Felixstowe 3 Harleston Magpies IV 2Felixstowe showed fighting spirit to eventually run out as victors in this hard-fought close encounter.The first half was one of few chances with both defences standing up well under pressure and a gritty midfield battle leading to a stalemate at half-time.

Felixstowe 3 Harleston Magpies IV 2

Felixstowe showed fighting spirit to eventually run out as victors in this hard-fought close encounter.

The first half was one of few chances with both defences standing up well under pressure and a gritty midfield battle leading to a stalemate at half-time.

Following an unfortunate injury to striker Muchal, a tactical switch from skipper Nick Smith at half-time saw Felixstowe attack with more urgency in the second half and a neat passing move saw Alex Woodhouse square the ball to Matt Burden who turned sharply before flicking the ball past the helpless goalkeeper.

The home side now had the impetus and another quickfire attacking move forced a short corner, which was converted neatly by Jack Entwistle following a well-executed training ground move.

Harleston were not ready to lie down though and showed good bottle by hitting back immediately with a short corner of their own. With only a few minutes remaining, the away side then levelled the scores with an excellent breakaway goal.

Ahead of their key match with Ipswich III though, the Seasiders were determined to take all three points and a last-minute short corner provided Woodhouse with the opportunity to convert a trademark drag-flick, setting up a crucial top of table clash next week.