With the exception of goalkeeper, Lewis Rhodes, none of the Copleston based players were on show as they were to be involved in a school game the following day or are involved in the County Under 18 semi-final on Saturday. Ross Nicklin & Ross Hutchings both made their Ridgeons League debuts & there was a total of 6 Under 16s on the pitch at the end of the game.

Wanderers started brightest & they took a deserved lead after pinching a loose pass in midfield & releasing a striker to accelerate away from the Woodbridge defence to score. Fabian Ambrose made a goal-line clearance & Lewis Rhodes a fine double-save as Wanderers threatened to stretch their lead.

The mixture of excellent pressure from Wanderers high up the pitch & a difficult surface upon which to pass the ball around 1 & 2 touch saw Woodbridge get the ball forward to their strikers earlier than usual & this tactic led to the equalizer when Josh Mayhew flicked on Rhodes’ kick & CRAIG JENNINGS crashed in a volley from 25 yards. It was a more typical piece of Woodbridge play that saw them take a 37th minute lead as Danny Tatum’s quick free-kick set up Ross Hutchings & when his shot was only parried ROSS NICKLIN tapped in the rebound. Woodbridge were suddenly having a good spell & mixed up short, quick passing with hitting the front players with quality, but in a topsy-turvy half Wanderers grabbed an equalizer just before half-time after Rhodes couldn’t hold onto a free-kick & saw the rebound tapped into his net. In fact, Wanderers could have gone in 3-2 ahead as they found the net seconds after the half-time whistle had been blown!

The 2nd half began in bizarre fashion as the usually reliable Rhodes dropped a harmless looking cross & Wanderers scrambled the ball over the line. However, Mayhew delivered a fantastic cross, which saw Jennings force a reflex save from the keeper & once again ROSS NICKLIN was on hand to level from close range. Almost immediately, CRAIG JENNINGS raced away from the home defence to place a 20 yard shot inside the near post to give Woodbridge the lead again.
When Woodbridge made their 3 subs, there was the strange situation of two players called Jack Garnham on the pitch. It was fellow Under 16 substitute, Stuart Baillie, who pressured a defender into a loose pass to Jennings, who in turn found DANNY TATUM to lob home cheekily.
With 15 minutes left Jennings limped off & the 10 remaining Woodbridge players, which included 6 of John Beecroft’s Under 16 squad, had to weather a late storm & got all the way into injury time before Rhodes spilled another shot & was once again punished for his error. However, there was not time for Wanderers to grab a 5th & equalizing goal, although the drama wasn’t quite over as 1 of the floodlights then went out!

Team: Rhodes, Stafford (J.Garnham 1st 61), Sturman, Horne, Ambrose, Salisbury, Nicklin, Hutchings (J. Garnham 2nd 63), Mayhew (Baillie 57), Jennings & Tatum.