IPSWICH WANDERERS v. HALSTEAD TOWN
RIDGEONS PREMIER LEAGUE
SATURDAY 11TH MARCH 2006

Manager Jason Dozzell was faced with a surfeit of substitutes and therefore left himself out of the reckoning. Paul Westren made a return to the no. 7 shirt and it was good to see Terry layton on the bench after a lengthy layoff through injury.
A very heavy snow flurry greeted the teams as they lined up but, although it did not last long, it soon made a return and added a bizarre quality to the game, with the sun making the odd appearance through the flakes.

Paul Westren saw a lot of the ball in the early minutes, providing pin-point crosses for first Ricky Martin and then Marc Lowe, the latter's striking the bar. Halstead had Lawson as the lone man up front but, as the half progressed, he was joined by Irvine and Love to cause some trouble for Chris Tracey and Mark Goldfinch. Irvine got into the area to unleash a shot on 12 mins but he dragged it wide as Halstead enjoyed a brief period of superiority.

Wanderers regained control but they were by no means finding it easy against a determined and resolute Halstead side who were showing no signs of the form that saw had them leaking so many goals since their last victory in November. Although they were under pressure from free kicks and corners, they were allowing Wanderers precious little room to create anything in open play.

Rene Swann and Dean Tournay-Godfrey were working hard up front, supported by the midfield of Marc Lowe, Bradley Barber, Paul Westren and Ricky Martin but there seemed to be little in the way of inspiration to crack ipen the Halstead defence.

Ipswich Wanderers 0 Halstead Town 0

With the scoreline goalless at half time and the sun blinding the eyes as the 2nd half got under way, it soon became obvious that Halstead were not going to give way easily, with Wanderers trying all they could to find a way through. Love had tested Jamie Stannard with a shot, having run on to a through ball and, at the other end, Ricky Martin got in a header from Paul Westren's chip that was tipped over the bar by the ever-busy Jones.

On the hour, both sides started to introduce substitutes in an attempt to break the deadlock, Sam Banya and Keith Hetherington throwing their efforts into attack.

The Wanderers midfielders and strikers were constant thorns in Halstead's side with Bonwick and Morris efficiently marshalling the visitor's defence but it was a deflected shot from Marc Lowe on 85 mins that eventually did for them, the Wanderers skipper latching on to a partially cleared Paul Westren corner to shoot through a forest of legs. This followed a period of intense pressure when Jones' goal had been under almost constant bombardment so it really came as no surprise although it did seem that Wanderers would need a bit of luck to make a breakthrough.

The final 5 minutes were played with Wanderers' backs to the wall as they held onto their lead and Halstead trying their utmost to grab back the point that they must have felt they so richly deserved. Irvine nearly saved the well deserved point when he shot straight at an advancing Jamie Stannard after Harper's free kick had been palmed away by the home 'keeper but the defence was well worth the clean sheet and Chris Tracey was awarded the man of the match on the strength of this.
Ipswich Wanderers 1 Halstead Town 0