Felixstowe & Walton are well beaten by champions Bowers

GOAL (0-2) Matthew Lock finds himself clear at the far post to head home and double the score for Bowers & Pitsea (Image: © Stan Baston)

Felixstowe & Walton’s impressive nine-game unbeaten home record came to an end at The Goldstar Ground on Saturday when worthy league champions Bowers & Pitsea put four past The Seasiders, writes Barry Grossmith.

There will be none among the 361 spectators watching the game who will deny Bowers their three points.

Seasiders' Miles Powell sees his scrambled shot go just the wrong side of the post Photo: STAN BASTON (Image: © Stan Baston)

This was an organised, spirited side who, despite already being crowned champions, clearly took this game as seriously as any game they’ve played this season.

With front man Liam Hillyard carrying a knock, Rhys Henry partnered Jack Ainsley up front while Miles Powell dropped to the bench. Dan Davis returned to central defence for the home side.

Bowers applied pressure from the start and took an early lead on ten minutes when Bradley Warner found himself in a one-on-one with keeper Jack Spurling, who saw the ball pass to his left into the net.

Despite forays forward from Ethan Clarke and Kye Ruel, Felixstowe struggled to make any real impression and slipped further behind when Matthew Lock’s glancing header from a corner doubled the visitors’ lead just after the half hour mark.

Another corner, this time from the left, allowed James Thomas to back-heel into the net six minutes later, meaning Rob Small’s side went into the break with a three goal lead.

Although the second half saw a better star from Felixstowe, goal number four came on 64 minutes when Ben Sartain took advantage of a loose ball and converted from just inside the box.

Despite this defeat, Felixstowe boss Ian Watson remained positive, saying: “We’ll learn from that today. We didn’t go through the motions at the end of the game. There’s spirit in our side too.”

Assistant Danny Bloomfield, also very positive, added: “They taught us a lesson today, but that is good.

“There’s a gift in everything.

“They were fitter and sharper than us, well drilled and organised but we won’t get over-excited about this defeat. We’ll learn.”

Next weekend sees a tricky trip to Coggeshall on Saturday and the visit of Mildenhall on Easter Monday, with a top six finish still a possibility for The Seasiders.