Bostik North Great Wakering Rovers 2 Felixstowe & Walton United 0 Felixstowe travelled south on Saturday for their Bostik North encounter at Great Wakering in confident mood, writes Barry Grossmith.
Unfortunately, it took only nine minutes before the Seasiders were having to work hard to lift spirits after Stephen Butterworth netted for Rovers from close range.
It’s true Felixstowe were missing both Jack Ainsley and Joe Bloomfield but this was always going to be a bad day at the office. Great Wakering were quick out of the traps, challenged every ball, pressed consistently and disrupted the flow.
They pounced on mistakes made by the visitors, piling on yet more pressure, and this resulted in the home side extending their lead after 20 minutes when Billy Johnson converted from the edge of the box.
After the game, joint manager Ian Watson admitted: “Today, we simply weren’t at the races…..we were missing a couple of players but we just didn’t have the right attitude.”
That said, Jordy Matthews was, as usual, tenacious in midfield. At times the Seasiders moved the ball about with style, but constant closing down from the hosts was the visitors’ undoing.
Reflecting on this, Watson added: “We are going to have to accept that teams in the Bostik North offer a physical presence and we’ll have to mix it up with how we respond.”
It’s clear life will be more difficult in this league. The second half was more satisfactory even though there was no improvement in the scoreline.
All three substitutes were used later in the game, with Watson commenting: “I was happy with the lads from the bench: Sam Ford, Ben Clarke and Darcy De’ath.”
De’ath re-signed for Felixstowe late on Friday.
More than a few people at the game felt that the defeat might possibly be a blessing in disguise. If anyone was under the illusion that life would be straightforward in this league, they are now fully aware that this is definitely not the case.
Next up for Felixstowe & Walton is Walthamstow at home in the FA Cup on Saturday, an opportunity for the Seasiders to make amends and get things back on track.
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