FORWARD Colby Bishop has sealed a move back into the Football League, after departing the Brakes for League One outfit Accrington Stanley.
Joining Stanley on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee, Bishop puts an end to his prolific two year stint with Leamington, during which time he scored 37 goals in 58 games.
Bishop now looks forward to a return to life in the EFL, having previously come through the ranks at Notts County and making a handful of appearances for the then League Two side.
Manager Paul Holleran has lauded the impact of Bishop during his time at the club, and says the striker has more than earned the opportunity to test himself at a higher level.
“I’m absolutely delighted for Colby, who has been a model professional while at Leamington,” he said.
“I always thought there was a strong possibility that this scenario would occur which is why I recruited strikers Kaiman Anderson and Josh March to the club during the close season.
“To recover from a serious ACL injury in nine months is testament to his professionalism, desire and his work ethic, and I’m sure that all Leamington fans wish him well for the future.”
As a result of the transfer, Accrington are set to visit the Phillips 66 Community Stadium for a pre-season friendly next year.
Meanwhile, the Brakes finished on the wrong end of a 3-1 scoreline against Solihull Moors on Saturday.
Goals from Terry Hawkridge and Jordan Murphy handed Solihull the win, after an own goal had brought the Brakes level following Matty Stenson’s jaw-dropping opener.
Solihull went close from Terry Hawkridge’s free-kick early in the game, before Stenson’s show-stopping effort.
With goalkeeper Tony Breeden stranded from his goal line after making a clearance, the former-Brakes loanee half-volleyed the ball from 40 yards out to find the back of the net.
The lead was quickly wiped out on 25 minutes after some good fortune, when a cross to the far post by Cieron Keane was turned into the back of the net by Harry Flowers to bring the Brakes level.
Breeden was then on hand to keep out Danny Wright to ensure the two sides were level going into half-time.
But just seven minutes after the restart, Hawkridge slammed a free-kick into the corner to leave Brakes chasing the game once more.
Moors continued to show their class and dominated the remaining exchanges, going close to finding a third through Murphy’s shot into the ground that hit the bar.
Murphy did eventually find the net after latching onto Paul McCallum’s through ball and slotting home to round off the scoring.
The Brakes next visit Southern Premier League Central side Alvechurch on Saturday (3pm), before a trip to Racing Club Warwick on Tuesday night (7.45pm).
