At this stage Braintree had offered very little in the way of a goal threat except for an early header & a couple of long range efforts, which were all off target, but they quickly halved the deficit when James Fulker’s header was seized upon & volleyed over the stranded Nathan Allison into the net. For the following minutes Braintree applied pressure & looked likely to grab an equalizer, but failed to create a clear chance. In the dying minutes of the half both Lawrence & Seaman (twice) were given great opportunities to extend the lead only to be denied by good saves from the visiting keeper.

Allison was the busiest goalkeeper in the early parts of the 2nd half as Braintree attacked with pace down their left wing, but Woodbridge managed to scramble away several dangerous situations before regaining control of the game. JORDAN SEAMAN’s finishing proved to be the major factor between the two teams as he scored twice to seal Woodbridge’s place in the cup final, firstly heading in Ryan Stafford’s free-kick & then converting Lawrence’s low cross. In between these two goals he also struck a close range volley straight at the keeper before being substituted with a view to the 1st team fixture on Saturday.

Allison had to claw a deflected effort around the post as Braintree attempted to hit back & with a little over 10 minutes remaining they did reduce the arrears & threaten a grandstand finish.
However, the comeback never materialised & Woodbridge not only saw out the remaining time without looking like conceding, but could have extended the winning margin had either of two well-struck shots from James Churchill been slightly lower.

Team: Nathan Allison, Ryan Stafford, Gianfranco Mallardo, David Kempson, Fabian Ambrose (Ross Nicklin 81), James Fulker, Matt Rutterford (Luke Ingram 71), Ashley Holmes, Jack Lawrence, Danny Tatum & Jordan Seaman (James Churchill 71) Unused subs: Adam Dawson & Jack Severy

Manager, Sean Thacker spoke after the game;

“Considering the disappointment of not getting the victory we needed to win the Central Division at Debenham on Monday, the players responded positively & gave a decent performance. It was just a bit frustrating that we got into seemingly strong positions at 2-0 & 4-1, but didn’t really kick on.”

“I said after the Debenham game that we play a style of football that is widely admired & regardless of what else happens this season, at least the players will get the appropriate stage to display their abilities. We will approach the game, whoever it is against, in the same positive manner & attempt to play in the same attractive style as always.”