Season overview and Team stats

The Dragons played 41 games in all competitions, winning ten and drawing five. All the wins came in the 35 games managed by Lionel Toms, with just a single draw being picked up in the first six games of the season under the joint management of Lionel Toms and Kieron Shelley. The Dragons hit 48 goals but conceded 96 times.

In the league, Wivenhoe finished 16th with 35 points. There was defeat in the opening round of all three cup competitions. Wivenhoe Town’s best run of the season came in the opening four games of 2025 when they picked up two draws and two wins.

The Dragons biggest win was a 4 – 0 win away at Whittlesey Athletic in August, the biggest defeat a 7 – 0 loss at home to FC Peterborough in March. That defeat was also the highest scoring game, but six goals were scored in three other fixtures, a 3 – 3 draw at Pinchbeck United on the opening day of the season; a 4 – 2 defeat at Holland in the Essex Senior Cup; and a 5 – 1 defeat at Whitton United.

Player stats
Appearances
In total 41 players made a first team appearance for Wivenhoe Town this season with 18 players making their debuts for the club. Eight players made more than 30 appearances and none players made less than five appearances.

Ben Gallifant led the way for games played, with 40 appearances. Zane Richards was second with 39 games played, with Gabe Kerr (35), George Horrocks (34) and Craig Hughes (33) making up the rest of the top five for games played.

The fact that three of the top five have stepped up from Wivenhoe Town U23s in the past two seasons once again underlines the important contribution that the Dragons’ youth set up is starting to make to the Senior squad. Jeff Welsh’s U23s saw 11 other players stepping up to the First Team, with some securing regular places in the squad and starting eleven during the season.

Goals
The top scorers’ position was shared, with nine goals scored by Gabe Kerr (35 games, 15 as sub) and George Horrocks (34 games, 17 as sub). Harry Miller was also in contention with eight goals from 28 games before his season was cut short by injury.

A total of 13 other players hit the back of the net this season. Taylor Warden (5 goals), Ben Gallifant (4 goals), and Max Long (3 goals) were the players to have got more than two.
The only hattrick this season was scored by Taylor Warden, who got three in the big win at Whittlesey Athletic. George Horrocks, Ben Gallifant and Harry Miller all managed a brace on one occasion.

Milestones
Ben Gallifant passed 200 games early this season, reaching 232 by the end of the season. The achievement moved Galli up to ninth place in the all-time senior appearances for Wivenhoe Town, above Julian Hazel and Steve Henson on 227 games. For the first time in awhile all of Galli’s games were started as an outfielder, although he did replace an injured Gabe Pateman in goal during the course of a game against FF Parson Drove.

Six players made it to a half century of games for the Club: Mark Dallinger (74 games), Tom Ayton (72 games), Zane Richards (68 games), Lewis Brennan (61 games), Fin Hughes (57 games), and Max Long (56 games).