Division Central last year. Chester, meanwhile, are actually the phoenix term which emerged in the wake of Chester City going bust in 2010 and are known as The Seals.

Given it was a chilly January night, this was hardly going to be a turnout for the ages. Nevertheless, I was impressed by the good away following, with fans either stood on the terraces, sat on one of the two stands the stadium boasts or dotted around the ground.The stadium had that homely charm usual of non-league grounds, with fans afforded a proximity to the pitch you simply don’t get at higher levels. I, for example, was sat a mere three yards behind the fourth official, who received a torrent of abuse.

Leamington had not played for a whole thirteen days, due to a number of weather-related postponements, and this particular fixture had actually been rearranged twice. Absent from their lineup was star striker Callum Stewart, for whom there is reported interest from
divisions above.

The game started with a frenetic intensity, with much of the play taking place in the air rather than on the ground

The game started with a frenetic intensity, with much of the play taking place in the air rather than on the ground. Perhaps wisely, given the muddiness of the pitch, both teams adopted a direct approach, with Chester commencing an aerial bombardment via a succession of
crosses.

It was the visitors who started more quickly, flashing a shot over on two minutes. Leamington could excused for being rusty given their lack of recent games, which Chester were all too happy to exploit, opening the scoring on seven minutes with a cutback which was tucked into the far corner by Charlie Caton.

Then, almost immediately, the Seals made it 2-0 on the ten minute mark. A smart save from a half volley wasn’t enough, as the keeper’s parry fell to Tom Peers who provided a smart header which looped in.

There was clearly a gulf in quality between the two teams, as Leamington struggled to hold onto the ball for more than a few seconds, not aided by the muddy pitch

It seemed as if the game was done dusted before some fans had even taken their seats. The Chester fans were in dreamland and made themselves heard.

There was clearly a gulf in quality between the two teams, as Leamington struggled to hold onto the ball for more than a few seconds, not aided by the muddy pitch. The groundsmen’s work was not made any easier by the tackles that were flying in. After one particularly egregious moment, the Chester manager proceeded to ask for the fourth official’s number, as he felt he was being ignored by the man with the board.

Chester continued to threaten, as a cross was almost deflected into the Leamington net. Passing moves for the home team were in short supply, so for them game often became one more of territory than of possession, resembling rugby at times. The Brakes had to rely on
counter attacks and only managed to breach the opponent’s penalty area for the first time on the half hour mark. Chester looked comfortable in possession, and just as it seemed they were taking their foot off the gas, they made it 3-0. It looked like a good defensive tackle had been made but Kurt Willougby still found space to finish. Leamington mustered their first shot on target a minute after the third goal via their striker but it was a tame effort that was easily caught.

The referee suddenly stopped play to produce a red card for their right back Dan Meredith

Clearly, the Brakes were not at all pleased with their performance to that point, and they tried to make amends by getting stuck in and putting some crunching tackles in. However, it was clear Chester had superior hold-up play and touch, and the home team didn’t help their
cause with a rather bizarre moment right before half-time. The referee suddenly stopped play to produce a red card for their right back Dan Meredith. Clearly, something that crossed the line had been said. Things went from bad to worse, as from the ensuing free kick a
corner was won. This was tapped in from two yards by Harrison Burke, a free-scoring centre back.

As the half-time whistle was blown, the home fans remained supportive of their team despite the scoreline. Instead, they directed their ire at the match officials. One did fear for Leamington, as they had struggled with eleven men, so how would they do with one less for
an entire half?

The opportunity to walk all the way around the ground at the interval was welcome, and as the air filled with the scent of freshly cooked burgers, I overheard Leamington fans describing Chester as the best team they had faced.

Jack Edwards broke the team’s modern day appearance record on the night, having amassed over 400 appearances

Both teams made a half time sub, with the Brakes appearing to switch to a three at the back by bringing on an extra centre back. Leamington dug in even further to preserve respectability. Clearly, some fans had had enough as not everyone around me returned to their seats. Chester started the second half with a long spell of possession, but it was clear that for all intents and purposes both teams were content with the score as it was. Their first big chance to make it five fell on 58 minutes, as a well-struck free kick smacked the post.
The Leamington fans, clearly still miffed about the earlier red card, chanted ‘off, off, off’ at every foul call.

Leamington’s manager, Paul Holleran attempted to keep things fresh by bringing on a stream of substitutes. One of the players coming off was captain Jack Edwards, who had actually broken the team’s modern day appearance record on the night, having amassed over 400 appearances. In the 65th minute, Leamington came close to scoring a wonder goal when a clearance from their own half came close to challenging the keeper, who had until then had little to do in the half.

There was then a funny moment, as a sub from each team had to wait a good five minutes to come on as the ball refused to go out of play. The Leamington fans provided some humour by loudly cheering every time they had the ball. It seemed that Chester didn’t want to add to Leamington’s pain as Harrison Burke, who had been clinical earlier, proved why he played at the back with an awful miss which skewed very wide.

Although the Leamington fans were rightly unhappy with the result, it was still a thoroughly enjoyable night of football in a hugely authentic setting

Despite the unfortunate scoreline that they faced, it had to be said Leamington FC had done an admirable job keeping the score down in the second half. And eventually, completely against the run of play, the Brakes’ Will Shorrock scored with a tidy finish from the edge of the area. The fans cheered loudly, spirits seemingly not dampened, and there were even some optimistic calls for a 5-4 comeback. Leamington suddenly looked threatening for the first time all evening with the substitute striker firing straight at the keeper, but this was just a flash in the pan. Close to the end of time, the referee appeared to want to repair relations with the home fans as he waved away strong appeals for a penalty. He then blew the final whistle on what had been a one-sided affair after two added minutes.

Although the Leamington fans were rightly unhappy with the result, it was still a thoroughly enjoyable night of football in a hugely authentic setting. Additionally, history was made with the breaking of the appearance record, meaning not all was gloomy at the New Windmill.