Maldon & Tiptree 2 Felixstowe & Walton 1
The message from boss Ian Watson to his squad this week had been, “You need to step up a bit more and take responsibility for your game,” writes Barry Grossmith.
This performance at a windswept Maldon & Tiptree showed that the players did exactly that, despite the 2-1 defeat.
The Seasiders went into this game at The Wallace Binder Ground with five senior players missing against a team on a good run of form and could easily have come away with all three points and probably deserved at least one.
The driving rain meant everybody had to work hard and, speaking after the game, Watson said: “There wasn’t a bad player out there today. We gave away a soft penalty and yes, it was frustrating but everybody put a shift in and we couldn’t have asked for more.”
There were first-team debuts for on-loan Colchester United defender Kyle Jopling and ex-Achilles striker Liam Hillyard, who impressed with his ability to hold the ball up well, bringing other players into the game.
Speaking to Seasiders TV after the game, Hillyard admitted, “I made it clear when I came to Felixstowe that it’s my ambition to play for the first team.”
The deadlock was broken on the hour mark when Miles Powell put The Seasiders ahead.
The ball did take a deflection, wrong-footing keeper Ben McNamara but, in truth, the ball was clearly heading for goal anyway.
That lead held for a quarter of an hour until the referee awarded a penalty to The Jammers following a coming together involving Jordy Matthews and a Maldon striker.
No sooner had Decarrey Sheriff converted from the spot than Eddie-Louis Dsane put the home side ahead just a minute later.
This was a little harsh on the visitors, who failed to settle after Maldon had drawn level but, despite the scoreline and some disappointed travelling fans, this was an all-round solid performance, which bodes well for next Saturday’s match against Dereham.
LISTEN: Catch up with The Non-League Podcast. Plenty to choose from
Felixstowe will go into that game hoping to have a full-strength squad but will be very aware that just because the visitors are bottom of the league, a win is never guaranteed.
Meanwhile, former Seasider, Danny Bloomfield has been announced as assistant to Watson.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here