IPSWICH WANDERERS v. NEEDHAM MARKET

RIDGEOND LEAGUE DIV 1 – 12TH MARCH 2005

It was a tense start from both sides in this top of the table clash with all three points vital for both teams in their bid for promotion. More importantly though, was not to lose. Both clubs had been involved in gruelling cup matches the previous Tuesday, Wanderers winning 1-0 at Soham in the League Cup and Needham overcoming Cockfield 4-2 in the Suffolk Senior Cup. The pitch showed little sign of the recent bad weather and, for Wanderers, leading scorer Rene Swann was on the bench.

On 8 minutes a Wanderers corner was not properly cleared and there were appeals, eventually turned down, for the ball crossing the goal line. The pace of the game was not fast and neither team was gaining the upper hand but, such was their respective positions in the league that they matched each other for the strength of the tackling and the quality of the football. With Dean Tournay-Godfrey the lone striker it was left to Marc Lowe, Daniel Buck and David Grimwood to support from midfield, which they did by turns but such was the battle in the middle of the pitch that at times, the good work by Ricky Martin and Jorrell Hurd down the wings came to nothing as the crosses found no-one in the box. A Wanderers defensive error on 26 minutes left Jopling and Jamie Stannard racing for the ball as it ran into the area. Stannard was fractionally first and the danger was cleared. At this stage of the game Needham were having the best of the play, but both sides were showing determination and it looked unlikely that there was going to be anything other than just a single goal to settle the game.

Ipswich Wanderers 0 Needham Market 0

The discipline and organisation of both sides cancelled themselves out and the game continued as before. On 55 minutes a Wanderers free kick fell to Marc Lowe on the edge of the area and his powerful shot was tipped over the bar by Fenn.

The resultant corner was cleared up field and, as Wanderers raced back to defend, S Mann crossed low and Phillips sidefooted into an empty net.

This set back prompted Wanderers to bring on Rene Swann and Paul Westren and immediately the Needham defence was under pressure.An extra man was brought back to deal with this added threat and the balance of the game resumed. Jamie Stannard, as he had on Tuesday, was being kept very busy and was being called upon to demonstrate his full range of goalkeeping abilities. He did very well to smother a shot a the near post from Jopling and then Jason Dozzell slid in with a timely tackle to break up a Needham attack. Dozzell was having a fine game, keeping Needham leading scorer Jopling under control and off the score sheet, which left Mark Goldfinch to show why he is so highly regarded as a central defender by dealing with the rest of the Needham attack. Terry Layton and Matthew Cunningham were outstanding in coping with former Wanderer Jermaine Harewood and the wide runs of K Mann and Townes.

The goal had silenced the criticism of the referee by the Needham bench and players but on 82 minutes all that changed when the assistant referee on the far side spotted a handball in the area as a Needham player lay on the ground. After some consultation the referee awarded a penalty to Wanderers and a yellow card to a Needham player and Dean Tournay-Godfrey stepped up to slam home the kick in fine style.

Although a point each was not the best result for either side, both managers after the game expressed their relief at not losing and stating that they would have settled for a draw before the game.

Ipswich Wanderers 1 Needham Market 1