Brackley Rue Missed Chances - Nuneaton Borough vs. Brackley Town

Grand view from behind the goal

For a long time last week, I had my heart set on visiting Poole for the latest round of The FA Cup, however the predicted deluge put me off and I instead headed north for Nuneaton Borough against Brackley Town. I had seen Nuneaton once before when they were Town for an FA Trophy tie at Gosport which was a draw before I they lost a replay (a pattern that would repeat itself - sorry guys). Brackley are a team I've seen a couple of times - firstly for a Bank Holiday derby at Banbury then at their St James Park ground for a National League North match with Solihull Moors.

Kick off at Liberty Way

Brackley have a couple of early balls into the box that are cleared and they dominate for most of the first half. It is from another corner that they take the lead. The ball gets right into the six yard area and is forced in from close range to give the visitors the early advantage. They really should get a second when the winger gets in behind the Nuneaton defence before the attacker sees his eventual shot blocked. Crosses continue to be the best form of attack for Brackley as the forward is found in acres of space and his header forces the Nuneaton goalie to make an excellent save. The last chance of the half for Nuneaton comes as the attacker cuts in but he drags his shot wide. 

A familiar sight in the first half - Brackley on the attack

Nuneaton have the first chance of the second half as the attacker shots over from distance. Then Brackley have a chance to go further in front when a great move sees the forward through on goal but again, the Nuneaton keeper makes a great save. The visitors are left to rue all of these missed chances when a corner is headed back into the box, it is slotted in from close range and Nuneaton now have their tails up. The rest of the half is a bit scrappy and Nuneaton end the game with ten men with a sending off in the closing stages. Brackley end up winning the replay two nil to set up a tie with Marine.

Nuneaton look for a very early goal

I was surprised how quick it is to get to Nuneaton from London - one, one hour long train from Euston and you're there. And once you get there you can enjoy the excellent Lord Hop which the reigning Warwickshire CAMRA pub of the year and as you can expect, there is a brilliant selection of ales and ciders. Just around the corner is The Blue Bear which does the job for the early kick off. In terms of walking to the ground, I cut through the houses rather then sticking to the roads which saved a lot of time and meant the walk took just over half an hour. A short walk from the ground is The Acorn which has a couple of ales to reward completing the walk from town. The clubhouse at the ground had a good selection of drinks and selection of hot food.

First half wing play in front of the stand