County travelled to a new venue for their second pre-season challenge against a Leamington side who are one of the more upwardly mobile in the Southern League.  The Brakes are a reborn club who have replaced the earlier Leamington team who, after being Conference founder members in 1979, entered terminal decline in the following decade.  Their New Windmill Ground is an out of town stadium in the early stages of its development and is within sight of one of Warwickshire’s few remaining windmills.  While it offers little in the way of creature comforts as yet, it is pleasing to the eye and already has a sense of character absent from so many of those grounds apparently designed in Legoland.

Last season, the hosts missed the promotion to the Premier Division that should have been theirs by falling to a play-off defeat against a Stourbridge side who finished 11 points behind them in the table.  Ironically they were captained yesterday by striker Mark Bellingham who scored at more than a goal a game for Stourbridge before being injured in January.  This is the same player who played briefly for County in the dark days of Chris Price’s brief managerial reign when he failed to score.  Significantly, County are omitted from his former clubs in his programme pen picture!

The County squad is, like the Leamington stadium, in the early stages of its construction, and Dean Holdsworth started with a fairly orthodox 4-4-2 with only goalkeeper Glyn Thompson, defender Ian Hillier and striker Craig Hughes familiar to the travelling fans.  Former Redbridge duo Kevin Stephens and Dave Collins provided the full-back pairing with Hillier partnered by new signing Martyn Giles at the back.  For Giles it was his first playing action after a lengthy absence with a back injury, and though he only featured in the opening half, the County gaffer was able to confirm after the game that he had suffered no reaction to the injury.

Sporting the number seven jersey worn so often by Jason Bowen, and on the right of the midfield quartet was Kevin Cooper who promises to be a notable acquisition, while Leon Fisher, who twice featured for Maidenhead against County last term, lined up on the left.  Between those two were former Bath City midfielder Adie Harris, who skippered the side, and Anthony Church, a former Redbridge player who is a trialist at County.  Phil Walsh led the line with Hughes his strike partner.

There were shades of Spytty Park in the first half with a swirling wind not helping either side in their attempts to play a passing game, and there was little to arouse the crowd in terms of goalmouth action.  On the stroke of half-time, it was the County contingent who had cause to smile, with their first goal of the summer, although most of the discussion during the interval was around the identification of the scorer.  The left boot of DAVE COLLINS delivered a wickedly flighted free-kick from around 25 yards, and, while the slight deflection that directed it into the goal came from home defender Adam Cooper, he will not want his name to go into the record books as a County scorer!

Leamington, who had made one first half substitution, when Liam Reynolds suffered a knock, resisted the urge to ring the changes at the break while the County side who re-emerged from the dressing room contained five replacements.  Harris made way for Nathan Davies, while 41 times capped Jamaican international winger Paul Hall, whose signing for County was about to be announced, replaced Cooper on the right, with the former Wimbledon and Wolves wide player switching flanks to the exclusion of Fisher.   Player coach Steve Jenkins slotted in for Stephens at right-back while central defender Nick Skelton took over from Giles.  Danny Rose came on for Hughes in an attacking midfield role as County adopted a 4-2-3-1 pattern.

Deano continued to use the occasion to experiment with Paul Keddle making an early second half appearance for the impressive looking Collins before Chris Hartland replaced Phil Walsh midway through the half.  The final County change saw the unrelated trialist Matt Walsh take over from Cooper, and though Hartland was close with a rasping long range drive with four minutes remaining, it was typical pre-season friendly territory without a tackle in anger all afternoon, and about as scientific an insight into prospects for the real thing as a reading of tea leaves!

There was no doubt however that Leamington were County’s equals on the day and the match ended with a neat touch of symmetry when GUY SANDERS headed their 89th minute equaliser when County failed to clear a free-kick.  The home celebrations on the pitch and the terraces were slightly out of proportion to the significance of the occasion but, though results are not important at this stage of our preparations, a draw was a fair outcome.