Match Report | Leamington (H)
The Yeltz refused to slam the brakes on Leamington as Jason Cowley’s 50th goal for the club earns a stoppage time victory
Brief Overview
The hosts took an early 18th minute lead through ex-Yeltz midfielder Kyle Finn. His fifth league goal of the season arrived from confusion on the edge of the box on our part, which allowed Kai Tonge to square the ball across. The visitors went two goals up two minute before stoppage time, as a Callum Cockerill-Mollett cross was turned in by Kyle Belmote.
We got a goal back on the cusp on added time, through a Josh Bailey cross to Samson Hewett, and the second half saw us get a very early equaliser through Jason Cowley’s first on the night. The match ventured into the first of five additional minutes at the end of the 90, where Cowley scored his second of the game, rounding Brian Okonkwo a second time and scoring past the desperate attempted clearance of Nat Kelly on the line.
Match Report
It was our fifth Tuesday night outing in a row, and fourth at The Grove. The previous four had seen just the one win, and that was all the way back with the first against Rushall Olympic at the end of last month. That was not the only statistic we didn’t have in our favour, as we faced a Leamington side who the Yeltz have failed to beat in 17 years. The last seven meetings had gone the way of the Brakes, but in all fairness, we were probably second favourites in those contests.
We made just the one change from the weekend’s win at Evesham United. Jim Kellermann went off in the 34th minute in Worcestershire, and was replaced in the XI by Josh Bailey. The Yeltz number 17 was forced to withdraw from the matchday squad due to his injury, while Callum Ebanks & Lewis Ison were also absent. The away side hadn’t played for a week, and made three changes from defeat to Rushall a week ago. Cam Eubank, Kyle Belmonte & Byron Wilson came in for Chris Wreh, Rajdeep Palit & Nathan Kabeya who all dropped out of the squad.
The first chance of the game fell to the visitors. A combination of passes between Iddriss Fuseini & Cam Eubank just outside our half, led to Owen Farmer latching onto the ball. He went for an audacious effort, which was dragged wide. Our first shot of the game came 14 minutes in, but Dan Platt was nearly called into action just before. A A Callum Cockerill-Mollet throw in found Kyle Belmonte, who saw a long range strike swerve well wide of Platt’s goal. Up the other end, Vanylson Silva went for goal, but it was straight at Brakes loanee Brian Okonkwo.
The Leamington opener was deserved on the balance of play in the early stages, and Scott Easterlow’s side nearly doubled the lead three minutes later. It was the same link-up for the goal that created this chance, as Kai Tonge drifted past his marker down the right, picked out Kyle Finn, whose high and awkward shot was tipped onto the roof of the net by Platt. A change in momentum was very much required, because the away side, with two wins in their opening 13 league games, had their tails up.
Our best chance of the game arrived on 23 minutes, as a Ryan Wynter throw in found Ben Cassidy. The latter passed on one more to Cowley, who saw Hewett in space on the edge of the box. The Kiddy loanee had bodies in front of him, so went to bend a shot into the corner, and almost succeeded with his task. It was Hewett who started our next passage of play to goal, as he picked out Dan Meredith on the right just before the half hour mark. The fullback sat Cockerill-Mollett down, before finding Hewett whose shot at goal was blocked.
We continued to test Okonkwo, but until Hewett’s late first half goal, failed to concern the Brakes keeper. A Meredith cut inside saw him flash a shot at the West Brom loanee, before a Cowley header from close range was also straight at Okonkwo. Leamington’s second goal was against the run of play, but what they did do in the first 45, was be clinical. From our perspective, it was two first half goals in the opposition net at The Grove since the No9 Derby home defeat in March. Crucially we deservedly didn’t go two down at the break, and it was a beautifully crafted goal to lift our heads up at the break.
The second 45 saw us score from our first shot of the half, and it was after the hour mark when the game really livened up. There was a period from minutes 60-70 in particular that was what most people would call ‘a great advert for non-league’. A Milan Butterfield shot was blocked by the wall from a free-kick, a Cowley shot curled just wide, a Finn 1v1 was saved by Platt, and a Silva effort was nearly placed into the bottom right.
The Yeltz winger, Silva, had another shot at goal on 74 minutes, after ex-Yeltz defender Nat Kelly had no choice but to bring an end to a brilliant Cassidy maraud forward in the middle of the pitch. Just outside the area, the set piece was taken on by Silva, who put the ball just over the crossbar. Yeltz free-kicks became a feature in the second half, and another was awarded five minutes later. This one ws taken by Hewett, flicked on by Cowley, but saved by Okonkwo. The Brakes incidentally went up the opposite end of the turf, and Finn nearly nestled the ball into the bottom left.
The away side had chances of their own to win the game, and after a Koby Arthur pass to fellow substitute Andre Wright saw a shot blocked by Matt Preston, the visitors big chance arrived. There was 87 minutes on the clock when the Brakes won their first corner of the game. Taken by Finn, it was placed onto he head of midfielder Fuseini, whose header drifted just wide. The difference in the game was Cowley, and it was his 50th goal in 66 club appearances that gave us our first second half stoppage time goal since January. It was also the first time we had gained three points from a losing position in a match since early April.
Attendance: 1,003
Man of the Match: Dan Meredith (chosen by Mapei)
Teams
Yeltz: Dan Platt (GK), Ben Cassidy, Matt Preston, Ryan Wynter (C), Todd Parker, Jason Cowley, Vanylson Silva, Milan Butterfield, Josh Bailey, Samson Hewett (Neo Dobson 84’), Dan Meredith
Unused Subs: Gael Mfuamba (GK), Rob Evans, Ty Barnett & Patrick Wood
Leamington: Brian Okonkwo (GK), Callum Cockerill-Mollett, Nat Kelly, Cam Eubank (Jahdahn Fridye-Harper 61’), Kai Tonge, Kyle Finn, Owen Farmer (Koby Arthur 80’), Iddriss Fuseini, Josh Flanagan, Kyle Belmonte (Andre Wright 74’), Byron Wilson
Unused Subs: Jacob Humphries (GK) & Luke Pennell