Football: No joy for Haughley

Haughley United 0 East Bergholt United 2

Haughley remain winless and a failure to create any clear chances cost them.

The hosts held their own on the balance of play but only some glaring misses by Bergholt prevented them slipping to a heavy defeat.

Bergholt dominated the opening stages but Haughley held out comfortably with Joel Watkins going closest, only to blaze over when clean through.

Haughley gradually came into the game and were unlucky not to go ahead when Arron Robinson's shot from the edge of the area was touched round a post by Des Burn at full stretch.

Home captain Gareth Ward then went close when his 25-yard shot took a huge deflection but bounced agonisingly wide for a corner.

It was against the run of play that Bergholt took the lead four minutes before half-time. A fine three-man move split the home defence apart and Arron Skeggs stroked the ball in from the edge of the area.

Home keeper Arron Mayhew pulled off a fine block to deny Watkins early in the second half but was left helpless when Watkins beat the offside trap and chipped in the second goal from a tight angle.

Jason Woods' curling corner hit a Bergholt post and another one was cleared off the line as Haughley pushed for a way back.

Pete Johnson blazed over the bar with the Haughley goal at his mercy after 57 minutes but the hosts again came close when Ward's 30-yarder through a crowd of players left Burn scrambling across his goal to push away from the foot of a post.

A defensive mistake gave Scott Fryer an open goal to roll the ball into but Mayhew somehow managed to throw himself across the goal-line and block with his feet.

The visitors again let Haughley off the hook after 79 minutes when substitute Chris Maughton chipped over the home defence to free Watkins but  the striker fluffed the opportunity, scuffing the ball wide.

In the last minute Ward had another long-distance effort blocked and Sean Martin's follow-up was blocked on the line.

Even then, Bergholt had another chance to score, this time though it was a remarkable recovery tackle from Mitchell Bullock which denied Watkins.

Haughley finally managed to find the net in the third minute of stoppage time but Ward's 30-yard chip crossed the line just after the referee had blown for full-time.

Haughley: Mayhew, Nickless (Brown 84), S Martin, Taplin, Bullock, Anderson (Hyde 63), Hawes, Ward, Robinson, Woods (B Martin 63), Cason. Substitute (not used): Ainsworth.

East Bergholt: Burn, J Maughton (Peck 56), Newman, Williams, Symes, Bibby, Nixon (Willsher 67), Skeggs, Fryer, Watkins, Johnson (C Maughton 79).

Scorers: Skeggs 41, Watkins 52.

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