Leamington’s poor start to the season continued after defeat to Needham Market in a match mired by red cards

After Leamington’s last gasp draw at home to Redditch United midweek, they would have been hoping to build on that and put some more points on the board. However, that seemed rather unlikely after just two minutes, when Ryan Miles headed home from just a few yards after a well-executed corner routine.

To their credit, Leamington responded well to the early deficit with Callum Cockerill-Mollet’s free kick only being half cleared to Owen Farmer who narrowly missed the target, with his effort striking the post in the process, via a deflection. But it did not take long after that for Leamington to find an equaliser, with Chris Wreh scoring a diving header that bounced into the ground and over the keeper.
Astonishingly, the visitors were gifted the opportunity to go ahead again after Nat Kelly played a pass across to Josh Flanagan who had not anticipated it and thus was off balance, leading Miles to sneak in and round Brian Okonkwo to put Needham in front again.
Leamington were not deterred by this, however, and responded in a comparable manner to how they did after going behind previously. Josh Tonge and Farmer both went close to finding an equaliser before the first half ended, but Leamington could not quite find the required edge. Wreh was on the end of another headed chance, this time just missing the target.

The second half continued the same way, with Leamington looking very unfortunate to not have won a penalty after beating the keeper to a loose ball.

The second half continued the same way, with Leamington looking very unfortunate to not have won a penalty after beating the keeper to a loose ball. The referee deemed it insufficient contact, but James Bradbrook in the Needham goal looked very fortuitous. Farmer went marginally wide again after an incisive Leamington attack, and a few minutes later he found himself missing another huge opportunity for Leamington to draw level. However, the biggest moment of the half occurred when Wreh’s flick-on found Tonge in behind, causing Needham’s captain Keiran Morphew to haul him down, in what was correctly seen as a professional last man foul, resulting in a red card.

The game became markedly scrappier after the red card, which suited Needham as they solidified defensively, even after going a man light. Needham actually went closer to scoring, with a goal line clearance from Flanagan stopping a certain goal which would have surely sealed Leamington’s fate.

Shortly after, a slight tussle between Wreh and Kyle Hammond resulted in Wreh losing his cool and throwing an arm towards Hammond’s neck.

Shortly after, a slight tussle between Wreh and Kyle Hammond resulted in Wreh losing his cool and throwing an arm towards Hammond’s neck. That moment certainly took Leamington’s momentum and left them looking lost without their goalscorer. As Leamington chased an equaliser, the game became more stretched with Needham substitute Marcel Lewis forcing a big save from Okonkwo, which just about kept Leamington in the game. Unlike Tuesday, there was not to be a grand finale for Leamington to snatch a result, in a match that was symptomatic of a side struggling to find consistency and form.