Weekend Round Up 18th November

SIL ROUND-UP – David Meeson
Four Senior Division games were able to beat the bad weather.
Trimley’s 2-1 win over Halesworth saw them go top on goal difference from Henley who beat Haughley by the same scoreline. Henley had to come from behind with second half goals from Mark Storey and Clark Bruce enough to take the points.
Ransomes produced an even better comeback as they recovered from 2-0 down to beat Leiston St Margarets 3-2. Daniel Allen pulled a goal back on 78 minutes before substitute Ben Deacon struck twice in injury-time to make it six wins from six.
Sporting 87 recorded their second league win of the campaign beating Claydon 6-2. In a recurring theme Sporting also turned the game around having gone 2-1 behind. Kubilayhan Kussan and Keifer Bultitude netted for Claydon. However, a hat-trick from Sam Fenning plus goals from Ashley Brown, Nathan Banks and Josh Thomas saw Sporting take the points with Claydon reduced to 10 men late on.
Thurston took advantage of postponements to go 13 points clear at the top of Division One as they beat Achilles 8-1. Andrew Wood scored four with the Bluesocks other goals coming from Charlie Cook, Kieran Waller, Kaine Fryer and Callum Steed.
Woolverstone also had a convincing victory with a 5-0 home win over Stanton.
All six games survived in Division Two helped by some switching of venues. Wenhaston went top with a 4-0 home win over Elmswell. Jake Sewell scored twice with the other goals coming from George Caplin and Connor Excell.
Kesgrave Kestrels recovered from 2-0 down to beat Ipswich Wanderers Development 4-3. Louie King, Ryan Milbourne, Luke Yates and Caleb Swan netted for Kestrels.
There was also an entertaining game between Great Blakenham and Coplestonians Reserves which ended 3-3. Shane Fricker scored twice for Great Blakenham with Darryn Van Oene notching their other goal. Lewis Owen, Charlie Pyett and Jordan King were on the mark for Cops.
Sporting 87 Reserves took full advantage of Ipswich Athletic’s struggles as they beat them 13-0. Tom Chandler hit a hat-trick while Jacob Jack and Ed Martin also scored twice.
Elsewhere in the Division Claydon Reserves beat Bardwell 3-2 and Needham Market Phoenix had a 4-0 success against Stonham Aspal.

Suffolk SIL Division: Haughley Utd 1-2 Henley Athletic FC- Tony Stone
With yet more heavy rain and games being called off on Saturday morning, it was a pleasure to see the good job the team at Haughley had done to get the game on, we thank them for all their hard work.
Once again Henley started slowly, perhaps guilty of over complicating things and losing possession too often, not a good thing to do against a side like Haughley, who were clearly pumped for the game and eager to take advantage of any errors presented them. In fact Haughley were clearly the better side and had they found a finish or two, they may have taken the lead earlier than the 27th minute, as it was, a good diagonal ball was well finished by Warren at the back post to make it 1-0. They nearly added a second on 40 minutes clipping the top of the bar from the edge of the area, leaving the score 1-0 at HT.
Henley instantly looked better after the break, pinning Haughley back, Bruce coming close and Liam Ablitt hitting the post. The pressure told after 57 minutes, Storey forcing the ball home with a combination of head and shoulder from a Bruce corner for 1-1. The woodwork intervened again on 74 minutes, Bruce’s 25 yard free kick hitting the bar, Henley were frustrated again on 80 minutes, a somewhat dubious offside decision, stopping George Ablitt when clean through.
But, as is so often the case, this side never quits, their persistence finally rewarded in the 87th minute, a fine diagonal cross from George Ablitt, bisected the Haughley back line, Bruce rifling home on the half volley at the back post to give Henley a 1-2 win, with a finish of real class.
Plenty of credit to Haughley, whose play belied their current league position, they were committed and played some nice passing football, presenting a threat throughout the game.
As for Henley, this wasn’t a good performance by any means, but the lads dug deep, kept believing and forced the win, an attitude wholly epitomised by Gussy White who took the Ultra’s vote for MOTM.

FEATURED GAME
TRIMLEY RED DEVILS 2 HALESWORTH TOWN 1
(MACRON SIL SENIOR DIVISION)
TRIMLEY SCORERS:
Curtis Harvey 17 mins
Max Poole 58 mins
HALESWORTH SCORER:
Callum Read 70 mins
REFEREE:
Andrew Eley
ATTENDANCE: 74
The home side went top of the table after this hard-fought win over a Halesworth side who led the Division going into the game.
Both sides played good football from the start with the first chance falling to Ross Driver bit he shot straight at visiting keeper Tom Wickham who had narrowed the angle. Kaiden Goldspink then got clear for Halesworth as he clipped the ball past home gloveman Ben Punter only for the Trimley defence to scramble the ball away.
Trimley then took the lead as Ryan Chidlow found Curtis Harvey in space and he raced forward before driving home past the advancing Wickham.
Halesworth were stung into life with Tane Backhouse having a volley deflected wide and then Toby Payne crashing6 a 20 yarder against the bar.
Shane Hambling was a constant threat down the left for Halesworth and Punter came to the rescue just before the break as he diverted his effort over the bar. Goldspink then headed over from close range after a Hambling corner.
It was more of the same as the second half begun with Punter denying Hambling again. A rare error from Punter then led to the ball being scrambled off the Trimley goaline.
The pacy attackers of Trimley were still causing problems though and Harvey set up Chidlow who fired just over.
The lead was then doubled just before the hour as Max Poole struck a superb free-kick from 25 yards which sailed over Wickham and into the roof of the net.
Backhouse then found Callum Read who headed into the top corner to reduce the deficit. Halesworth pressed for the equaliser only for Josh Knights to break clear but the legs of Wickham to denied him Trimley’s third.
Hambling got through again at the end but the Trimley defence, for who Matt West was particularly impressive, cleared yet again.
A great advert for SIL Senior football with both sides impressing. The officials also managed the high-tempo game well.
It was good to see BBC Radio Suffolk at the game too.

Ransomes Sports 3 Leiston St. Margarets 2-Paul Deacon
Matchdays at Sidegate Avenue these days dawn with a curious mixture of fascination and foreboding, roughly akin to the sensation of sitting down in a restaurant that has a 3 star rating – nobody really knows what to expect. In that respect, in the 100 minutes of football that this game provided, Ransomes were able to show that they are capable of producing moments of sublime quality but also moments of abject calamity, it is just you have no idea of knowing which will prevail.
This was a game that defied narrative and in the end, it was a game you wanted to inhale even as it sucked all the air out of your lungs. In the end, something vital and important had changed here, at least for Ransomes, as Ben Deacon dramatically scored twice in stoppage time to hand the home side what had appeared to be an unlikely win. That is now five goal involvements for the 38 year old in his two cameo appearances off the bench since returning to the club last month.
The match itself had three distinct periods as Ransomes created the first opening after only three minutes with Matt Oxbrow rounding the keeper only to strike the foot of the post.
Period two, and after Leiston St. Margarets had started pretty tamely, perhaps even uncertainly, they began picking away at Ransomes with tempo, but not a great deal of poise. The game began to tilt away from Ransomes with the Saints starting to think they could get a goal of their own. There had been few chances for the visitors in the opening quarter of this match but they showed moments of promise.
Like the stubborn peanut at the bottom of the bag, Leiston probed and scraped and prised and pulled, and eventually worked Ransomes loose, but it was an off the ball incident that saw Leiston awarded a draconian penalty. The weirdness of the award was self inflicted but Jamie Sleet saved Doyle’s spot kick with his trailing leg and won this particular individual battle to keep the game at 0-0.
Despite this set-back, Leiston continued to look a balanced side with their threat coming down the right hand side through the combination of Forrester and Bell, their only thought to be direct and hurt Ransomes – there was certainly a fearlessness and verve about their play.
Ransomes had somehow managed to survive the first half but as the second period progressed Leiston began to warm to their task, cathartically breaking the deadlock on 71 minutes with a second penalty that was handed to Eagle and he finished with relish. Three minutes later and the visitors had added a second through Mace. The Saints had cut loose, they had flexed their muscles and looked good value to go on and win the game with ease.
Ransomes’ response was admirable. Their first big chance to get back in the game came in the 78th minute when Ben Deacon wriggled free from his markers in the box to whip in a low driven cross and there was Danny Allen to turn the ball in from six yards. The deficit was halved but at that point, it didn’t seem to matter much as it appeared to be nothing more than a consolation for Ransomes as the visitors began to game manage what time remained in the match. As the game entered 10 minutes of added time Leiston, comfortable for most of the match, begun to sag and look to the clock.
With the clock on 96 minutes, the hosts 2-1 down, everything changed as Ransomes smashed open a game that St. Margarets were trying their hardest to shut down. Ransomes revived again and suddenly, somehow, they were alive. They were reacquainted with the concept of hope, and redemption beckoned when Ben Deacon collected the ball wide on the left. His driving run into the penalty area was only halted when he was brought down in the box. How are your nerves Ben Deacon? The wait for the answer seemed to stretch for an eternity but when Deacon stepped up to take the spot kick he made no mistake with a nerveless conversion.
Job done, come back complete? Not quite, there was more to come. Ransomes bristled with energy, a winner was in the air. With four minutes remaining who could land the knockout? It was over to Ben Deacon to put himself at the centre of the story as his winning goal sparked scenes of mayhem breaking out all around him, both on and off the pitch as the clubhouse roof was blown off its hinges.
The touch paper was lit on 98 minutes when Brandon Archer had a gilt-edged chance bravely charged down by the onrushing keeper Clouting. The block cleared the penalty area but Ben Deacon needed no invitation as he punished Leiston with a first time finish from 20 yards into an unguarded net. Some forwards might have lost their composure at such a pivotal moment but the second half substitute proved a study in poise and precision.
Leiston St. Margarets will feel really disappointed that they lost this game, especially from a winning position, a game that Ransomes really had no right to win. This was a tough test for Ransomes with the visitors motivated from the start, but they got the rewards for their endeavours, not just from this game but from the past six weeks since the players have turned the club round. They are now very, very close to becoming a real team again, but the process cannot be fast tracked – the road is long, but we are getting there, with everyone pulling in the same direction.

Suffolk FA Primary Cup-Tony Robinson
Coplestonians Development 5 Bramford United 1
(Cops Development are sponsored by AMH Flooring)
.
Middleton treble fires Cops into Round 3!
Last season’s semi-finalists, Cops Development, were soon on the front foot with Connor Hodgins firing just wide. Cops forced a corner and Dave White headed home from Hayden Brown’s pinpoint delivery on 7 minutes. Brown did the same again on 16 minutes with Daryl Fry making it 2-0 to Cops.
Will Pullen got down well to save from the visitors who then pulled a goal back after a superb run and finish from their young forward. So it was game on after 23 minutes even though Cops continued to look the most likely to score again with the visiting keeper having a fine afternoon.
Cops did score a decisive third goal when Kyle Middleton picked his spot after 40 minutes
Brown was a constant threat for Cops and he saw his shot well saved just before the break. HT 3-1
Cops opened the second half well and Sammy Goodchild’s fine jinking run nearly led to a goal. Hayden Brown continued to be a thorn in the visitor’s side as his superb free kick struck the bar before being cleared. Cops had to be alert as Bramford still had intentions of getting back into the game and Pullen saved to maintain Cops advantage. However, Cops extended their lead when Hodgins crossed for Middleton to head home. With 5 minutes remaining, Middleton was fouled in the area and he converted the spot kick to make it 5-1 and complete his hattrick.
So, a good win for the Development side with Brown and Dan Bradbrook in particular both giving skillful and assured performances, Kyle Steff was also a constant threat and unlucky not to be on the score sheet.
FT 5-1
ONCE, TWICE, THREE TIMES IS CRAZY!
Cops comeback 3 times to secure a point.
Great Blakenham Chequers 3 Coplestonians Reserves 3
Cops started on the front foot but were caught out when a long ball was flicked on and after a good delivery from the left wing, was met with a good header to put Great Blakenham in the lead. Cops continued on the front foot and finally got the goal they deserved through a good strike by Lewis Owen from the edge of the box. Unfortunately, just before half time, Cops didn’t deal with a ball into the box and Great Blakenham finished well. 2-1 at half time.
Cops started the second half well and upon their first attack, they were back level through a good finish by Charlie Pyett. It looked at this stage there would be only one winner as Great Blakenham tired with no subs to bring on, but a misplaced pass by Cops allowed Great Blakenham to put the ball through to their striker to finish well and make it 3-2 to Great Blakenham. Cops came from behind for the third time when Charlie King crossed for Jordan King to slide in to touch it past the keeper. Cops tried to find the winner that they deserved but ran out of time.
It was great to see JK and Champagne Charlie back on the score sheet as well as Lewis Owen, pictured below at Henley earlier this season.