Solihull Moors 0 Leamington 0: Brakes can draw plenty of positives from their Solihull Moors stalemate

The pre-match chatter was always going to centre around the departure of Stefan Moore, but Ricky Johnson and Danny Newton, who made his debut after coming in the opposite direction from Brackley Town, both put in a tremendous amount of work as they gave the miserly Moors defence, the most watertight in the league, plenty to think about during the afternoon.

Leamington looked eager to show that they would not be affected by the loss of their top scorer and took the game to their hosts in the early stages, Solihull keeper Jasbir Singh coming off his line well to snatch a good cross from Matt Dodd as Johnson closed in.

The new attacking pairing looked eager to try and develop an understanding early on and Newton almost latched on to a flick-on from Johnson on the edge of the box, but was flagged offside.

The striker then snatched at a shot when the ball unexpectedly slipped through to him on the edge of area, the ball flying high and wide.

There was a similar outcome when Ryan Higgins let fly on the edge of a crowded penalty area.

Johnson picked up possession well inside the penalty area but his turn and shot was well blocked by a defender.

A cheap free-kick awarded just outside the Leamington box led to the first shot on target from either side, Ryan Beswick’s well-struck effort forcing Tony Breeden into a smart save down at his near post.

Stephan Morley tried his luck from distance but his shot was well wide of the target, while Matt Birley blazed over the bar after charging unchallenged through the centre just before half-time.

The second half began in lively fashion with play switching from end to end.

Craig Owen’s low curling strike was watched all the way by Singh, while Breeden saved from Gary Birch following a corner.

Singh was called into action again when he saved Joe Magunda’s deflected shot from the edge of the box following more good work from Newton on the left.

Breeden was the busier of the two goalkeepers, however, doing well to punch away a fierce free-kick from the right, Magunda helping the ball clear.

Michael Nottingham shot over the bar as Marcus Bignot’s side looked to turn the screw late on as they had done in the reverse fixture at the New Windmill Ground.

Breeden was alert to the danger when Moors substitute Aron Wint was played clear, tearing off his line to make a timely challenge.

The hosts saw a penalty claim waved away as the game moved into the closing stages and Leamington broke quickly downfield, Lee Moore finding Newton on the left and his cross whistling across goal and just past the far post.

Birch headed over the bar and Wint also missed the target with a late effort, while Dominic Langdon snuffed out the chance of a late winner for Brakes when he intervened to smuggle Moore’s cross away from the advancing Johnson.

solihull moorS: Jasbir Singh, Junior English, Jordan Gough, Reece Fleet, Michael Nottingham, Dominic Langdon, Jay Denny (Aron Wint, 63), Gary Birch, Omar Bogle, Ryan Beswick, Matt Birley. Subs not used: Peter Till, Darren Acton, Darryl Knights, Michael Taylor.

brakes: Tony Breeden, Ryan Higgins, Stephan Morley, Joe Magunda (David McNamee, 74), Liam Daly, James Mace, Matt Dodd, Craig Owen, Danny Newton (Will Green, 82), Ricky Johnson, Lee Moore. Subs not used: Josh Green, Luke Connolly, Lewis Fenney.