MATCH PREVIEW: Woodbridge Town vs Felixstowe & Walton United

Jordan Matthews vs Kirkley & Pakefield (Photo: Max Woodward)

Woodbridge Town are in FA Cup Preliminary Round action this Friday as they welcome local Step 4 side Felixstowe and Walton United to the Homestyle UK Ground. 

The Peckers have had a dramatic start to the season, especially in the cup competitions, with a stoppage-time winner to beat Heacham in the FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round, and a 12-11 shootout win in the FA Vase to knock out Lakenheath. 

Performances under new manager Liam Scopes have been positive for Woodbridge, despite a mixed set of results to begin the campaign. Narrow defeats to Dereham Town and Downham Town were separated by a late victory over Kirkley & Pakefield, before back-to-back wins in the FA competitions. 

Woodbridge Town Manager Liam Scopes (Photo: Max Woodward)

The visitors on Friday night are Felixstowe & Walton United, who play in the Isthmian League North Division. The Seasiders have narrowly missed out on promotion over the last couple of seasons, being edged out in the playoffs in consecutive campaigns.

This season however has not started as expected for Felixstowe, suffering three defeats from their opening three fixtures. They fell to a 4-1 loss away at Redbridge on the opening day, followed by a 0-2 defeat at home to Mulbarton in the FA Trophy, and a 4-0 thumping away at Wroxham on Tuesday night.

With the quality across the squad though, it is very much expected that the Seasiders will get their campaign back on track, starting with a win on Friday. Woodbridge will hope to put up a good challenge, and make the visitors work for a place in the next round.

Match Details

Date: Friday 21st August

Kick-off time: 7.45pm

Venue: Homestyle UK Ground, Woodbridge

Previous meetings

This will be the first competitive meeting between the two sides since November 2018, where Felixstowe smashed the Peckers 5-1 in the Suffolk Premier Cup - Sean Rea and Taylor Southgate are the only members of the current squad who played in that clash.

Similarly, in November 2016, Felixstowe beat Woodbridge 4-0 in the 2nd Round of the League Challenge Cup. Kyron Andrews - who now plays for the Woodpeckers -  was on the scoresheet that day for the Seasiders, and Liam Scopes was on the Woodbridge bench as a player!

Kyron Andrews vs Heacham FC (Photo: Max Woodward)

There have been plenty of players to wear both shirts, the most recent of which is Jordan Matthews, who made over 300 appearances for Felixstowe, having joined the club when he was 14. Jordy came to the Peckers this season, and has already got on the scoresheet against Kirkley.

The last two seasons have seen the two clubs meet during pre-season, with the Seasiders winning 0-3 prior to the start of this campaign, and 2-1 before the beginning of the 25/26 season.

WTFC Matchday coverage

The Match programme will be available online on Matchday.

Live updates: If you aren’t attending the game, live match updates will be provided on X, with scoreline updates also available on Instagram and Facebook.

Post-match: Catch clips and photos from the game across our socials, as well as a match report available on the website the following day.

Our Supporters

We look forward to welcoming you all back home for another exciting cup tie - hopefully less dramatic than recent games, with similar results! 

Digital tickets for both home and away fans are available here. This system will speed up entry to the ground for supporters. Tickets are still available for purchase on the night.

Let’s get behind the Peckers for what could be a special night at the Homestyle UK Ground.

UP THE PECKERS!