Woodford Town 2-1 Clacton
47′ – Jaedon Phillips
72′ – Luke Parrott
Ashton Stadium | Fri 6th Jan 2023 | 7:45pm | Attendance: 174
Report by Harrison Nathan
Photos by James Walkinshaw
A brilliant, hard-fought performance from Woodford sees them kick off the new year with a bang, as they came from behind to beat 3rd placed Clacton!
The opening exchanges of the game saw the ‘Seasiders’ dominate, with plenty of openings falling their way however, their incapabilities in the final third meant their chances were snuffed out by the Woodford defence.
The half grew on and the home side started to feel more comfortable and could have even taken a comfortable advantage. Dimi Christou saw his volley go just past the post and Luke Parrott had a 1-on-1 saved by Avenell – opportunities that should have been taken…
Into first-half stoppage time and a silly foul from Montel McKenzie allowed the visitors a chance to put one into the area from a free kick. The cross came in and rising highest was Mekhi Mckenzie to fire Clacton into the lead with the penultimate kick off the half.
Woodford didn’t dwell on the late lapse in concentration and came out with all guns blazing in the second half. Just two minutes after the break, Luke Parrott ran clear down the left-hand side and his outside-of-the-foot pass found Jaedon Phillips at the far post and he calmly finished into the bottom corner to bring the game level!
Continuous hard work from the Woods saw few openings for either side as the half approached the midway point, but things were soon about to change. A poor challenge in the box from the Clacton defender allowed Woodford a chance to take the lead from the spot, Phillips stepped up but his penalty was saved by Avenell as he dived to his left…
Shane Baptiste continued to look for ways to win the match and turned to his bench to try and make a difference. Wale Odedoyin came on and within a minute Woodford had the lead! Dimi Christou finding Luke Parrott, he jinked inside past his man and slotted under the onrushing keeper to send the Woods fans into pandemonium.
With a slender lead, game management was key and every single member of the Woodford match day squad played a part, including youngster Dylan Tyrell – he came off the bench to make his debut with a few minutes to go.
Despite the good game management, the win wouldn’t have been possible without goalkeeper Eddie Allan. The shot-stopper, returning to the lineup in the league for the first time since he was sent off against Barking in November, produced some fine saves to keep the away side out. The best of the bunch was a tip over the bar from a Clacton volley with 15 minutes to go and a flying dive to claim a cross in the 4th minute of added time in the second half!
An unbelievable performance for the Woods as they dug deep and win all three points in their first game of the year. Thanks to everyone for coming over to support us.
Woodford Town: Allan (GK); Kirwan-Meade, Steele (Odedoyin – 67’), Kiangebeni, Machado, McKenzie; Kebi (C), Swaine, Christou (Tyrell – 82’); Phillips (Lopes – 70’), Parrott (Sharpe – 86’)
Clacton FC: Avenell (GK); Mulqueen, Wales (C), Thompson, Ribchester; Okafor, Collis, Bradford; Mckenzie, Collis, Clowsley
