Woodpeckers hit for six

Following their midweek win over Stanway there was no doubt that Woodbridge would come to the Maple Tree Cars stadium in high spirits, however Wivenhoe were determined to continue where they left off after last weeks opening game victory and had a strong line up despite the first team also having a fixture and a few regular faces unavailable.

The game started off with both teams looking to gain the upper hand and despite their young age Woodbridge showed they could compete and also play some neat football but it was the dragons who grabbed the first goal as Karl Andrade latched onto a through ball and coolly lobbed past the outcoming keeper to make it 1-0. A second followed as after another clinical finish saw Andrade double his own tally and also Wivenhoes tally.

Woodbridge heads dropped a little bit and Wivenhoes tails were up and 2-0 became 3-0 as Josh Milburn powered through the defence and tucked past the keeper as he closed him down.

With half-time approaching Andrade got his hat-trick and made it 4-0 as he again finished with composure.

With goals going in its easy to only focus on the attacking players but to their credit the defensive side of the team also held their own as Woodbridge did create a few chances although I cant really recall too many that troubled Liam Daniels in goal. In regards to the new roll on/off substitution system that has been bought in for Reserve games it gave Wivenhoe the chance to utilise the squad they've got and Anthony Wright made a welcome return for the dragons (for Lewis Blanchett), Joel Shruvington made his debut for the club (coming on for Jamie Baker) and Connor Mainstone also came on (to replace Matt Grove) in the first half.

Half time saw Marc Yearling come on for Jake Hearn and as much as I'd like to not admit it the fact Wivenhoe were 4-0 up seemed to mean that they didnt really put 'the pedal to the metal' second half and were a little casual and lethargic at times. Woodbridge to their credit kept going and had a decent amount of the ball and tested the home sides back four more increasingly.

Again changes were made due to a knock for Connor Mainstone (Lewis Blanchett returned) and also to ensure that players got the necessary game time (and minutes under their belts) and Markel Greenidge was replaced by Jamie Baker. Soon after Hasan Ayten and Josh Milburn were replaced as Markel Greenidge and Jake Hearn came back onto the pitch.

The fifth goal came courtesy of Markel Greenidge who had moved to a more forward position (alongside Wright) with a clinical finish across the keeper and Markel also grabbed the sixth as he finished from close range at the second attempt after good work by Anthony Wright.

Ollie O'Hare completed the changes with a late appearance (after being delayed at a youth competition - which he duly won with our U16s) coming on for hat-trick hero Andrade and the scoreline finished at 6-0 to the Dragons..

With news filtering through to the dug-out that the first team had won 4-0 (and with the U16s grabbing silverware) I guess you could say it wasnt a bad day all round for The Wiv.

Managers Thoughts:
Woodbridge were quite a young team and although they did put in a fair effort and didnt back down at all I imagine that the sight of Josh, Markel, Troops running at you can be quite daunting and when you throw the guile and craft of Karl, Hasan, Lewis and work rate of Jamie Baker into the mix they will certainly have easier days (no disrespect to anyone intended). I'm also delighted with our back line (and Liam) who never really switched off and worked hard to ensure that we kept the clean sheet, they'll probably get overlooked in this victory but certainly not by me.
Also well done to Karl (on his hat-trick) and Josh grabbing his first Wivenhoe Town goal.