By Roger Vincent

Church Celebration for Battling Brakes and Ton-Up Thommo

Brakes turned recent form on its head with a superb display of battling football to take away Alvechurch's unbeaten record. After a goalless first half, when Alvechurch could have taken the lead with better finishing, Blake scored in the 51st. But Brakes conceded a penalty in the 67th which was converted to set up a grandstand finish that could have gone either way. With 90 minutes on the clock Timms nodded home the winner though there were some anxious moments in added time. Steve "Thommo" Thompson, making his 100th appearance for Brakes in all competitions excluding friendlies, could not have asked for a better tribute.

A good following, probably somewhat more than Alvechurch's estimated 150, were pessimistic before this game. Without a league win in over a month and three scoreless, league matches in a row, Leamington, still without several key players through injury, went to "the Church", who were the only unbeaten team in the division.

Blake put in a powerful shot from distance in the 6th minute but Alvechurch looked dangerous and a flurry in front of the Brakes' goal with the defence struggling to clear the ball did not augur well. Mort's hamstring was playing up and he was replaced by the impressive Hanrahan in the 20th. The current attacking problems were demonstrated again in the 23rd when a clever back-heel by Timms allowed Webb to cross into the goalmouth only for the well-placed Blake to fluff a chance he will take when confidence returns after a long lay-off through injury.

In the 25th an Alvechurch attacker missed a sitter from in front of goal and Day got down well to save the situation only minutes later. Brakes made some promising forays into an Alvechurch defence that did not look invulnerable but, despite a Webb header and a run at goal from the same player, the killer punch was missing. In the 43rd Alvechurch broke at speeed when a Brakes' attack broke down and missed another golden opportunity. At this point the feeling was that if Alvechurch scored Brakes would find it hard to come back.

Then, in the 51st minute, Brakes were ahead 0-1. A good free kick from the touchline by Gregory was headed on by Webb and Blake drove it hard into the roof of the net. Now Alvechurch looked rattled as Brakes battled for every ball and unsettled whatever rhythm they had. Burgess was a revelation, definitely my man of this match, with his speed, skill and, most importantly, his football brain dictating Brakes' recovery. In the 66th the powerful Webb just missed with a strong drive skimming the intersection of bar and post.

But in the 67th, with Brakes well on top, Alvechurch broke away and a forward was brought down in the box for an undisputed penalty to make it 1-1. Now Brakes were on the rack as a resurgent Alvechurch sniffed victory. In the 76th a forward broke the offside trap but scuffed his shot with only Day to beat. But Brakes showed a resilience and battling spirit that they have lacked lately and, as they competed for every ball, Alvechurch's heads went down and Brakes regained the ascendancy.

Shearsby headed over from close range in the 83rd and it looked as if the last chance had gone. The influential Walker went off with a hamstring problem in the 84th to be replaced by Rowland, not a good time to reform the defence and Day, also struggling with an injury, was called upon to save Brakes again in the 86th when he charged down another dangerous attack. Then, with many fans prepared to settle for a draw, a good result and probably fair over 90 minutes, Brakes were rewarded for a superb, battling display. With the clock just ticking past the 90th minute Timms jumped to make it 1-2 and secure a deserved but unlikely victory with three minutes of added time remaining when Alvechurch could have saved the match.

Leamington: Myles Day, Jonny Burgess, Simon Walker (Mark Rowland 84), Tom Saunders, Andy Gregory, Glen Webb, Nick Mort (Chris Hanrahan 20), Barry Shearsby, Josh Blake, Darren Timms, Steve Thompson [Capt.]
Subs Not Used: James Harri

Team News: Good - Tom Sidwell fit but rested and Paul Nicholls back training and should be available for selection Saturday week (30th). Not good - Ben Adams setback last Thursday in training, Simon Walker and Nick Mort now added to injury list with hamstring problems and Brian Agar still struggling; Baz Shearsby has had his suspension reduced to four weeks but it starts 2 December.