Brakes travelled to Sutton Coldfield after a good result against Southam, hoping for more of the same.
As the game got going it was hard to see quite how Romulus were above Leamington in the table. Although a well-organised side, when Leamington played football as we all know they can, the opposition looked very ordinary.
It came as a bit of a surprise when the home side actually took the lead mid-way through the first half. Having not threatened the Leamington goal in any form, a speculative shot from 20 yards by Hawker caught Day napping in the Leamington goal. It was a soft goal to give away, and unlike all the previous goals Day has conceded, the blame for this one lies squarely on his shoulders.
Going a goal down is a bit of a Leamington speciality. But, the team did not lose their shape nor their determination. Brakes carried on attacking, but on each occasion the final cutting pass was missing. Nicholls, on a rich vein of form at the moment, managed to break through, and with three attackers against two defenders, he elected to shoot, just missing the far post.
Still Leamington didn't panic, and the equaliser duly came. Again it was Nicholls who burst through, and his scuffed shot was parried by the goalkeeper. His strike partner for the day, Brian Agar, was alert enough to put the ball away after 37 minutes. The 100 or so travelling fans upped the singing for the rest of the half.
Agar went close again two minutes after scoring. Chasing down an underhit back-pass, the ball was hit against his "midriff" by the keeper and rolled agonisingly past the near post. Agar collapsed in a heap, water no doubt in his eyes. The North Bank erupted with chants of "He nearly scored with his knackers".
Amazingly, Leamington scored again right on half-time. Good trickery from Thompson on the left, saw a superb cross floated over into the area. Nicholls leapt and aimed a header for the far corner. The goalkeeper and the crowd watched as the ball first hit the crossbar, and then the post, before crossing the line and nestling in the back of the net.
Sadly, the second half was very much a damp squib compared to the first. Leamington had a good call for a penalty which the referee dismissed, but that was very much the sum total of the goalmouth action. The second half will be remembered more for the outrageous refereeing decisions than the football. Pretty much every free-kick seemed to be given the wrong way.
Brakes held out till the end, and the victory was greeted by a round of applause from the away fans. The Romulus goalkeeper, magnanimous in defeat, applauded the travelling crowd too. A deserved win against an average team in all truthfulness.
| NBB Man-of-the-Match: Brian Agar | 
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Match report by Simesy