The Brakes claim victory over Darlington

On a bitterly cold evening, Leamington FC bounced back from New Year woes to stun visitors Darlington with a two-goal lead in the first ten minutes.

Following Leamington’s 4-1 wipeout by Chester on Tuesday, the team came bouncing into Your Co-op Community Stadium seemingly energetic and optimistic. This attitude was helped by an appreciable turnout of 723. The above average showing may have been down, in part, to the debut of a free double-decker shuttle service from Leamington train station, replacing the 665 bus.

Prior to the match, volunteers collected money in aid of the Dan Neal fund, going towards the family of a local man struck by a falling tree during Storm Darragh some weeks ago.

Fans did not hunger for action with dramatics as soon as the first whistle blew. Briefly, the spectre of another wipe out loomed, as the visitors registered a shot wide of the Leamington goal in only the opening few minutes. The Brakes made their own thoughts on this clear when they hoofed the ball clean out the stadium and into the car park a few minutes later.

In only 11 minutes, the Brakes were now well ahead

More constructive efforts followed, though: in a concerted attack, Leamington’s men seemed to move as one into the Darlington half, and then into the 18-yard-box. A slightly chaotic scrum around the goal followed, during which Henry Landers was able to direct a header into the net, bringing joy for Leamington after just six minutes.

Yet the Brakes were far from done, continuing to press hard against the flailing Quakers, to cheers from the home supporters. Barely five minutes later, a set-piece directed by veteran midfielder Jack Edwards found its way to Tim Berridge, who slammed it past the Darlington goalie amid a tangle of fallen players to double Leamington’s lead.

In only 11 minutes, the Brakes were now well ahead: the players, seemingly, could scarcely believe it, celebrating at-length in a huddle amid long chants of “Leaaamington” from supporters. Peter Jameson, goalie for the visitors, struggled to his feet caked in mud, his box trampled to a marsh by the successive masses of players.

Having achieved such a fantastic opening to the game, it would be fair to say the Brakes switched off, retreating increasingly into their own half as the game continued. Ultimately, they paid for this complacency when Quaker Will Hatfield was able to shove the ball past Leamington’s defences at a range, cutting their lead in the final few minutes of the first half. Still, it was a much-vindicated team who came off at half-time, any lingering doubts over rustiness from two weeks of cancelled matches firmly banished.

Having been knocked around so decisively by table-dominating Chester, it was a much-needed win for the Brakes against a team ten points ahead of them

The second half began with much the same energy as the first, but as darkness and the cold set in, the match, much like your reporter’s fingers, seemed to lose feeling. There was a chaotic ten minutes of shots on the Quakers’ goal kickstarted, literally, by an apparent boot to the face of Leamington’s Ewan Williams. The Brakes won themselves a free kick as a result, which was saved by Jameson amid a messy bundling of players that briefly threatened to become an own goal. A subsequent shot whistled just over the top of the Darlington goal, and then a third was saved again, dangling the promise of an intense close to the match.

This, unfortunately, did not come to pass, with the teams instead chasing the ball up and down the pitch without much feeling of direction from either side. Substitutions came for both teams with the intent of breaking the deadlock, but this didn’t seem to achieve much.

The final few minutes saw an intensification from Darlington, and the brief prospect of an equaliser as the Brakes grappled to keepcontrol of the game. A startling degree of energy came not from any of the players, but from the Brakes’ manager, Paul Holleran, who began to scream instructions from his dugout after a free kick was fluffed by Leamington goalkeeper Callum Hawkins. Yet despite four minutes of extra time, the visitors’ search for a late draw ended in vain with the final whistle, and cheers from the Leamington supporters.

Having been knocked around so decisively by table-dominating Chester, it was a much-needed win for the Brakes against a team ten points ahead of them. Fans left the game in good spirits, helped by the Leamington fan shuttlebus scraping against the visitors’ coach as it negotiated leaving the car park. With fixtures approaching against table bottom-feeders Rushall Olympic and Marine, supporters can be optimistic for the Brakes’ bid to stay up this year.