Ipswich Wanderers U18 V Needham Market U18 | 26.01.2023 | Thurlow Nunn Eastern Countries Youth League Central Division |

Needham Market Under-18s kick off 2023 with a stunning late comeback away at Ipswich Wanderers to maintain their lead at the top of the Thurlow Nunn Eastern Counties Youth League Central Division.

With the division very competitive, the young Marketmen's never say die victory after coming from 2-1 down to win 3-2 in stoppage time could prove vital in where the league trophy ends up at the end of the season. 

While that is still too early to say, Needham displayed the winning mentality of champions, by finding a way to overcome a good Wanderers side. 

It was a tight affair, with the game growing into life after the half-time interval. The goalless first half saw only 5 noteable chances between the two teams, as the first fell to Needham after 11 minutes. Ed Barker picked up possession on the left-hand edge of the box only to see his good low strike well held by the goalkeeper. 

Wanderers arguably had more of the possession first half and went close 3 minutes later, firing a 30-yard shot wide of the top far corner. 

Wanderers then swung an ambitious right wing corner over directly via the top of the crossbar on 37 minutes, while Ed Barker tested goalkeeper Will Willis two minutes later. The forward latched onto possession well down the right-hand side of the box only to see his low shot across goal beaten away well by Willis. 

Needham meanwhile started the second half on the front foot, Barker again finding space to shoot, albeit this time his low effort from the edge of the box was straight at Willis after 47 minutes.

Sixty seconds later, Needham broke the deadlock, after Ivan Sanchez flashed a brilliant ball on a plate across the six yard box, which just evaded two Needham Red shirts running in from point blank range, Mileeq Banya whipped the ball back in low across the penalty area, drawing Willis off his line to smother the ball away. Substitute Luca Braddon was first on the scene to capitalise, tucking home his 8th Under-18 goal of the campaign into the empty net from 8-yards out, 1-0 Needham. 

Travis Buxton then saw a low fierce strike well held by the goalkeeper on 51 minutes, before Wanderers equalised two minutes later as the game became end to end. Ryan Marsh's fierce low shot down the left-hand side of the box was well smothered away by goalkeeper Lawrence Robinson as far as the arriving Ollie Flemming who finished well, sidefooting home into the top right-hand corner, 1-1.

Billy Stones then saw a fierce shot towards Robinson's bottom right-hand corner well held by the shot-stopper on 59 minutes, before the hosts fired a half volley narrowly wide, but always rising, of the top right-hand far corner two minutes later.

Luca Braddon however volleyed just over the top near right-hand corner from 6-yards out following a clever free-kick over the top on 72 minutes, while Eddie Barker smashed a fierce 25-yard free-kick over the crossbar four minutes later.

Wanderers though took the lead with ten minutes left on the clock, Joe Betts capitalised on acres of space down the centre as he drove through towards goal before cooly smashing home down the middle of the net, 2-1 Wanderers.

Needham though were not deterred, Eddie Barker saw a low fierce 35-yard free-kick well held by Willis on 84 minutes, before Needham restored parity two minutes into stoppage time.

Luca Braddon latched onto a great through-ball haring through down the right-hand side, of the box, only to see his low shot across goal well palmed away by the goalkeeper off his line, falling to the arriving Jayden Hanna, who tapped home into the vacant bottom left-hand corner, 2-2.

Then in style, Needham turned the scoreline round in their favour again with a well taken goal. A brilliant defence splitting pass threaded Lucas Vance through one on one inside the box, who drew Willis off his line before slotting home ice cold composed into the bottom left-hand corner for 3 crucial points. 

Needham now enter a busy period of home games, the Under-23s host Whittlesey on Saturday, while the Under-18s host Leiston on Thursday (3nd February, with the first team at home on the Tuesday), which is followed by an Academy double header the following midweek - the Under-23s entertain Haverhill Borough on the Tuesday (7th), before the Under-18s host Brantham Athletic on the Thursday (9th).

Ipswich Wanderers:-

1 Will Willis

2 Jake Kerry

16 Max Rice

4 Billy Stones

5 Dan Smith (c)

6 Bailey Fuller

7 Sam Ling

8 Will Smith

9 Ryan Marsh

10 Louis Crozier-Flatts 

11 Ollie Flemming

Subs:

15 McKenzie Lowe

17 Brad Vince

22 Joe Betts

20 Tino Capasso

21 Marno Capasso

Needham Market:-

1 Lawrence Robinson

2 Mileeq Banya

3 Ivan Sanchez

4 Travis Buxton

5 Ben Smith

6 Stanley Fovargue

17 Alex Oakley

8 Eddie Barker (c)

9 Ed Barker

10 Aiden Jolly

11 Lucas Vanc

Subs:

12 Tom Roughley

14 Callum Sumne

15 Fabio De Souza

16 Jayden Hanna

18 Luca Braddon

Booked: Flemming (83').

Goals: Flemming (53'), Betts (80'); Braddon (48'), Hanna (90'+2'), Vance (90'+5').

 

Sporting 87 v Haughley United | 14.01.2022 | Macron Suffolk + Ipswich League Senior Division.

Sporting 87 record a statement comeback victory over 2nd placed Haughley United to jump up 3 places in the Macron Suffolk + Ipswich League Senior Division table to 8th at the Victory Ground. 

Clear cut chances remained at a premium throughout, with the encounter an entertaining, closely fought, even contest.

However, Haughley arguably shaded the first half, while Sporting exploded out of the blocks second half and clinically took control of the game - after 3 goals within 6 second half minutes ultimately deciding the outcome of the encounter. 

Sporting meanwhile had the first chance of the afternoon after 8 minutes, Nathan Banks was threaded through by a great defence splitting pass down the right-hand side of the box only for goalkeeper Barry Lynn to palm his low shot across goal behind for a corner.

At the other end, Ash Rankin was threaded through similarly down the right-hand side of the box, the Haughley winger drew goalkeeper Kurt Waterfield off his line but could only stab his shot just over the top right-hand corner after 28 minutes.

Ten minutes later though, the away side were denied by the woodwork as a fierce strike crashed back into play off the crossbar.

Haughley then had a good chance a minute later, a great through-ball threaded Ethan Garcia through on the left-hand side of the box, although the winger smashes his shot narrowly over the crossbar. 

With the game remaining a tight contest, Haughley edged the possession and chances in the opening forty-five minutes, which they made count in the 40th minute, courtesy of Alex Breadman's opening goal.

The striker netted his seventh goal of the campaign as he was threaded through onto the right-hand side of the box, by a perfectly weighted defence splitting pass, before, smartly slotting home into the bottom near corner from close range, past the onrushing goalkeeper, 1-0 Haughley. 

While that's how the scoreline remained at the interval, just nine minutes after the restart the home side quickly levelled proceedings.

Having enjoyed more of the possession and started the half on the front foot, Sporting duly struck back with a well worked set-piece that started a clinical comeback. Captain Jarrad Lebbon's left wing free-kick was cleverly smashed low across the face of goal, finding Elliott Chaplin arriving from 3-yards out to simply tap home his fifth goal of the season, into the middle of the gaping net, 1-1. 

Straight away, Sporting quickly turned the game on its head with 2 goals in a minute, Luca Taylor-Footer arrived onto the left-hand edge of the box before stunningly whippng an audacious strike into the top far corner for his fourth goal of the season, 2-1 Sporting.

Sporting all but sealed all 3 points on the hour mark, top scorer Ryan Hyden smashed home his 11th goal of the season from the spot, into the bottom right-hand corner, 3-1 Sporting.

That third goal, coupled with the wet conditions, ultimately killed the game off, as Sporting picked up their second straight win, ending Haughley's three game winning run in the process. 

The away side did go close however with the last noteable chance of the afternoon, driving a shot a centimetre wide of the bott9pom left-hand corner.

Haughley however were reduced to ten men late on as Bobby Bell was shown a straight red card for a dangerous tackle in midfield.

Sporting will look to continue their winning run when they welcome Wickham Market on Saturday (21st January, 2pm), while Haughley travel to leaders Henley Athletic on the same date.

Stay tuned for the reaction on this game from Sporting 87 manager Jon Warnock...

Sporting 87:-

1 Kurt Waterfield

2 Tom Wright

3 James Smith

4 Tom Gibson

5 Ash Brown

6 Kerrin Lawrence

7 Elliott Chaplin 

8 Jarrad Lebbon (c)

9 Nathan Banks

10 Luca Taylor-Footer 

11 Ryan Hyden

Subs:

12 Harry Bennett 

14 Adrian Moyles

15 Dan Steed

16 Sam Fenning

17 Jack Edwards

Haughley United:-

1 Barry Lynn

2 Lee Warren (c)

3 Ben Gutteridge

4 Bobby Bell

5 Chris Haywood

6 Brett Crisp

7 Niall McPhillips

8 Max Skinner

9 Alex Breadman

10 Ethan Garcia

11 Ash Rankin

Subs:

12 Macauley Bell

14 Steve Vincent

15 Dale Rozier

16 James Hawkins (unused)

Booked: Wright (33'), Brown (37'), Breadman (64'), Vincent (90'+3').

Sent Off: B.Bell (90'+5').

Goals: Chaplin (54'), Taylor-Footer (55'), Hyden (60'pen); Breadman (40').

Needham Market v Hitchin Town | 02.01.2023 | The Pitching In Southern League Central Premier Division |

Needham Market kicked off 2023 in ideal fashion following a comfortable 3-0 home win over Hitchin Town. 

Manager Kevin Horlock made 3 changes to the Boxing Day last second defeat at Leiston as Kaan Bennett, Tom Fitzgerald and Seth Chambers started in place of Jacob Lay (injured) and Patrick Brothers (suspended) with Luke Ingram starting on the bench.

The Marketmen dominated proceedings with home goalkeeper Marcus Garnham rarely troubled throughout the afternoon, with the home side having the first chance after just 2 minutes. A good through-ball released Ross Crane past the fullback down the right wing only for his low dangerous cross into the six yard box in search of Jamie McGrath to be turned behind for a corner, which saw Keiran Morphew's far post header deflected wide for another set-piece.

It was a great all round team performance by all in Needham's yellow away kit, as the Suffolk side went close after 7 minutes. Tom Fitzgerald threaded Seth Chambers with a great defence splitting pass down the centre but for a brilliant recovering sliding challenge from a defender to deny the forward a shot at Charlie Horlock's goal. 

More brilliant play from the Marketmen 2 minutes later saw the hosts go agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock, Jake Dye threaded Chambers through down the left-hand side of the box, whose cutback picked out Colchester United loanee Taykaan Bennett in space, at the near post from eight yards out, although his effort went just over the crossbar. 

Bennett then displayed some brilliant skill in the eleventh minute, the winger kept possession well as he advanced down the left wing, beating his man a couple of times on his way into the box only for a defender to prevent him from cutting the ball back across goal at the expense of a corner. 

The Marketmen continued to create the better chances as Kaan Bennett, as well as McGrath, Crane and Chambers, continued to cause problems for the visiting defence two minutes later. The winger drove through once more down the left wing, again beating his man brilliantly to break into the box only for his low ball into the danger area to be cleared away. 

Needham however broke the deadlock deservedly on 17 minutes, as some good team passing resulted in a brilliant finish from Jamie McGrath for his fourth Needham goal. Ross Crane threaded Seth Chambers with a well timed pass out on the right wing, the latter then cleverly fed McGrath inside the box who turned into space well to smash home well into the bottom near corner, 1-0 Needham.

A good double save from Hitchin 'keeper Charlie Horlock meanwhile denied the Marketmen from doubling their lead on 28 minutes, Ross Crane intercepted possession well on the right-hand edge of the box, releasing Chambers through inside the box. The forward's low shot though was palmed away as far as McGrath, by the advancing Horlock diving low to his right-hand side, though the latter's shot on the rebound was also smothered from close range. 

Sixty seconds later, the Marketmen had the ball in the net again, only to be ruled out for offside. Kaan Bennett was first to the ball after Kyle Hammond's attempt to latch onto a great ball across by Seth Chambers was unsuccessful, only to his low shot saved as far as the offside McGrath as he tapped home into an empty net from five yards out. 

Just after the half-hour mark, McGrath latched onto a great right wing cross into the danger area only for his low close range effort to be deflected behind crucially for a corner.

While Crane dragged a shot wide when arriving into a loose ball on the edge of the box after 33 minutes, the Marketmen were awarded a penalty following a foul on Keiran Morphew three minutes later. 

Up stepped Ross Crane, who duly dispatched his seventh Needham goal - and fifth in the league - from the spot, sending Horlock the wrong way as he cooly slotted home into the bottom right hand corner, 2-0 Needham.

The game died down slightly in the second half though, with not much of real note to write about, although Tom Fitzgerald's shot/clearance from 45-yards wasn't miles away from Horlock's bottom right-hand far corner after 54 minutes.

Diogo Freitas-Gouveia meanwhile slammed a good 35-yard strike comfortably wide of Marcus Garnham's near right-hand post five minutes later, before Needham wrapped up all 3 points for their seventh (having played ten so far at Bloomfields) home league wins of the season eleven minutes later.

Fittingly, Seth Chambers picked up a deserved goal and his third of the season (fifth all time for the first team), latching onto a great ball over the top before beating the two retreating defenders with some good skill to cooly slot home past the onrushing Horlock into the bottom far left-hand corner, 3-0 Needham.

Substitute Noah Collard was then threaded through smartly down the right-hand side three minutes later, the midfielder then curled a sumputous low ball across on a plate for Chambers arriving from 8-yards out, albeit the forward sliding in could only direct his shot over the bar. 

The Marketmen then had the last major chance of the afternoon on 75 minutes, Kyle Hammond broke through down the right-hand side of the box only to see his smart shot towards goal blocked away as far as Ross Crane whose low quick effort was comfortably held by the diving Horlock down to his right-hand side. 

A much needed confidence boosting win for 13th place Needham, who will look to build on the victory when they travel to 4th place Rushall Olympic on Saturday (3pm).

Needham Market:- 

1 Marcus Garnham

2 Kyle Hammond

3 Jake Dye

14 Christian Frimpong

5 Keiran Morphew (c)

6 Daniel Morphew

7 Kaan Bennett (65' Collard)

8 Tom Fitzgerald 

9 Seth Chambers

10 Jamie McGrath

11 Ross Crane

Subs:

12 Luke Ingram

15 Noah Collard (85' Knights)

16 Harry Knights

Hitchin Town:-

1 Charlie Horlock (c)

2 Daniel Idiakhoa

3 Stanley Georgiou (83' Black)

4 Stephen Gleeson

5 Ciaren Jones 

6 Toby Syme  

7 Diogo Freitas-Gouveia  

8 Rio Dasilva (65' Wilkinson)

9 Ashley Hay

10 Emmanuel Adeyemo

11 Jack Snelus  

Subs:

12 Joshua Coldicott-Stevens 

14 Malaki Black  

15 Finley Wilkinson 

16 Layne Eadie   

17 Bradley Bell   

Booked: Bennett (56'), D.Morphew (83'), Gleeson (87'), Crane (87').

Goals: McGrath (17'), Crane (37'pen), Chambers (70').

Needham Market kicked off 2023 in ideal fashion following a 3-0 home win over Hitchin Town in the Pitching In Southern League Central Premier Division. 

Goals from Jamie McGrath, Ross Crane and Seth Chambers wrapped up a big three points for Kevin Horlock's side.

Horlock felt it was an important victory following defeat on Boxing Day, "it's important to get a result, obviously after the disappointment of the result over at Leiston last time out, where I thought the performance was really good and we deserved more. But it was important, to be obviously back at home was nice but, to put on a performance full of energy

and to get three goals and a clean sheet was what we were after, so we're we're pleased with that."

"I think if you look at the whole result it probably looks comfortable, you've got to give them (Hitchin) a little bit of credit, I think they've improved since we last played them. They've got a formation that was quite difficult to deal with at times, but I thought we defended stoutly. We never looked like conceding, I can't remember Marcus Garnham actually making a save and off the back of that we scored scored good goals and looked threatening going forward."

McGrath opened the scoring for the home side, firing home into the bottom corner on the turn after 17 minutes.

Ross Crane then sent Charlie Horlock the wrong way from the spot to cooly double his side's lead after 37 minutes, while the game died down slightly in the second half, with not much of real note to write about. 

Needham though wrapped up all 3 points for their seventh home league win of the season in the 70th minute. Seth Chambers picked up his third of the season in style, latching onto a great ball over the top before beating the two retreating defenders with some good skill to cooly slot home past the onrushing Horlock into the bottom far left-hand corner, 3-0 Needham.

When asked about the goals his side scored, Horlock said, "they were good goals today, obviously one coolly taken with the penalty, but Jamie's goal was magnificent. Seth made a great run and great ball across, Jamie's first touch is always good and it was really good in the box, he just swiveled and hit it which was a great finish."

"Seth I thought totally deserved his goal, he chased lost causes all day and it was probably a little bit of a lost cause, it looked like a defender was favourite but he kept going and finished really nicely so he deserved to score that for the hard work he put in today."

Horlock added, "it's been a tough little spell for us, like I said performances haven't been terrible, I thought we were really good at Leiston and probably deserved to win the game, but we didn't score (enough) so you're not going to."

"It was a much needed performance and win off the back of the results that we've had, and the important thing now is what everyone's chasing, that consistency so we've got to back it up next next time."

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A much needed confidence boosting win for 13th place Needham, who will look to build on the victory when they travel to 4th place Rushall Olympic on Saturday (3pm).