RAMPANT SECOND HALF FROM NEEDHAM CONTINUES PRE-SEASON IN STYLE

Needham Market hit 3 goals in both halves to record a clinical victory from a goal down at Ipswich Wanderers.

Manager Kevin Horlock was impressed with his side's performance, adding post match, "it's not

actually the result that pleased me tonight. I thought it was just the way we dominated

possession."

"Our movement was really good.

We created chances, got in good areas and looked sharp. We looked sharp, so pre-

season is obviously closing down and coming to an end soon, so it looks like we're hitting

fitness and hitting form at the right time."

Trialist A put in an impressive performance for the Marketmen, notably dispossessing Wanderers' striker Fletcher with some superb defending in the 7th minute, while Needham rifled a shot narrowly over the top left-hand corner seconds later.

At the other end, Wanderers saw a low shot on the right-hand edge of the box comfortably held by Marcus Garnham at his bottom near corner after 8 minutes, before Tommy Smith's great left wing cross towards Seth Chambers - free inside the six yard box - was well claimed by Craig Brand off his line a minute later.

Wanderers though broke the deadlock in the tenth minute, the number 11 on the edge of the box curled a good strike into the bottom left-hand corner, giving the Isthmian North side an early lead.

The higher league visitors looked for a quick response, and almost found it 3 minutes later, dangerous play out on the left wing saw Smith fizz a dangerous low cross across the face of goal, but nobody in Needham's yellow away kit was able to get on the end of it.

However, smart team play saw the Marketmen draw level in the fifteenth minute. Kyle Hammond drove through the visitors half, he then played a neat one-two with Chambers, on the edge of the box, for the midfielder to latch onto the return pass inside the box, before cleverly finding the bottom left-hand cornerm

Hammond then tried his luck at goal again five minutes later, after fed into space the goalscorers' 25-yard rasped strike went just over the crossbar.

Seth Chambers, meanwhile, picked up possession before driving towards goal, but smashed his shot agonisingly just wide of the top far, right-hand, corner on 22 minutes.

Needham then saw an effort well held by Brand, down low to his bottom left-hand side two minutes later, while Hammond's audacious 30-yard free-kick saw a free header at the far post go narrowly over from close range on 28 minutes.

Trialist A then superbly blocked Kai Fletcher's low shot across goal, towards the bottom right-hand corner, whose second attempt was hit straight at Garnham, at his bottom right-hand corner, as it remained 1-1 after half an hour.

Jacob Lay then drove through the hosts' half, prior to feeding Luke Ingram through onto the right-hand side of the box, although his first time sidefooted shot went narrowly over the top near corner on 34 minutes.

Two minutes later, Keiran Morphew then slid Ingram through, onto the right-hand side of the box, whose cross-shot was smothered behind by a defender for a corner.

The Marketmen had most of the possession throughout, and took the lead on 36 minutes from the resulting corner, the partially cleared set-piece fell to Ingram on the right-hand byline, the forward clipped an exquisite cross up to the arriving Seth Chambers at point bank range, heading home off the underside of the crossbar, for arguably a deserved second goal.

A terrific all round team performance from the Marketmen then saw the visitors and a third goal just before the interval, goalscorer Kyle Hammond's left wing cross was diverted home cleverly, but unconventionally by Luke Ingram into the bottom right-hand corner, 3-1 Needham.

After the restart, Trialist A put in another excellent block to deny the hosts' shot on the edge of the box, a minute after the restart, before a rocket of a strike from Kyle Hammond quickly extended Needham's advantage.

The midfielder added his second goal of the night, thundering a brilliant strike into the left-hand corner, 4-1 in the 47th minute.

The chances continued to fall for the Marketmen, with great team play and quick passing in the final third seeing substitute Ollie Fraser fed through onto the left-hand side of the box, but saw his low shot at goal held by the goalkeeper a minute later.

Needham added to their lead once more, with Ollie Fraser finishing off a brilliant team move to score his second goal in as many games on 52 minutes. Trialist B whipped in a great right wing cross to Tommy Smith at the far post, the latter headed it down to Ben Hunter whose low shot was turned home smartly, into the bottom left-hand corner, by Ollie Fraser.

Trialist B then looked to curl a great shot towards goal, but saw it headed away by a defender on 55 minutes, before the Marketmen saw appeals for a penalty waved away a minute later.

On the hour mark, Hammond almost picked up his hat-trick, thundering an exquisite free-kick, on the left-hand edge of the box, back into play off the face of the crossbar.

Three minutes later, Ingram saw a low driven shot well held by the diving Burwood, before the forward joined Hammond in netting a brace in the 64th minute. Ingram was fed into acres of space outside the box, before picking his spot well to rifle home into the bottom left-hand corner, 6-1 Needham.

Ingram then chipped a great shot at goal, again from the edge of the box on 78 minutes, which was creeping underneath the crossbar until Burwood made the catch.

A fierce low shot from Ingram on the right-hand side forced Burwood into another save, this time beating the ball away, as far as Tevan Allen, whose ferocious low shot on the left-hand edge of the box was deflected just wide of the bottom far corner on 80 minutes.

The resulting corner meanwhile picked out substitute Dan Morphew arriving free at the post, whose point blank range header went just wide.

Kyle Hammond then wrapped a fantastic long range cross-field ball to Jamie McGrath, but the forward's close range header was glanced narrowly wide on 84 minutes.

Wanderers though pulled a second goal back on 85 minutes, a cutback from the left-hand byline found Kai Fletcher to find the bottom right-hand corner.

Wanderers then found a man through on goal in the 90th minute, but his low shot was well saved by the legs of Danny Cullum.

The Marketmen travel to newly promoted Isthmian North side Mildenhall Town on Wednesday (7:45pm), elsewhere the Reserves begin their Thurlow Nunn Eastern Counties League First Division North campaign at Bloomfields today (Saturday 27th), against Holbeach United (3pm).