That they did so was as much down to Woodbridge's woeful display as anything of their own making.

The inconsistency that has plagued the Woodpeckers all season was all too apparent as they surrendered the points to a struggling side on their home patch as they had done previously to Harwich & Parkeston and Swaffham and yet have beaten both top half of the table visitors Mildenhall and Felixstowe & Walton United in recent weeks.

Perhaps the outcome may have been different if Ben Seaman's 20-yard bullet had not rebounded off the near post with just five minutes played or Aaron Churchyard's shot not struck the same post and rebounded straight into the arms of Matthew Paynter half an hour later.

However, so poor were Woodbridge apart from those two efforts on goal it is doubtful they would have scored if they had played all night.

They made little impact on a well organised defence in which the veteran Andy Eady and debut-making Colin Vowden gobbled up anything in the air while full backs Adam Murray and Dan Holyoak stood firm and snuffed out any threat down either flank.

It was Eady who put Newmarket into the lead just before the half hour mark, rising unchallenged to plant a well-directed header into the roof of the net from Mark Angel's left-wing corner.

The second goal three minutes before half time summed up Woodbridge's display when Marcus Garnham could only punch the ball straight to the feet of Tony Beck whose scuffed shot rolled under the foot of Ben Miller as he attempted to clear it and apologetically crept over the line for as soft a goal as you could wish to see.

Allicion Blake shot tamely straight at Paynter and then Aaron Churchyard forced the keeper to make his one save of note in the entire 90 minutes as Woodbridge briefly rallied at the start of the second period.

However, it was the visitors who came closest to adding to their tally, but some wasteful finishing by Angel, Beck and Alec Watson spared Woodbridge from further embarrassment.
Woodbridge tried to freshen things up with the introduction of three substitutes, including the return of Luke Read after five weeks out with damaged knee ligaments, but it was all to no avail.

Woodbridge Town: Marcus Garnham, Arran Sheppard (sub Luke Read 60 mins), Grant Monaghan, Sean Rea (sub Ben Garnham 67 mins), Stefan Marsh, Ben Miller, Aaron Churchyard, Paul Hart, Allicion Blake, Lee O'Neill, Ben Seaman (sub Craig Jennings 67 mins). Unused sub: Mark Roper.