Dour goalless draw is typical of Evesham games gone by

Typical of previous meetings with the Robins, Brakes’ pre-season visit to the Spiers and Hartwell Jubilee Stadium on Tuesday evening was a scrappy affair devoid of goalmouth action, writes Paul Edwards.

Leamington were bereft of several first-choice players, with Richard Batchelor, Paul McCone, Joe Magunda, Martyn Naylor and Lee Moore all unavailable.

Josh Green was also withdrawn at half -time after picking up a knock, while Paul Holleran used the match to cast an eye over Joe Halsall, who had played against Brakes for Stratford Town the previous Tuesday.

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A smart reaction save from Lewis Fenney was the highlight of the first 20 minutes, with the young keeper diverting Daniel Holloway’s drive on to the post.

Former New Windmill favourite Marcus Jackson’s curling effort proved more straightforward for Fenney.

After a short drinks break midway through the half, Brakes began to look more threatening, and when Matt Dodd escaped the attentions of two defenders on the left he cut the ball back for Jamie Towers to fire in a shot that was deflected behind. From the resulting corner, Liam Daly’s header was nodded just wide by an Evesham defender.

Bateman then made a fine save from a close-range effort from Towers before saving again down to his left from the same player.

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James Mace headed just wide from a raking cross by Stephan Morley, while Dodd was just unable to dig the ball out from under his feet when it fell to him in a good position inside the penalty area.

In terms of goalscoring chances the second half belonged to the home side. Carl Brown’s fierce drive from the edge of the area was pushed away well by Fenney, while Daly was forced to head two corners behind.

Second-half replacement Ricky Johnson had a shot late on blocked on the edge of the area and although John Bateman saw Sam Adkins’ follow up late, he did well to push the ball away.

Fenney then prevented Evesham from snatching a late winner, superbly pushing away a close-range drive.

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Evesham United: John Bateman, Jared Wilson, Richard Mansell, Marc Richards, Matt Sysum, Mitchell Botfield, Daniel Holloway, Marcus Jackson, Marcus Palmer, Linden Dovey, Michael Tambling. Substitutes: James Loney, Joel Powell, Warren Brookes, Matt Williams, Adam Millard, Josh Rills, Matt McGee, Carl Brown, Andre Rodriguez.

Brakes: Lewis Fenney, James Mace, Stephan Morley, Sam Adkins (15 Craig Owen, 74), Liam Daly, Josh Green (12 Lee Chilton, 46), Matt Dodd (14 Ricky Johnson, 65), Joe Halsall (Sam Adkins, 83), Stefan Moore, Jamie Towers, Alex Taylor (Matt Dodd, 73). Subs not used: 13 Tony Breeden, 16 Lee Moore.

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