MATCH REPORT: Woodbridge well beaten as Ely pounce on Peckers missed chances

Woodbridge Town fell to a 0-4 defeat in their first home game of the new year, as promotion hopefuls Ely City capitalised on missed opportunities by the Peckers to leave the Homestyle UK Ground with an important victory.

Having had to wait over two months to see the Peckers at home this year, there was optimism going into this clash, as Woodbridge welcomed an Ely side that they had previously beaten earlier in the campaign. Despite the Robins sitting third in the table, Saturday felt like an opportunity to bounce back from the dismal defeat against Haverhill. However, the Peckers lacked clinicality and were punished by the travelling side who took the three points in convincing fashion.

Woodbridge Town started the game strongly, with Connor Field testing Ely keeper Ben Newton with a well drilled effort early on. The Peckers kept the pressure on, as Ash Blow drove through the Ely City backline to set up Kye Webb - once again Newton producing a fine stop to keep the game level. But, with 21 minutes on the clock, it was the Robins who found the opener through Ryan Swift, who followed in on a long range effort to bury the rebound. A frustrating goal to concede for Woodbridge, who had played the better football up to that point.

The Woodpeckers responded well and remained positive after conceding. A big chance came and went as Laurie Higgs cut the ball across the face of goal, but somehow no one could turn it home. It felt that a goal was coming for Woodbridge, but once again the hosts were punished for missed chances as on 31 minutes Swift found his second of the game, beating his marker and poking the ball home. It went from bad to worse for the Peckers with the third goal coming three minutes later - Aaron Hamer curling a nice effort into the far corner. There was a late chance to cut the deficit to two, as a nice move down the left hand side worked the ball to Webb who saw his attempt cleared off the line. Half time came, and despite some brilliant attacking play, Woodbridge went into the break trailing by 3 goals to nil.

The second half was much quieter than the first, although both sides did have their moments. An early free kick for Woodbridge was cleared by Ely, after Blow was taken down in a promising position. Stoppages for substitutions took the pace out the game, and apart from Liam Ablitt being sinbinned for dissent, the second 45 was fading away with not much to write home about. The Robins would go on to add to their advantage on 70 minutes, as a blocked effort fell kindly for Tobi Lawal to tap home into an empty net. Another poor goal to concede for Woodbridge, and another difficult afternoon defensively.

Despite their best efforts, the Peckers couldn’t work the ball into the back of the net, and the referee brought a disappointing afternoon to a close. Conceding four at home with no reply is not the way we hoped to respond to recent defeats. This result sees Ely City keep the pressure on the top two, whilst Woodbridge stay 13th in the table. A missed opportunity to leapfrog Dereham, whilst losing ground to the teams further up the league.

Thank you to everyone who turned up to support the lads this weekend, and hopefully our next run of games will breed more positive results. It wasn’t our day on Saturday, but there is still plenty to play for as we enter the final ten games of the season. We hope to see you back at the Homestyle UK Ground soon, and as always, UP THE PECKERS!

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