Brakes set for Trophy clash after another fantastic win

Paul Holleran has enjoyed another busy but productive week for his Leamington team

Leamington turn their attention back to the Buildbase FA Trophy this weekend after a busy week culminated in a superb 2-1 success at FA Cup heroes Chorley on Tuesday night.

Brakes had a busy spell in the transfer market ahead of the clash in Lancashire, which was started with the departure of Sam Osborne to Vanarama National League North rivals AFC Fylde for an undisclosed fee.

Paul Holleran moved quickly to bring in reinforcements after that with Tyrell Hamilton arriving on a dual registration from Alvechurch before striker Dan Turner was also added to the squad from Hednesford Town.

And Turner’s impact was immediate as he came off the bench to win and then score the penalty which secured the 2-1 success at Chorley, who had reached the fourth round of the FA Cup just three days earlier after a 2-0 win over Derby County.

Brakes had taken the lead courtesy of Taylor Allen’s first goal for the club since joining on loan from Forest Green Rovers, only to be pegged back by Ollie Shenton’s strike.

However, Turner had the final say as Holleran’s team maintained a superb run which has seen them beaten just once in 15 matches in all competitions.

Brakes are now getting back on the road to Wembley as they head to Kettering Town in the fourth round of the Trophy tomorrow (Saturday).

But Holleran was understandably delighted after their impressive midweek outing.

“If you’re coming to Chorley on a Tuesday night any time over the last decade you’ve got to be strong, well organised,” the Brakes boss said.

“We’ve had some great battles with Chorley over the years, and they’ve usually come out on top at their place.

“We sort of knew what was coming, but while I certainly wouldn’t knock our work ethic I think there was an element of us not being smart enough in the first half.

“They were a lot smarter than us. Their system got on top of the game but we hung in there, got some good blocks in, worked hard.

“I thought in the second half we got a lot more compact throughout the game, managed to get to their midfield players, and take their deep lying midfielder out of the game a bit, and then we started to stretch them, we started to get the ball wide, and started to stretch them, and the game has spun around a little bit.

“Our work ethic was fantastic. It’s great Tuesday night for us again against a really really good side.

“You’ve got to enjoy the moment - one defeat in 15 games is a fantastic effort.

“The players and staff deserve massive credit because this is a really tough league to do that in.”

And on Turner’s immediate impact, Holleran added: “You probably couldn’t write it could you really?

“I think we all saw in the 20 minutes he was on that he gives us a different dimension and I think, possibly, as hard working and as organised as we were, we probably just lacked that little bit of something that he added when he came on.

“He’s had a similar journey to a lot of lads we’ve had here and it shows a lot of character and belief because you can get a few knocks along the way.

“We’re really looking forward to working with Dan. It’s a great start for him, but that’s all it is.”