When Felixstowe & Walton travelled to Brentwood back in December, it was the Essex side who came away with all three points, writes Barry Grossmith.

When Felixstowe & Walton travelled to Brentwood back in December, it was the Essex side who came away with all three points.

It was a frustrating day for Felixstowe, who were leading 1-0 with 15 minutes remaining when there was what can only be described as some form of capitulation, allowing The Blues to net three times and finish with a 3-1 win. The return fixture is at Dellwood Avenue this weekend.

“We owe them one,” said Seasiders’ boss Ian Watson earlier in the week.

“We went down there and played quite well but collapsed at the end of the game.

“They ended up beating us and it was very disappointing because we took a good following with us for that one. We want to put it right in front of our home crowd and we’re feeling strong and confident now.”

Brentwood currently sit one point and one place below Felixstowe but have a game in hand and Tuesday night’s win away at Coggeshall suggests life won’t be straightforward for Ian Watson’s men on Saturday.

Nevertheless, the Seasiders are in confident mood with just three defeats in 15 games in all competitions.

The problem, however, rests in the matter of scoring goals and finishing games off. Last week’s 1-1 draw at Witham is a case in point. Felixstowe dominated in that game, but once again came away with one point instead of three

Assistant boss Danny Bloomfield admitted: “The message remains the same.

“If we can improve two or three per cent in certain areas going forward, we’ll be okay. We’ve just got to keep getting better. The wins will come.”

The Seasiders will be keen to finish the season comfortably in the top half of the table but possibly just as important is keeping up the good run of avoiding defeats and improving in all areas in order to prepare and build for next season.

It’s also vital to go into next week’s Suffolk FA Premier Cup semi-final at Hadleigh against Stowmarket confident of being able to progress to the final against holders Leiston at Portman Road.

The season’s end may be close but things are far from over just yet.