Attendance: 203

Team: Morris (Sidhu); Thompson, Rowland, Crabtree, Dix (Scott), Burgess; Webb, Mort, Shearsby (Hanrahan); Timms (Stacey), Nicholls (Blake)

Goals: Dix, Timms, Webb

BRAKES GOAL OF THE SEASON COMPETITION STARTS EARLY

Another home pre-season fixture, and Brakes are pulling in crowds for warm up games that SOME teams can only dream of getting during the season.

Those of you who gave this one a miss, you missed a couple of cracking goals, and a top opposition goalie, who even laughed at his own mistakes. Well, you would laugh if you had just told your defenders to 'watch the runner', only to be caught groping at thin air, as a free kick from all of 40 yards, from Andy Dix, of all people, sails past you into the top corner. Add to that a well-worked first goal, finished by Darren Timms steaming onto a through ball to slot past the keeper; and a quite brilliant third from Glenn Webb, probably one of the best goals of a season which hasn't even started yet!

The approach play was superb, and ended with Webb dancing past a few challenges before planting a right-foot shot low past the keeper. Paul Nicholls also made some useful runs, and had a shot flash past the post.

Brakes had started sluggishly, with a Buckingham side containing a number of big six-footers trying an attack direct from the kick off. Richard Morris started his first game of pre-season, and was, for the most part, untroubled, other than colliding with an attacker when coming out to collect the ball. Leamington certainly finished the half well on top, with the new lads fitting in seamlessly, as did the youth team lads.

As it was precipitating, we camped in the Harbury Lane End for the first half, and we engaged in some quality banter with Buckingham's keeper. He had a sense of humour, which helps when you're a visiting goalkeeper at the New Windmill! And he certainly needed it, as when he failed to prevent Dix's long range free kick from sailing into the top corner, he was serenaded with a chorus of 'There's only one David Seaman'!

Although some times, as is the norm, the players were prone to giving the ball away in good positions, they also kept it well, with some good build up play, the best of which resulted in Webb's outstanding goal.

Second half bought the expected changes, and unfortunately, Umbi Sidhu conceded one goal, to a forward who had already missed several easy chances, so I suppose the law of averages meant he had to put one away eventually! We got quite bored up on the North Bank, as most of the play was confined to the other end of the field, without the Brakes defence coming under any real pressure. A comfortable win in the end, sent the 203 crowd home happy.