PREVIEW: Woodbridge Town vs Hadleigh United

Woodbridge Town vs Kirkley & Pakefield - Photo: Max Woodward

Woodbridge Town are back under the lights this Tuesday as they take on Hadleigh United at the Homestyle UK Ground. These two sides have played out some brilliant contests over the years, and expect this week to be the same, as both sides battle it out for a crucial three points. The Peckers are looking to build momentum as we approach the run in, and will be eyeing up another win tomorrow night.

It’s been a mixed run of late for Woodbridge, who after some difficult losses to Haverhill Rovers and Ely City, bounced back with a 3-1 victory over Kirkley & Pakefield last time out. Goals from Ash Blow, Mark Ray and Ryan Marsh guided the Peckers to the win on Friday night. Now the Woodpeckers are searching for back to back wins against a Hadleigh side that have struggled this season, sitting bottom of the league and winless since November. That being said, the Brettsiders still have the quality to challenge Woodbridge on Tuesday night.

The two sides have met once this season, where Woodbridge ran out 3-6 winners away from home. 5 different goalscorers for the Peckers that day as they punished Hadleigh mistakes to win convincingly in the end. They’ll be hoping for a similar performance in this game, although will hope to not concede three in the process. Previous meetings also favour Woodbridge, as they haven’t lost to Hadleigh in their last three meetings - the last time the visitors beat the Woodpeckers was November 2023.

It was encouraging to see the Peckers rediscovering their good form in front of goal last time out, as Ash Blow netted his 12th of the season, and Mark Ray scored on his return - both players will look to get in on the act once again on Tuesday. It was also a better defensive performance from Woodbridge, with Laurie Higgs remaining consistently solid this season, and Dale Watling stepping in for the injured Hurst and producing a strong showing. 

If Hadleigh United are to get anything from this contest, they’ll turn to top goalscorer Curtis Harvey, who’s notched up a respectable 13 goals this season; the only Brettsiders player to net more than 3. George Day will also offer a threat for the visitors, as he looks to add to the goal he already scored against the Peckers earlier this season.

The top half is firmly in the Peckers’ sights now, and with this meeting being one of our remaining games in hand, it presents a great opportunity to climb the table. Three points would see Woodbridge go level with Walsham in 10th, and build a gap to the sides below. Further down the table, a win for Hadleigh on Tuesday could see the Brettsiders jump out of the bottom two, and sit a point above Lakenheath.

Every game is even bigger as we approach the end of the season. All the points matter more than ever, and the Peckers will hope to end the campaign strong after an admittedly rocky start. After last Friday’s win, let’s build some momentum and get a good run of form going right til the last 90 minutes. Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to welcoming as many of you as possible at the Homestyle UK Ground on Tuesday evening. UP THE PECKERS!  

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