Felixstowe & Walton United FC

COGGESHALL TOWN  1 - 3  FELIXSTOWE & WALTON UNITED 

Third league win on the bounce as Seasiders go second 

Felixstowe & Walton United moved up to second place in the Isthmian North after recording their third successive league win, 3-1 at Coggeshall Town. Noel Aitkens scored the only goal of the first half from distance, with Callum Harrison and Josh Hitter both scoring fantastic goals to send the Seasiders cruising to victory in the second half, before a late wicked deflection gave the home side a consolation.

Zak Brown was rested from the start with Ollie Canfer back up top for Felixstowe, Leon Ottley-Gooch and Josh Hitter also returned to the starting eleven at a ground that has always been a tough place to get a result. The task looked even harder at first glance as the pitch was suffering badly from a lack of maintenance with several large areas looking almost unplayable due to the lack of a trim. After a long discussion and request to mark the pitch, the referee gave the go-ahead for the game.

Felixstowe looked to stamp their authority on the game from the first whistle and adapted well to the conditions to create wave after wave of early attacks. Charlie Warren and Ollie Canfer were linking up well and getting behind the defence and one of those balls forward found Callum Harrison on the left on 2 minutes, he cut to the byline and his cross/shot was just kept out at the near post. Billy Holland had a great header scrambled away on 3 minutes and only a defensive miracle a minute later stopped Leon Ottley-Gooch opening the scoring, his effort somehow cleared off the line and two further shots were cleared in the panic that followed in the six-yard box. On 6 minutes it was Charlie Warren who was denied a goal, his header saved well by the goalkeeper. Callum Robinson got his first touch of the ball on 9 minutes, the ironically named “Seed Growers” winning a free kick 30 yards out but the effort was fairly tame and Callum gathered easily. Felixstowe got the goal their play had deserved on 13 minutes, Callum Harrison and Joe Whight did well on the left and spread the ball inside to Noel Aitkens who shot from 22 yards to score off the inside of the left post. There was action at both ends in the 22nd minute, Charlie Warren twisted and turned in the box before seeing his shot well saved, from the goal kick Coggeshall broke and the speedy forward found himself one on one with Robinson, he shot from the edge of the box but Callum saved superbly when the equaliser looked a certainty. Charlie Warren again did the business on the left on 32 minutes and cut inside before shooting just over the bar as Felixstowe looked to extend their slender lead. The home side were looking dangerous going forward as the half wore on and were sending four players bombing forward when opportunities arose, from one of those breaks, Bulauka found himself in a great position to score on 35 minutes but his shot was again saved by the impressive Robinson, the rebound fell kindly to Nial whose volley somehow evaded the post and another attacker as it flew back across the goal. Ogunleye then turned and shot over the bar from a great position as the home side continued to enjoy their best spell of the match, although they were clearly short of someone to put the ball in the net (and a Flymo). The 50+ Seasiders supporters present were rubbing their hands at the prospect of a Callum Harrison special on 42 minutes, his 25-yard free kick was in his favoured position and his goal bound effort was tipped just over at the last second.

Felixstowe did exactly what was asked of them at the start of the second half, and that was get the crucial second goal! Ollie Canfer made it in the 47^th minute as he caused havoc on the edge of the box, drawing in five defenders before laying the ball off to Callum Harrison who curled in a beautiful shot to find the far corner of the net. Harrison was having yet another sparkling game for the Seasiders and he created the opportunity that led to the third goal, linking up well with Charlie Warren on 56 minutes to force the keeper into a good save at his near post, and from the resultant corner the ball was only cleared out to Josh Hitter and his 25-yard screamer found the centre of the net as it was volleyed through the crowded area. Felixstowe were now well on top and had continued to adapt to the pitch that had made it hard to play their passing game at times, Noel Aitkens was running the show in the centre and he set the ball forward on 67 minutes which Billy Holland rode a tackle brilliantly to find space and send one of his now trademark long distance efforts towards goal, this time he wasn’t quite so accurate with it and the ball sailed two feet wide of the left post. With the game seemingly won, it was made a little closer on 86 minutes, Mendes seeing his shot from outside the box take a wicked deflection and fly into the opposite corner that Robinson had dived towards. The home side did have their tails up for a few minutes but only a shot just over caused any significant concerns for the Seasiders who could have grabbed a fourth in injury time through Billy Holland’s long-range drive that went just wide and from Callum Harrison’s powerful effort from the left that smacked against the crossbar.

Seasiders Assistant Manager Andy Crump had overseen his third successive league victory in Stuart Boardley’s absence and spoke after the game. “The most important thing today was for us to get the three points, it’s always a difficult place to come and the conditions were not I suppose the most conducive to seeing the purest of football matches, in that it affected how well we could play our normal way but we had to adapt, and I thought the boys did really well and a Bank Holiday weekend is so much better when you have six points to show from it! We started the game really well and we could have been a couple of goals up very early on, their keeper has made a couple of good saves and some blocks on the line. We scored a really good goal and then did what we have done in some other games, allowed them to get involved more and get a foothold in the game. We defended more than we had wanted to but we regrouped at half time and the composure of Callum Harrison right at the start of the half knocked the stuffing out of them and Josh follows that up with another really good finish which I don’t think the keeper even saw, it went that quickly down the middle”. Crump went on to say. “We have a couple of weeks now before our next game so that gives the players who have been missing, like Henry Barley, the chance to recover from injuries and to regroup with those few that have just come back also to hopefully set us up for what is a huge game at home on the 10^th September”. (Burgess Hill Town, FA Trophy)

Report by Stuart Daynes

Photos by Thomas Bradford

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