Paul Holleran's first game in charge saw Brakes twice take the lead before coming away with a point from unbeaten Cambridge City in an enthralling Zamaretto Premier Division clash at Milton Road.
In an end-to-end opening spell, Brakes had the first clear-cut chance with Mark Bellingham seeing his shot blocked after home keeper Zac Barrett had failed to cling on to a Luke Corbett effort.
Stuart Herlihy saw a header go wide and then had a s
hot saved before Cambridge came closest to breaking the deadlock.
A cross from the left was headed back into the goalmouth by Steve Gentle and with John Frendo and Guy Sanders challenging for the ball, Brakes were to breathe a sigh of relief as the ball cannoned back off the angle of bar and post.
Tom Pepper shot well over the bar before Brakes moved in front in somewhat fortunate circumstances.
Credit must go to Bellingham for his perseverance in chasing a through ball that he did not look likely to win.
However, Barrett completely missed his clearance, leaving Brakes' leading scorer to find an empty net from the edge of the area.
Cambridge thought they had levelled soon after, but were thwarted by an assistant referee's flag.
However, they were only behind for six minutes as Steve Gentle showed similar predatory instincts to Bellingham, pouncing to smash the ball in from close range after Brakes' defence had failed to clear their lines.
Leamington provided the perfect response, regaining the advantage within two minutes.
Bellingham turned provider, feeding Corbett with a precise through ball and, despite having two defenders for company, Corbett showed his strength to slip his shot past the advancing Barrett.
Cambridge came out all guns blazing after the interval.
Tony Burke played in Gentle on the right and his cross found Frendo, whose shot was well saved by debutant keeper Tony Breeden.
The loose ball was hacked clear but it was to be a temporary reprieve as Cambridge equalised in the 47th minute, Gentle climbing highest to head home a James Krause cross.
Frendo was unfortunate to see his diving header zip the wrong side of the post, as the Lilywhites continued to press.
However, Brakes rode the storm, and gradually eased their way back into the game.
Corbett saw a shot deflected wide and Herlihy put another effort past the post.
Breeden demonstrated why he has been bought to the club with a superb double save, parrying an inital shot from Dave Theobald before stopping Frendo's close-range follow-up.
A dangerous cross from Ashley Fuller evaded everyone in the box before Brakes came the closest to finding a winner, Corbett clattering the crossbar with a header from James Husband's cross.
Half-hearted appeals for a penalty from the home side were waved away by referee Sean Feerick before Laurie Stewart headed over from a good position.
A late corner for Brakes saw new player/coach Richard Beale have two shots blocked, but both sides deserved to take something from the game.
