Leamington boss praises players after late goal rescues draw at Chester

The Brakes trailed in stoppage time following Declan Week’s opener early in the second half.

But the visitors kept plugging away and levelled in the dying seconds when Louis Hall fired home off the keeper’s legs.

“It was a super point,” said Holleran. “And a deserved point I think. I thought the first half was cagey. Callum (McIntyre, Chester manager) has done a brilliant job. We came here today, and you could feel that Chester were together. They’re a good side. The crowd was electric as well - it was a good non league atmosphere.

“The first half wouldn’t have been one for the purists, but we were having a good spell in the Delcan Weeks has put a few in against us from 25 yards over the years, especially when he was at Kiddy, so I just think that when it’s dropped to him we need to do better getting to the ball quickly.

“But, it’s a great goal, so there’s two sides to the coin with that one. There’s mine with my defensive head on and then there’s that one, but it’s an interesting one from that point. We’ve responded well, even before the substitutions.

“We’ve had a couple of good chances - the header and when Devon went through one on one - a great save by the keeper that was.

“The pleasing thing for me was when we made the subs we changed the system, and we’ve gone again against a good side.

“We’ve pushed them back, and correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think that apart from the goal that Declan scored they've had many other shots on target, whereas we’ve had 3, 4, 5? The goal came from an overload and the subs have made an impact - we’ve changed the system and they’ve made an impact.

“Listen, we all want to win football matches but sometimes you have to look at it realistically, and with that performance, the character again to score another late goal - it ticks a lot of boxes.

“It was a real bonus for us today to get Dan Turner back on the pitch. We’ve tread carefully with him, and the moment he came on he gave us a different dimension. I think with Jack (Edwards) and Dan, they’ve had to drop deep in the final third in front of their defensive five unit.

‘I’m probably more pleased with that point than any away from home because they’re a good side, and the change of system and change of players has caused them problems. It’s lovely for Louis (Hall). He’s done great for us since he’s come in and it was a good finish, like his goal against Banbury. I was glad it fell to him.

‘It’s another good day for us on our travels. We’ve got a few home games now, and if we can pick up a few wins these away points are even better aren’t they?’

Leamington begin their FA Trophy campaign at the weekend when they host Bishop’s Stortford.