Preliminary Round: Leamington FC Vs Marlow

October 6th 2007

Being a Warwick Uni student, and currently living in Leamington, it made sense to choose Leamington Vs Marlow as the place to start our little adventure. I expected it to be remarkably easy to attend. Unfortunately, Jake could not make it back from Nottingham where he is currently based, so poor old me had to go alone.

I seemed to get pretty lucky with the people I met over the course of the day. The regulars that I spoke to on the short coach journey to the ground, in the clubhouse and at the match were all very friendly people. I learned that Leamington FC has had a pretty turbulent recent history, which the fans seemed to be very proud of, and instilled a sense of community amongst them.

Leamington were a member of the Southern League Midland Division as recently as 1987, and were denied promotion to the Alliance Premier League despite winning the title, due to the standard of their ground. At this stage in their history, the club had strong ties with a manufacturing firm in the town. When the company sold the ground to property developers, as it hit financial trouble, AP Leamington, as they were then called, were forced to resign from the football pyramid.

A band of committed individuals managed to acquire the land which has since become the New Windmill Ground, and Leamington FC rejoined the pyramid in the 2000/01 season. Following several promotions in recent years, last season the club regained it's place in the Southern League Midland Division, and currently sit atop it, seven games into the new season.

I was very impressed with the set-up at the club, and the progress it has obviously made in such a short space of time. The clubhouse was excellent, with a big screen to watch England beat Australia in the Rugby World Cup, and very reasonable bar prices.

The pitchside burger van also treated me to probably the best football match grub I've ever had. Jumbo sausage, chips, and a very impressive curry sauce, all for £2. Even dropping half of my sausage on the floor could not stop my enjoyment of it.

As for the match itself, Leamington were far too good for Marlow throughout. Centre forward Russel Dunkley and midfielder Liam Reynolds both missed excellent chances early on, after some good passing football. Most of Leamington's best chances involved ex-Coventry City youngster Ben Mackey in some way. He displayed brilliant footwork at regular intervals, and Marlow seemed to have no answer to him. The visiting side were let in a couple of times during the first half due to some slack Leamington defending, and only a fantastic, Pele Vs Gordon Banks-esque save from 'keeper Richard Morris denied Marlow from taking an undeserved lead into the half-time break.

The home team started the first half much as they did the first, immediately creating a great chance following some good work on the wing, only this time the chance was put away confidently by left-sided midfielder James Husband. The goal knocked all the stuffing out of Marlow, who offered nothing of attacking note for the remainder of the match. Husband was instrumental in the second half, and a cross from the left on 53 minutes was headed onto the post by Richard Adams. 15 minutes later Leamington made the result safe. A misjudgement from Marlow's Jack Smilie allowed Husband in to round the 'keeper and make it 2 -0. A scoreline that the visitors could have no complaints about at that stage.

Leamington deserved more goals in truth, but a string of excellent saves towards the end of the match from Marlow 'keeper Ian MacTaggert kept the scoreline respectable.

Huge respect must go to the Leamington's 'North Bank' who sang constantly throughout the match, and no doubt helped the players along on their way to victory.

I am really looking forward joining Leamington again in the next round. It is a great little club, with a really sense of pride and community amongst it's fans. Special thanks go to Katie, Brendan and Roy for making an me feel very welcome at the New Windmill Ground. I hope to see you again in the next round!

Final Score: Leamington 2 Marlow 0

Attendance: 522