PREVIEW: Woodbridge Town Ladies vs AFC Kesgrave Ladies

Woodbridge Town's Stacey Hadley in action (Photo: Max Woodward)

Woodbridge Town Ladies are back at home this weekend as they welcome AFC Kesgrave Ladies to the Homestyle UK Ground. The Peckers are searching for back-to-back wins against a Kesgrave side who currently sit second in the league. It is bound to be a good contest between two quality sides who are both wanting to claim the runners-up spot in the SGWFL Premiership.

The Woodpeckers claimed victory last time out against Brantham Athletic Devs, as a 0-1 win on the road ended a four game winless streak. Despite the lack of wins, the performances from Woodbridge have been positive, but results haven’t fallen in their favour. AFC Kesgrave come into this game in brilliant form, having won eight games in a row - the highlights being a 2-6 win over Stowupland Falcons and a 1-4 victory at Bacton. 

This is the first meeting between the two sides this season, after the reverse fixture was postponed back in February. However, this is a fixture that Woodbridge have always enjoyed, avoiding defeat in all of the past five meetings between the two sides. Last season, the Peckers ran out 0-2 winners away from home in the only game played between the two teams in the campaign.

Despite not picking up the wins required, Woodbridge have still been in good goalscoring form, with Sadie Jamieson scoring her 17th of the season on Tuesday, and Rhianna Kiwomya netting five since the new year. Defensively, Tegan Jarvis returned for her first start of the season against Brantham in the midweek, providing a big boost to the Woodbridge backline.

Sadie Jamieson is Woodbridge Town's top goalscorer this season with 17 goals (Photo: Max Woodward)

The visitors this weekend also have plenty of firepower in the frontline, with Isla Romer-Lee enjoying a strong season, scoring eleven goals in fifteen games. Ella Wright has also looked in good touch, finding the back of the net seven times in her thirteen appearances. There’s also a familiar face firing in the goals for AFC Kesgrave, as former Woodbridge striker Evie-Jae Laughlin has been in brilliant form - netting seven goals in eight games.

This contest has a big impact on the table, with both sides chasing that runners-up spot - AFC Sudbury Reserves look to be clear at this point in the season. A win for Woodbridge on Sunday would see the Peckers go seven points behind AFC Kesgrave with two games in hand, and six points behind Needham Market Devs with three games in hand. Victory for AFC Kesgrave would see them build a large gap back to the sides below.

Your support for the Ladies this season has been massively appreciated, and we look forward to welcoming as many of you as possible for this weekend’s local clash. With nine games left of the season, including the League Cup Final, your support is appreciated now more than ever as we enter the run-in. Let’s start building some momentum and, as always, UP THE PECKERS!

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