Holleran gets his point across after Avenue loss

Leamington boss Paul Holleran has warned his side to learn from the mistakes of last season ahead of the bank holiday double-header.
Bradford Park Avenues Ryan Qualter gets to grips with Stefan Moore during Brakes 2-1 defeat. Picture: Sally EllisBradford Park Avenues Ryan Qualter gets to grips with Stefan Moore during Brakes 2-1 defeat. Picture: Sally Ellis
Bradford Park Avenues Ryan Qualter gets to grips with Stefan Moore during Brakes 2-1 defeat. Picture: Sally Ellis

Two quickfire strikes from Bradford Park Avenue earned the West Yorkshire side all three points last Saturday after Brakes had taken a first-half lead through summer signing Jordan Goddard.

And, after seeing his side turn a number of draws into defeats in the opening part of their maiden Conference campaign, Holleran is keen to extol the merits of accumulating points when you can.

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“We played well against the elements for 15 to 20 minutes after the interval [at Bradford] and had two golden opportunities,” said Holleran.

“They scored two good strikes but our naivety came out. We set out to be winning every game but we went a bit gung-ho. In cases like that you take your point.”

Leamington were undone by two fine pieces of skill at Horsfall Stadium, but Holleran said you have to expect that type of quality, with so many players in the Conference North boasting extensive league experience.

And he believes it is the fine line which separates success from failure at Conference level.

“We’ve had three wonder strikes against us.

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“Danny Forrest with a 35-yarder for Guiseley, and at Bradford a super header at the back post and Scott Kerr, a player who hads made over 200 Football League appearances, with another great strike.

“But at this level of football, teams punish you for the little mistakes and we’ve not punished them. We need to be more ruthless in both boxes.”

The games do not get any easier for Brakes with tomorrow’s home derby with Brackley being followed by a trip to Lowestoft on BankHoliday Monday.

Lowestoft lie in third after an unbeaten start to the season, but after matching leaders Guiseley for long periods and beating Hednesford, Holleran sees no reason to fear them.

“It’s a tough weekend but we’ll take a lot of heart from our performances.

“We just need to turn the performances into points.”