Thurlow Nunn Premier Felixstowe & Walton 3 Walsham-le-Willows 1 The home side had to dig deep and battle it out in a bad tempered affair that saw 11 yellow cards and two penalties before they scored the second of them in time added on by the referee to confirm the three points were staying at the Goldstar ground.
The win in front of another 200 plus crowd saw the Seasiders regain second spot in the table and close the gap on the leaders, who were held to a draw at home.
When Scott Chaplin fired the Seasiders into a 3rd minute lead with a looping effort from the edge of the area they looked to be heading for win number 20, but Walsham quickly pegged them back when Andrew Wood latched on to a poor clearance from his own defence, to run through and slot the ball past Crump and level things up with just 12 minutes on the clock.
The visitors looked the more likely to add to the scoreline before the break as the home side huffed and puffed and it took a top class save from Danny Crump, palming Jack Brame’s 25 yard volley round the post for a corner to deny them taking the lead in the 21st minute.
Felixstowe picked up the pace after the break, looking far more comfortable than they had in the first period, but Walsham had a glorious chance to take the lead just after the hour when the usually reliable Wood dragged his shot wide of Crump’s right hand post.
The home side got stronger as the clocked ticked down, winning a 78th minute penalty when Man of the Match Chaplin was brought down, but Nurse saved Ainsley’s spot kick and it was Jordan Matthews who finally made the breakthrough with two minutes left, heading Ainsley’s free kick into the box beyond the Walsham ‘keeper with the help of a deflection.
Deep into time added on by the referee Michael Robertson-Tant it was Ethan Clarke who was fouled in the area and this time Craig Jennings grabbed the ball to score his 22nd goal of the season.
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 The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.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