Felixstowe & Walton United FC

DEREHAM TOWN  1  -  3   FELIXSTOWE & WALTON UNITED  

Seasiders great form continues

Felixstowe & Walton United produced a superb away performance to defeat fourth place Dereham Town 3-1 and complete the league double over The Magpies. The home side took an early lead from a deflected shot but Jordan Matthews quickly equalised. Billy Holland headed the away side in front midway through the first half and Charlie Warren wrapped it up just after the hour mark with the crucial final goal which made it 10 points from 12 in the last four league games.

The Seasiders were well supported in Norfolk despite the weather conditions, which Felixstowe are recently becoming accustomed to playing in, any more rain during the morning may well have put the game in serious doubt as the pitch was already very heavy and saturated with sticky areas down both side-lines. Ollie Canfer missed out through illness, as did Joe Whight and Curtley Williams, with Lamell Howell forcing another change to the starting line-up due to the ankle injury sustained in the win versus Canvey. Charlie Warren came in up front and Callum Bennett returned from illness to captain the side.

Both sides were quick off the mark and were still looking to play fast, passing football despite the condition of the pitch, and it was the home side who struck first with a goal after just 4 minutes, the ball falling to Luke Johnson whose deflected shot wrong-footed Callum Robinson and found the right hand corner. Robinson then did well to gather a swerving long distance shot as Dereham again looked lively around the edge of the box. The equaliser came on 8 minutes and that man Henry Barley was again the creator as he won the ball in the centre right position and beat the challenges of four opposition players and played a neat ball through to the area where Jordan Matthews was waiting to take the ball, steady himself and fire the ball past the goalkeeper to the delight of the away contingent. Felixstowe were now in the ascendency and playing some lovely football right through from defence to attack, Barley, Warren and Schaar were all running the defenders ragged and Jordan Matthews and Harry Knock were really standing out further back as they looked to win the ball and spread it out to all areas of the pitch. Charlie Warren received an unwelcome elbow in his back on 22 minutes 30 yards from goal and Henry Barley produced his second assist of the game, floating a curling free kick into the area that Billy Holland rose highest to and sent his powerful header into the bottom corner to put the away side ahead. Barley curled a shot just wide on 29 minutes before Dereham showed the attacking threat they posed, Rhys Logan doing well to gain possession and cross for Shaun Bammant in the six yard area, Stuart Ainsley cleared the ball just as it looked like an equaliser was coming. Ainsley again was the saviour from the resultant corner, clearing off the line as a superb volley was fired in from 20 yards. Felixstowe saw out the remainder of the first half without too much trouble, the game losing its flow for a ten minute spell where the referee produced a few yellow cards and was kept busy by some feisty challenges, one of which was a clear stamp on Ainsley that led to lengthy treatment, but bizarrely only a yellow card, consensus around the pitch was that if the referee had seen it, then how can it not be a red?

Luke Johnson had the first chance of the second half as he screwed his shot three foot wide of the far post on 47 minutes as the home side looked to get back on level terms. Johnson again was in the thick of the action two minutes later, his shot ricocheting off a defender and into the hands of a relieved Callum Robinson. Henry Barley raced forward on 53 minutes and put in a tempting cross to the far post, but the last defender cleared to safety. On 64 minutes it was Barley again causing havoc on the right, winning the ball by the dugout and seconds later he was at the byline to cross for Charlie Warren, he took the ball down, turned right, turned left, turned right again and picked his spot with a brilliant finish into the right hand bottom corner to make it 3-1. Felixstowe were looking very comfortable now, playing some good football and restricting Dereham to brief forays forward. The home sides’ best chance came on 67 minutes as a 20 yard shot was cleared off the line by what looked to be Josh Hitter at the far post, and that was pretty much all Dereham could muster for the last quarter of the game. Two free kicks were comfortably dealt with and the Seasiders game management working a treat as they attacked when good opportunities arose, but kept the ball when they needed to and put in vital challenges in all areas to always win the ball back and play it forward to the ever-running Schaar and Barley. The heavens really opened as the game ticked into added on time but the supporters were singing in the rain as they celebrated a terrific win as the game was easily seen out.

Match report by Stuart Daynes

Photos by Tom Bradford

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