Felixstowe 4 IES II 0

Division 3NE

Felixstowe 4 Ipswich East Suffolk II 0

In the absence of skipper Nick Smith, vice-captain Paul Muchal led the Seasiders to a comfortable 4-0 win in this local derby fixture.

Felixstowe attacked right from the whistle and put the away side under early pressure. Midfielder Alex Woodhouse tested the IES defence with some aerial balls, one of which landed perfectly into the path of striker Matt Burden who was able to dart round the keeper with ease and finish into the empty net.

This was quickly followed by further pressure culminating in Felixstowe forcing a number of short corners. The IES keeper saved well from the resulting drag flicks of Woodhouse before being caught out by a textbook routine that saw Jack Entwistle deflect the ball into the roof of the net.

The lofted balls from Woodhouse were proving too hot to handle for the IES defence, forcing their goalkeeper to come rushing out, up-ending Burden, whose finish was adjudged to have been from outside the D. However, Woodhouse was able to despatch the resultant penalty flick.

A similar incident shortly afterwards saw the IES keeper come rushing out and seemingly handle the ball outside the D which he was fortunate to get away with.

The home team's attacking prowess, combined with some very assured defending from the central partnership of James John and Steve Taylor, was proving the difference between the sides.

With a 3-0 half-time lead, there was plenty of praise for the whole side, including a solid debut for right-sided midfielder Greg Hammond. The second half priority remained keeping another clean sheet.

Despite restricting Felixstowe to just one more goal in the second half, a short corner effort from Burden, IES had little to offer going forward and the Seasiders were well worthy of their 4-0 victory, consolidating their second place position in Division 3NE.