MATCH PREVIEW: Dereham Town vs Woodbridge Town
- Woodbridge Town
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Woodbridge Town return to competitive action on Saturday afternoon as the latest Thurlow Nunn Premier Division season begins, with the Peckers kicking off their 26/27 campaign with a trip to Aldiss Park, to take on Dereham Town.
After a challenging campaign last year, Woodbridge Town look to hit the ground running as another action-packed season gets underway. With a familiar face in Liam Scopes on the touchline, and some exciting new additions, the Peckers will be optimistic of a strong and successful campaign.
There’s also a fresh face in the Dereham dugout, as Rossi Jarvis begins his tenure as manager of the Magpies. Jarvis is a former Dereham Town player, taking his first steps into senior management. After a 10th place finish in the Premier Division last season, they’ll be hoping to build on last campaign, starting with a win this weekend.
Match Details
Date: Saturday 25th July 2026
Kick-off time: 3pm
Venue: Aldiss Park, Dereham
Pre-season
It’s been a promising pre-season for Woodbridge, with wins over Grundisburgh, Ransomes and Henley Athletic. A defeat to Felixstowe & Walton United highlighted some areas of improvement, but it came as important minutes in the tank and the overall performance against higher tier opposition was positive.
The Peckers will be hopeful of pulling together the strong elements, and delivering a victory in Liam’s first game in charge.
Dereham’s pre-season has also looked positive, despite results not falling their way. A win over Lowestoft Town kicked off their preparations, followed by narrow defeats to Wroxham, Leiston and Mulbarton Wanderers.
The Magpies have competed well with stronger opposition, and will hope to translate those showings into a performance worthy of the three points on Saturday.
New signings
The new additions for Woodbridge will hope to have an instant impact in this one. Mackenzie Travis, who joins from Leiston, has looked very sharp in pre-season with a couple of goals. Mason Harvey, returning to the Peckers after stints at Hadleigh and Ipswich Wanderers, will also want to start with a strong showing.
Dereham have made signings of their own, with a few exciting young players joining their ranks. They’ll provide a good test for Woodbridge to deal with, alongside players that delivered consistently for the Magpies last season.
Opening day troubles
The Woodpeckers will hope to stop a run of opening day defeats on Saturday, having lost our last two opening day fixtures; a 0-3 loss at home to Thetford Town last season, and a 2-0 defeat away at Mulbarton Wanderers at the start of the 24/25 season.
Dereham have similarly struggled in the opening matchweek in recent years, with only one win from their last four Matchweek 1 fixtures. Their last opening day victory was back in 2023, when they beat Brantham Athletic 2-0 at home.
For one of these two teams, that streak will probably end this weekend - though don’t be surprised if this game ends level and the opening day winless runs continue!
WTFC Matchday coverage
Live updates: If you can’t make the trip to Dereham, live match updates will be provided on X, with scoreline updates also available on Instagram and Facebook
Post-match: Catch clips from the game across our socials, as well as a match report from the game available on the website the following day
Our supporters
As another season begins, we need you to get behind the lads for what is set up to be a promising campaign - your support is a huge part of our club. Thank you to everyone who is making the trip to Dereham this weekend, and we can’t wait to welcome you all back to the Homestyle UK Ground for our first home game of the season against Kirkley & Pakefield on Tuesday night. UP THE PECKERS!
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