After a month without a game due to numerous postponements, AFC made the trip to Haverhill, for what will be their last away match of the league campaign, in search of a win to start the New Year. Haverhill would however be eager to get a win following their defeat at the hands of Sudbury in extra time at the end of November.

With injuries and illness keeping many players out the squad AFC had a bare 11, including a few players still recovering from illness. Despite this AFC made a bright start to the match seeing a lot of possession and working the ball forward with some sweeping moves.

The first real chance of the match came from AFC’s Kayleigh Steed with just over 10 minutes played, Steed was able to break free from her defender with a nice touch and was unlucky to have her shot turned round the post by the keeper. Following the close fought contest between the teams just over a month ago it was surprising to see the dominance AFC were able to achieve early in the match with Haverhill being restricted to little of the possession. Emma Squirrell and Jodie Sharp combined well down the left with Squirrell’s pass round the defender allowing Sharp to clear the defence, resulting in the keeper having to make a fine save at the post once again. AFC’s hard work finally paid off on 27 minutes when Chloe Mills flicked the ball onto Jodie Sharp who skilfully struck the ball first time on the turn from the edge of the area to beat the keeper. The lead was short-lived however, as 3 minutes later Haverhill found themselves level against the run of play with a shot that went underneath the diving Natalie Curtin.

AFC nearly produced an instant reply of their own, when a free kick was awarded on the edge of the box. Golding set up the shot for Sharp whose shot glanced over the top of the crossbar. Haverhill finished the half with a chance to take the lead but a block from Lana King and save from Natalie Curtin kept the scores level.

Half time score: Haverhill Rovers 1 – 1 AFC Sudbury

The second half saw Sudbury try to regain the lead having failed to take advantage of their dominance in the first half. Haverhill pressed down the right hand side, but failed to make it into the final third until the mid way point of the half when a ball through the AFC defence left the keeper exposed and the ball was slotted past into the corner of the net. AFC found themselves moving the ball into dangerous areas but failing to hit the target. Charlotte Churchman came close to equalising for Sudbury when she brought the ball down in the box only for her shot to clear the crossbar. Sudbury continued to press with crosses from Steed proving particularly dangerous with the Haverhill defence having to work hard. In the closing moments of the match Jodie Sharp found the ball at her feet in the box and looked certain to score but the power of the shot sent it over the crossbar.

Final score: Haverhill Rovers 2 – 1 AFC Sudbury

Despite the defeat the performance was impressive from Sudbury, who have not trained or played in recent weeks and were up against a strong Haverhill team. Sudbury showed some great football throughout the match with flowing movements and great link up play. Next week AFC will need to build on this performance and take their chances as they are up against a very strong Ipswich Town side in the Suffolk cup Quarter Final.