Bostik North Felixstowe & Walton United 1 Tilbury 1 Playing football at Step 4 has proved something of a steep learning curve for Felixstowe & Walton, writes Barry Grossmith.
In the words of assistant manager Danny Bloomfield: “Some teams can be difficult to play against. Tilbury came here, were physical and made it difficult for us but I think earlier in the season we would have got turned over today.”
As things turned out, the Seasiders battled away and picked up another point as they aim to consolidate their position in the Bostik North League.
As suggested above, this wasn’t a game for the purist and The Dockers made their presence felt from the start.
The visitors were well organised at the back and took what was probably a deserved lead when the league’s leading scorer Lewis Smith, picking up a neat pass from George Sykes, finished right-footed past keeper Jack Spurling three minutes before half time.
The healthy crowd of 351, including a vociferous contingent from Tilbury, witnessed a competitive second half with Felixstowe threatening more than before the break.
It was shortly before the hour mark that Miles Powell found himself on the end of a Callum Bennett cross from the right to head home a deserved equaliser.
This was a game with a total of eight yellow cards, including five for the visitors and three for the home side.
Tilbury made life hard for The Seasiders and Bloomfield admitted after the game: “We stood up to a physical side who put it around, but we roll forward with another point. We weren’t brave enough with the ball and we could have done better in possession.”
Admitting to being a little disappointed he added: “Overall, we probably just deserved to nick it. I never felt we were going to lose the game. There is a steeliness there now. We’re competitive.”
The result leaves Felixstowe in 11th spot, 14 points clear of the drop zone with eleven games still to play. Next up at The Goldstar Ground are 13th placed Barking FC, with the Seasiders looking for a repeat of the impressive 4-2 win down in Essex back in November.
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