After this breathless encounter it would be hard to say which set of supporters were the most surprised: City’s, who saw their side sleepwalk through the first 40 minutes of the game before finally coming alive and competing on equal terms, or Leamington’s who must have thought the game was theirs for the taking but somehow managed to lose.
 
There were many familiar faces on display as City lined up with nine starters who played last season, Craig Hammond and David Kolodynski being the new boys on show. But from the way the Lilywhites began the casual fan might have thought that eleven strangers had been thrown together for the occasion as passes went astray and runs were ignored.
 
Within the first ten minutes the Brakes showed enough endeavour that on other days would have been rewarded with at least one goal. On six minutes Luke Corbett’s shot across Zac Barrett was kept out by the keeper’s arm – a fine stop. A minute later, Barrett saved well from Scott Lycett’s header and soon after, Corbett turned and shot, only to see his effort deflected for a corner.
 
City were pegged back deep into their own half, their only chance occurring on 22 when Ashley Fuller’s low hard cross fell to Adrian Cambridge who elected to chip the ball in the direction of Hammond when a shot at goal looked on.
 
Lee Chaffey was called into action when he cleared off his own line on 26 and with the visitors looking comfortable on the ball and City’s midfield stifled, a goal seemed likely to come sooner rather than later.
 
The Lilywhite’s cause was hardly helped when a defensive reshuffle was needed following James Krause’s early substitution on 29, Chaffey switching to left back and Milton Elenge slotting into the centre of defence.
 
Somehow City held on and gradually found a little more possession, but never enough to threaten a goal until an inspired run by Tony Burke from the centre of midfield allowed him to make inroads deep into the Leamington defence. His pass found Hammond whose shot was blocked by Tony Breedon, the ball bouncing out to John Kennedy who found Burke who drove in a thumping shot that gave City a lead that they could only have dreamed of on 42 minutes.
 
And that’s the way the half ended, with City for the first time playing with some creativity and showing that they had the ability to hurt Leamington.
 
Whatever head of steam City managed to work up in the closing minutes of the first half appeared to have disappeared in the changing rooms over half time as the second 45 began in a scrappy and disjointed manner. The Lilywhites simply couldn’t hold on to the ball and it came as no real surprise when Elenge was penalised for a foul on the edge of his own penalty area. Referee Wayne Porter measured out ten yards, the wall formed, Liam Daley stepped up and promptly slotted the ball home as his shot somehow found a route through. Barrett was left helpless and the scores were levelled.
 
Still City struggled to make their mark. But this was soon to change in a mad five minutes when the fans were treated to a week’s worth of action in just 300 seconds.
 
On the hour, Ashley Fuller produced one of his pile-drivers which Breedon must have been happy to see was hit straight at him, giving him the chance to tip it away for a corner. Captain Cambridge swung in the cross, the ball broke, fell to Hammond who swept it home from close range to restore his side’s lead.
 
Seconds later, Leamington thought they had the equaliser only to find the Assistant Referee’s flag raised for offside and the effort disallowed. And to add insult to injury, a piece of careless defending on 62 minutes gave Cambridge the chance to spot Breedon off his line and to chip the ball over him to give his side what looked like a comfortable lead at 3-1. No such luck of course. Just three minutes later, the City defence was just as slack, givng the ball away too easily and presenting Richard Batchelor with the chance to fire past Barrett to make it 3-2 with 25 minutes left on the clock.
 
And what a final quarter it turned out to be. Daley connected with a long free kick on 68 minutes, forcing a good save from Barrett, while minutes later, Kolodynski showed his skills with a penetrating run which ended with him falling in the box – but no penalty.
 
Matt Lewis found himself in a one-on-one with Barrett, which the City stopper won, while at the other end, Kolondynski’s  81st minute shot scraped past the post.
 
Ninety minutes were up – all City had to do was hold on through injury time and the three points would be staying at Milton Road. But on 93 and a half minutes, a Leamington corner struck a City arm: Penalty.
 
Corbett placed the ball, Barrett balanced. Corbett sent the ball hard to the keeper’s right; Barrett responded, dived, managed to get both hands to the ball and away it went to comparative safety. And ten seconds later, Porter blew for full time to end an enthralling contest.
 
Were City the better side? Certainly not for the first 40 minutes when they looked utterly out of sorts. But once the midfield battle had been won, City showed that they had the fire power to cause real damage when they went forward. Once again, the back four looked solid and Barrett was outstanding.
 
And praise for the quality of the playing surface should be given too. The pitch looked sensational under the lights, a rich verdant green that could only encourage players to be at their best. Excellent work.