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| Kieran Charnock - gifted Leamington a goal after two minutes |
By Chris Larkin
Saturday afternoon saw Leamington and County share the spoils, in a 1-1 draw with a glut of chances and even more time wasting.
The result could have been so different had County not shot themselves in the foot within two minutes but the draw does show that County are showing some of the old, to use a Jim Gannon phrase, 'bouncebackability' that made them so tough to beat in the old days.
It also, of course, kept Alan Lord's unbeaten record intact.
There was no room in the starting line-up for new boy Tunji Moses, who was confined to the bench. Phil Jevons kept his place after his two-goal display last week. And County lined up with Ormson, Jacobs, Fagbola, Charnock, O'Halloran, Turner, Verma, Gosset, Howard, Jevons and Dennis starting the game.
Another decent turnout and a great atmosphere was soon silenced when the usually reliable Kieran Charnock passed the ball straight to the on-coming Leamington striker who was left 1-on-1 with Ian Ormson and made no mistake in placing the ball beyond the young 'keeper after only two minutes - County were already looking at a long afternoon of potentially frustrating football.
The Hatters responded positively to the setback, going in search of an immediate equaliser. The first corner of the match went County's way after some good work from Howard forced the Leamington defence to put the ball behind for a corner; unfortunately the corner kick came to nothing.
Despite a few minutes of dominance for County, the next real chance fell to Leamington as an inviting cross was well met by the head of a Leamington player, who's effort flashed just beyond the post.
The Brakes then started to apply the pressure and were forcing sloppy County into giving the ball away cheaply.
Ian Ormson was called into action after around 20 minutes and did really well to get out to the attacker and make the save to prevent the Warwickshiremen from extending their lead.
Just a couple of minutes later it looked as though County had equalised when Turner had his shot somehow saved and Howard was left with the task of tucking the ball in but unfortunately the winger could only find the side netting and left the Hatters cursing their luck.
For the remaining minutes of the half, County and Leamington exchanged chances with the best of them being a free-kick for the visitors. Neither could find the back of the net though, and when the half time whistle mercifully went, both teams trudged off the pitch with the visitors holding a narrow but crucial lead.
Alan Lord looking made two changes at half time to try and turn the game around - new midfielder Tunji Moses came on for his debut, replacing Aman Verma and fan favourite Adriano Moke replaced Iain Howard.
County's intentions were clear from the off as just two minutes into the half, Dennis set up Moke for a strike that just went over the bar, before Gosset had a brilliant effort rifle just wide of the far post after the young Oldham prospect almost made the visitors pay dearly for failing to clear their lines.
Despite County's early dominance it was only the woodwork that kept out a superb strike from the visitors hit from 30 yards out, a wonderful strike that had the whole ground stunned.
This sparked a small spell of dominance that saw Leamington enjoy a couple of half chances and a corner.
But, after weathering the storm, County were back on the attack, the next chance falling to Kyle Jacobs who couldn't connect with the ball cleanly as his shot blazed over the bar.
Leamington were soon hearing boos ringing around from the stands at their attempts at timewasting, and, at this stage, there was only one team who wanted to push for the positive.
Finally County got the goal they deserved to draw the game level. New boy Tunji Moses picked up the ball in midfield and passed it to Jacobs who played a perfectly-timed and perfectly-weighted through-ball to Phil Jevons. The veteran striker's touch didn't let him down and he placed it neatly underneath the keeper to give County the reward their attacking play warranted.
As the Hatters went in search of a winner it appeared that Leamington had other ideas and firmly parked the bus to constantly frustrate both the County players and fans.
Despite constantly pushing forward the hosts couldn't get that elusive second goal to win the game and a magnificent 2,925 saw both teams leave Edgeley Park with a point each.
Whilst it was disappointing to have conceded so softly, it was positive to see both the crowd and the players react well to going a goal down, never giving up. No doubt spurred on by Alan Lord, the team showed determination to fight their way back into the game - a refreshing change from recent seasons, when conceding first often meant the team rolled over and called it a day.
County Line-Up: Ormson, Jacobs, Fagbola, Charnock, O'Halloran, Turner, Verma (Moses), Gosset, Howard (Moke), Jevons and Dennis
Unused subs: Jones, Tunnicliffe, Lofthouse
Attendance: 2,952 (152 Away Fans)
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