Leamington are Birmingham Senior Cup champions for eighth time - with victory over Stourbridge

Hundreds of fans made the trip to Birmingham on Wednesday evening to see holders Brakes beat Stourbridge 3-1, retaining the trophy they won in 2019, when the prestigious County FA competition was last contested.

On another fantastic occasion for the club, Paul Holleran’s side were crowned champions for the eighth time after their 14th final appearance, making them the most successful non-league club in the history of the Senior Cup.

Devon Kelly-Evans put Leamington ahead after 26 minutes against the Southern League Premier Division Central side.

Dan Turner made it 2-0 just after the hour, but Stourbridge came back with a goal from an overhead kick for 2-1, setting up a tense finish with just 12 minutes left to play.

But James Mace – on his 420th appearance for club - made sure the cup returns to Harbury Lane.

“I think for any team going into a season, it’s hard to win trophies - especially when you move into the elite level,’ said delighted manager Holleran.

"So for us to win it again, in such an iconic stadium in front of such great followings, it was a special moment.

‘Everybody at the club has worked hard. It’s been tough for us - we’ve had to dig deep at times, so for it to almost finish like this is wonderful.

‘With the schedule we’ve had, the injuries we’ve had, there are lots of players who, if this was a normal game, you wouldn’t have played them .

"We were limited with choices because of injuries and cup tied players, so the players have had to play through it. I think the performance dipped a little bit but we just ran out of steam; but the will of the likes of James Mace, Steph Morley, Adam Walker, Joe Clarke, Dan Turner - the will of those boys to get the job done is phenomenal. The icing on the cake is Mace getting the third goal.”

Brakes complete their four-game week with trip to third-placed AFC Fylde for their final National League North game.

Two Bank Holiday wins saw them beat Curzon Ashton 2-1 on Saturday thanks to goals early in each half by Dan Turner and Joe Parker.

Then back home on Monday, they took the points against play-off hopefuls Kidderminster Harriers 2-0, with goals by Callum Gittings and U18/23 prospect Manny Olaloko on his debut.