HALSTEAD TOWN v. IPSWICH WANDERERS

RIDGEONS PREMIER LEAGUE

SATURDAY 10TH MARCH 2007

New signings, both from Mildenhall, Jamie Alsop and Marcus Hering, were in the squad, with Jamie Alsop being given a start at left back. Simon Hyde filled the right berth in the absence, through injury, of Neil Shade.

Wanderers dominated the game for the first 15 mins and looked as if the lowly league position of their opponents, and the recent loss of their manager, would give the visitors an easy afternoon. On 4 mins, Mark Goldfinch, up for a corner, got the ball into the area where Gareth Jones battled with Passfield before the Halstead defender got the ball back to his ‘keeper. Then Danny Smy, Simon Hyde and Sean Bell all had shots charged down as Halstead failed to clear their lines.

On what was almost their first venture into the Wanderers area, Sean Bell headed Meadows’ cross behind for a corner, which was comfortably dealt with by Jamie Stannard. By 16 mins, Wanderers had gained their 6th corner but play was scrappy on a bare and bumpy pitch and both sides were having difficulty in controlling the ball.

Then, all of a sudden, Halstead came to life, as Ricks and Cranfield found themselves onside from Meadows’ cross, and Jamie Stannard misjudging the flight of the ball. Cranfield’s shot, from a narrow angle, came off Mark Goldfinch’s knee, post and bar before being cleared. In their next attack, Meadows, again, put Ricks through and Sean Bell lost out on the physical battle on the edge of the area as the Halstead no.9 stepped past Jamie Stannard and put the ball into the far corner. Almost from the restart, Cranfield nearly did the same, but Mark Goldfinch was equal to the challaenge and cleared the danger.

On 23 mins, breaking from defending a corner, Austen raided down the left and put over a cross/shot which landed on top of the net, with a little help from Jamie Stannard. Then Meadows’ cross from the right found Waterfield completely unmarked on the edge of the area but his shot was wayward.The Wanderers’ defence was in disarray with the normally reliable Sean Bell and Mark Goldfinch seeming at 6s and 7s. With unfamiliar fullbacks in Jamie Alsop and Simon Hyde, the back line did not look its normal self.

Halstead doubled their lead on 32 mins when Ricks got a rebound off Simon Hyde with his first shot but made no mistake with his second from close range. The Wanderers defence fared no better 4 minutes later when lady luck deserted them altogether as Ricks and Waterfield got amongst them and the ball cannoned off a few legs before falling to Meadows who made no mistake to put the home side three up.

2 minutes after this, Dean Tournay-Godfrey pulled one back with the simplest of moves, receiving a ball inside the fullback, advancing 5 paces and blasting past the ‘keeper into the far corner.

Lee Owen’s deep cross was headed back by Sean Bell and Marc Lowe and ‘keeper Rutherford tangled, with the latter requiring lengthy attention to his arm from the physio.

Halstead Town 3 Ipswich Wanderers 1