AFC SUDBURY 0 v. IPSWICH WANDERERS 4

RIDGEONS PREMIER LEAGUE

TUESDAY 13TH DECEMBER 2005

Wanderers had set up a sequence of win-lose-win-lose over the last few games and it was the lose part that was due this evening. Jason Dozzell re-instated himself in the defence with Mark Goldfinch moving to right back and Lee Smith dropping to the bench.

The first half was a bit of a mixed bag a both sides struggled to find some rhythm and an effective way through to goal. Sudbury took their turn first with Owen’s corner to the near post on 10 mins being pounced on by an unmarked Hyde but he fluffed his kick and then Owen’s corner on 14 mins, this time to the back post, seeing Jamie Stannard win the aerial duel with Abrahams. During Wanderers’ attacks at the other end, two appeals for what looked like blatant handball were turned down.

By 21 mins Wanderers had lost their shape and composure, their long balls forward being woefully inaccurate and the ball being given away in midfield too easily. However, Sudbury were unable to take advantage of this lapse, despite applying pressure.

The game changed on 27 mins when Noble was sent off for a two-footed challenge on Mark Goldfinch after he had lost control of the ball. For 5 or so mins Sudbury lost their way as they came to terms with their loss but then enjoyed, perhaps, their best spell of the half as they moved the ball about and Wanderers were chasing the game. On 32 mins Rene Swann tried a long range shot that flew over the bar and then neat exchanges of passes ended with Keith Hetherington’s shot on the turn which went wide. Sudbury were becoming frustrated at their lack of consistency and English entered the referee’s notebook for showing his personal frustration as Sudbury ended the half having lost their shape and composure.

AFC Sudbury 0 Ipswich Wanderers 0

A game of two halves? This certainly was! Abrahams shot from English’s free kick moments after the restart was cleared upfield and, from Keith Hetherington’s cross, Marc Lowe rifled the ball into the roof of the net for the opening goal. Sudbury looked visibly rattled by this reverse and struggled to get into the game and went further behind on the hour when Keith Hetherington’s cross was headed on to the bar and, from the rebound, Bradley Barber acrobatically fired the ball into net from close range. All Wanderers’ supporters, and Sudbury’s for that matter, expected a reply from the home side but none came. They struggled to get a passing game together, gave the ball away and mounted hardly a threatening move on the visitor’s goal.

On 75 mins, Bradley Barber was booked for an innocuous and accidental foul on Head and then Keith Hetherington turned from provider to scorer when he was involved in a passing move down the right with Rene Swann and Dean Tournay-Godfrey and hammered home the latter’s pass from the 6yd line. Still no reply from Sudbury so Sam Banya came on to face his old club, a place where his goal-scoring feats were legendary, and, with only his second touch of the ball, drove the knife fully home with a header from Marc Lowe’s headed cross from Jamie Baker’s free kick.

Sudbury finally got into gear and, inspired by Bethel and Wardley in particular, mounted a series of attacks on the Wanderers goal. Jamie Stannard was in fine form though, continuing on from last Saturday, commanding his area and making every ball into the area his own. It seemed that there were magnets in his gloves as every ball stuck fast and the Sudbury threat was neutralised.

An epic result for Wanderers who had never before won at Sudbury, but was all the more astonishing for the scoreline. It was Sudbury’s third league defeat in a row and many disgruntled supporters left before the end, hurling unkind words at the management on their way. As their manager said, any team can have an off day!