Brakes were open to a thrashing, admits Holleran

Leamington went down 5-1 at Stourbridge on Saturday to bring the number of goals conceded in their last three away league fixtures to 11.

Having conceded just ten goals in their first 14 games of the campaign, Holleran admitted the sudden defensive collapse was alarming.

And he said it may mean curbing his side’s attacking instincts in order to get their title push back on track.

“We need to take stock,” said Holleran. We’re obviously doing something wrong.

“The home record speaks for itself and we are able to play a bit more openly.

“But we didn’t get it right on Saturday. A couple of big decisions went against us and we gave away a couple of sloppy goals. But at the end of the day we weren’t good enough anyway.

“Maybe too many players got carried away with the 6-1 win over Bedworth and were guilty of playing the occasion and not following the gameplan.

“We were a little bit open and there were too many voids between players.”

Holleran was full of praise for Brakes’ quickfire response, which saw them come away from Barwell with a hard-fought League Cup win on Tuesday.

Lee Chilton scored the only goal of the game for a Leamington side bolstered by the addition of Brackley trio Michael Corcoran, Tom Sharpe and Elliot Sandy.

Their appearances followed hot on the heels of Saints goalkeeper Laurie Walker’s arrival on a short-term loan and Holleran said the link-up was of benefit to both clubs.

“We’ve not got a big squad and we needed to rest the players with niggles.

“Me and Jon Brady have been friends for a long time and you’ve got to use the tools at your disposal.

“We were able to bring in three top players who needed minutes on the pitch and they put in a really good shift.

“After Saturday’s embarrassment it was nice to get back out there against a competitive Barwell side and the clean sheet was a big thing.

“It was a good response and the hardcore of the team was our team.”

Brakes entertain Frome Town tomorrow (3pm).