By Old and Gold

Brilliant Bagar Bags 3 as Brakes Go Top

The dark rain-laden clouds didn't help; the lights were on outside the changing rooms and I had already returned to my car for my flash equipment (no, not the raincoat) as there wasn't enough natural light for a photograph. The kick-off was 6:45 and it was bad even before the game started. Also, with 10 minutes to the start, there was no sign of Earlswood.

Technically this was their home game. Had they forgotten their request to switch venues? Were they, even now, warming up in another field far away? But no, trouble on the roads, and we finally got going 10 minutes late with an agreed reduction to 40 minutes each way.

After 4 minutes Brian Agar put us 1 up with Earlswood still looking travel-stiff. I noted their no. 9 who was extremely tall, very thin and ran all over the pitch. If we'd put a light on his head we could have played the full 90 minutes. Bagar potted his second on 24 minutes with a beautiful flick and close on half-time, i.e. 40 minutes, Josh was brought down in the box and Daz Timms stroked home the penalty with studied ease.

It all seemed pretty straightforward but, with memories of the last game when we lost a 3-0 lead, nobody was relaxing yet. The good news was that Brakes were trying to play football, stroking the ball along the ground. The bad news, however, was that the pitch, though chain-harrowed and cut and as good as it's going to be until it's dug up in the close season and replaced, did not play true. There were some awful bobbles and resulting mis-hits from both sides.

But one man stood apart in the silky skills department and that was Bagar. Always inventive and intelligent it was his just reward when he stroked the ball in the corner for Brakes' 4th and his hat-trick. I'm not sure he gets to keep the ball though as Earlswood seemed to have developed a penchant for hoofing it into the farmer's field from where we we're not allowed to retrieve it so we must be running out. Was this a ploy to save the game?

On came the subs soon after including, recovered from a serious hamstring injury, "The Return of the Rugrat" to much applause. Josh Blake, who had been a powerful force up front all evening and a constant threat without getting a return headed the 5th on 71 minutes. I just about had time to see Beefie make a good save, probably his first, real save of the match, before darkness closed in and the final 5 minutes were lost, to me anyway.

In truth Earlswood were never really in the game but you have to admire a side at this level who, though outplayed, never stopped trying. Oh, and I nearly forgot (it's been such a long time coming), with Rugby Town having no mid-week game that puts us top of the league by 1 point with 3 games in hand; and we could remain there till the end of the season. Now there's a thought.

Leamington Paul O'Keeffe; Ian Billington; Stuart Hepburn (Will Payne 70m); Liam McGovern (Mark Simmonds 63m); Adam Ball; Darren Timms; Glen Webb; Barry Shearsby; Josh Blake; Brian Agar (captain); Steve Thompson (Kevin Ariss 57m)