Grundisburgh boss Mickey Squirrell admitted that Friday’s Bob Coleman Cup triumph came as a massive relief to his side after the SIL Senior giants finished as runners-up in league duties and were defeated semi-finalists in the Suffolk Senior Cup.

“To be fair it would’ve been a travesty if we hadn’t won anything this season,” admitted Squirrell post-match.

“Obviously coming into a final hot favourites is tough but we were determined to win it tonight and I think anyone who watched would’ve thought we were worthy winners.”

For the majority of the season, Grundisburgh have been hot of the heels of Achilles at the top of the table, and despite turning in result after result in trying to gun down the Ipswich side, Achilles finally ended their 26-year wait for the League title this campaign.

“It’s been a good season,” continued Squirrell. “We’ve just come up short in the league to a good Achilles side who’ve done extremely well because we put them under pressure.

“They didn’t falter throughout and fair play to them.”

Friday’s game also saw Grundisburgh captain Matty Cunningham call an end on his playing career and Squirrell paid tribute to his committed full-back.

“I thought he (Cunningham) was outstanding. I thought he led by example and always has done – he’s been an excellent servant for us.”

Underdog East Bergholt boss David Goodchild admitted the better side won and had no complaints at the final result but was pleased with his side’s efforts.

He said: “Coming up against Grundisburgh, you know they are the top side, they always have been and even though they had two or three players out tonight, it didn’t affect them.

“I thought we competed pretty well but I never thought we really had a goal-threat.

“I don’t think they (Grundisburgh) were at their best today but that proved they are a strong side and they did more than enough.

“They’ve got quality players and they killed us at the right times.”

Looking at the bigger picture, Goodchild added: “This time last year we’d just staved off relegation, we’ve made some big strides overall in terms of our league position.

“And I’m pleased with everybody tonight – we turned up and we didn’t let ourselves down at all.”