Hednesford 1 Brakes 2: Moore, then Moore and how Brakes fans like it as Pitmen finally humbled

Stefan Moore was once again the scourge of the Pitmen, finally springing the offside trap that had frustrated Leamington several times over the course of the evening to chip a delightful winner from distance late on and send the vocal band of travelling supporters on the Wimblebury Terrace wild.

The returning striker had almost opened the scoring with the game in its infancy, latching on to a ball down the left to slide a low shot past the advancing Dan Crane only for the ball to whistle agonisingly wide of the far post.

The home side saw a free-kick blocked on the edge of the area before Brakes seized the initiative with around 20 minutes played.

Danny Newton whipped a cross into the box under pressure on the left. The ball appeared to have curved out of play but with no whistle forthcoming Crane pushed it on to the bar in his attempts to save and it dropped perfectly for Lee Moore to slam into the back of the net from the resultant melee in the six-yard box.

Games between these two sides are always feisty affairs and this one was no different, with referee Marvin Amphlett flashing the yellow card five times in the first half alone.

Joe Magunda appeared to be struggling after going down twice but fortunately was cleared to continue.

Neil Collett continued his confident form from the opening game, dashing from his line to snatch the ball off the toes of Jamie Ashmore as the marauding wing-back made a beeline for goal on the right, but the first half was otherwise devoid of other incidents of note.

Leamington opened the second half well, playing some neat football in the first ten minutes.

Stephan Morley’s fierce low free-kick was deflected towards goal by Kris Taylor, forcing his Crane to push the ball behind for a corner.

However, the home side found their almost inevitable second wind and though the Keys Park support seemed somewhat subdued compared to previous visits, their team began to turn the screw as they subjected the visitors to their first concerted spell of pressure.

Leamington were fortunate to escape when Francino Francis struck the inside of the post with a stooping header, while Paul McCone headed wide from a corner.

Ashbourne was finding more space on the right and tried his luck from distance only to see Collett save again.

Substitute Marvin Robinson then hit the bar after McCone had flicked on a cross before Newton headed a rare chance wide for Brakes at the other end from Stefan Moore’s cross.

Moore had been having a running battle with McCone all evening and managed to muscle his way past his former team-mate to go in on goal, but Crane got down well to deny him.

The travelling support continued to back their team although they feared the worst when Danny Glover powered in a header from a left-wing free-kick with ten minutes to play to level the scores.

The expected avalanche continued, substitute Alex Melbourne hitting the woodwork for a third time for Hednesford before another shot hit a Brakes defender and spun behind.

Keeper Crane ventured forward for a couple of corner kicks before Leamington delivered the hammer blow.

Latching on to a ball down the left, Stefan Moore outpaced his marker before lifting a fantastic shot over the advancing Crane from 30 yards.

It was a spectacular way to seal a first win of the season for Paul Holleran’s men and they will travel to Bradford Park Avenue tomorrow in high spirits.