Leamington Brakes U15 gold 1 vs 3 Leamington Hibs Juniors

Another full turn out for Hibs boded well on a crisp, sunny morning against the current league leaders.

We started very well creating two good chances in the first five minutes, first Jermaine just shot wide and then Tariq converted well, after good work by Lucas on the left hand wing to give Hibs an early lead. We continued to create chances, most notably when excellent strength from Jayden called for a strong save from the keeper with Dan’s follow up just clearing the bar.

Brakes started to impose themselves a bit more on the game and on 25 minutes they rounded off a quality move to draw level. Five minutes later Beau hit the upright after a break forward but the first half ended level at 1:1.

What was noticeable, as it had been in the last league game against Attleborough, was that the referee was unwilling to accept much physicality in the game. This hampered Hibs way more than it did Brakes, with multiple free kicks being awarded against us and regularly breaking up the game, and this pattern continued throughout the 2nd half.

Seven minutes into the 2nd half Hibs scored a fantastic team goal. Great skill and hold up play by Tariq led to a killer through ball by Dan which Jayden converted clinically. As a parent that’s the sort of quality football I love to come and watch the lads play on a Sunday morning.

Other than the one time Brakes broke through our defence and shot wide they didn’t create any other good chances in the 2nd half and credit should be given to our midfield and defensive players. We created several good chances to put the game to rest, Jermaine having a shot cleared off the line and Tariq having a good effort saved. Then on 77 minutes an individual piece of skill by Tariq gave Hibs a comfortable cushion which we held onto until the final whistle.

Special mention for an excellent game from Ollie who won nearly every challenge he made and commanded the midfield.

On a side note from the game, it was roughly 12 months ago that we lost to Brakes 5:1 in a cup game. Whilst we have added a couple of strong players in the last 12 months, I think the turnaround in results is indicative of how much everyone in the team has progressed in this period and how positive the current attitude is amongst the lads.