POSNETT'S LATE STRIKE EARNS WOMEN FIRST WIN

Women v Thetford Town 26.08.2026

A dramatic last-gasp winner from Annie Posnett gave Needham Market their first victory of the new league season under the lights at Bloomfields.

Posnett’s dramatic late intervention came deep into stoppage time after a hard thought game that saw lots of endeavour but very little in real goalscoring opportunities.

It was just as tight in the first half with Needham leading through Mia Etheridge-Golding but were pegged back by a fine finish from Ellie Nicholls.

Needham settled the better and were ahead early on from captain Etheridge-Golding, whose original shot from range was parried behind but it was just a small stay of execution as she made no mistake with a bullet header from a perfect Posnett corner. 

The lead didn’t last long though as Thetford hit back after a period of looking dangerous they sprung the offside trap with Nicholls getting through and then smartly finishing low across Danni Clarke.

The game was not a wash with clear cut changes, but both teams did look dangerous when going forward with Posnett coming close from a cross come shot that just cleared the bar.

Etheridge-Golding almost restored the lead from a cross at the edge of the box that she took first time but couldn’t quite keep underneath it and it flew over the bar. 

Half time came and went with the home side looking assert themselves with the pattern for the rest of the game locked in early as Thetford dropped deeper that made them harder to break down but also made them less of a threat going forward. 

Needham created half chances but nothing clear cut as they probed for a winner that their pressure deserved, meanwhile at the other end of the pitch, Clarke was a relative spectator as the game drifted towards a share of the spoils. 

But last season’s top scorer had one more magical moment in her as Thetford failed to clear a deep free kick into the box in the 95th minute and the ball eventually found it self at the back post for Posnett to tuck away from close range and give Needham’s season a proper lift off. 

 

ANOTHER COLDWELL BRACE SEES U18S WIN NINE GOAL THRILLER

 Needham Market U18 v Walsham Le Willows U18 | 27.08.2026 | Thurlow Nunn Eastern Counties Youth League Central Division Game 2 | Bloomfields |

Dawson Coldwell's second brace in as many games for the Under-18's saw Needham Market record back to back wins to start their 2026/27 Thurlow Nunn Youth League Central Division campaign in a nine goal thriller against a good Walsham Le Willows side.

It was an excellent performance from the home side, who remained a threat going forward all night, Kyle Roper (4') had the first chance of the evening, driving through towards the area but was halted by a crucial defensive intercepted.

Skipper Roper (9') excellently broke the deadlock, exploiting space on the right-hand edge of the box to thunder an excellent strike into the top right-hand corner.

Dawson Coldwell (11') then saw a low shot held by goalkeeper Zak Leighton at his left-hand post from 18-yards out.

Alex Breeden (18') excellently beat his defender to a through-ball just on the left-hand side whose ferocious low strike went just wide of the bottom near corner.

Coldwell (18') saw a low fierce shot from the left-hand edge of the box, as a neat one-two threaded Riley Coote (19') free onto the left-hand byline dangerously whose cutback was cleared.

Walsham though equally posed a danger going forward, and duly equalised (22') with a neat move as a clever low left wing cross was fired home into the roof of the net by Ben Hooper at point blank range.

Needham (23') in reply advanced onto the left wing byline smartly but flashed a dangerous cross across the face of goal but away from goal.

The game sprung into life (25'), Walsham weaved onto the left-hand side in space but saw their clever tight angled shot, that was creeping into the bottom near corner, tipped wide well by Freddie Foreman.

Needham (27') drove up the pitch, feeding Dawson Coldwell through on goal whose low shot across to the keeper's right was well held by the keeper.

Needham retook the lead expertly, Dawson Coldwell (33') smartly turned home an inviting low right wing free-kick at close range, to make it 2-1.

Breeden beat his marker to drive through onto the left-hand side (34') but fired just wide into the top near side-netting.

An important save (37') from Freddie Foreman advanced off his line to expertly smother away a darting run into the area, as Breeden raced onto the right-hand edge of the box at the other end moments later but his rifled low near post shot was matched by a sharp diving save by Leighton to beat it away.

Walsham (40') levelled proceedings quickly once more, Finn Deeks' great run down the right wing and low cutback was met by the arriving Ben Hooper to finish brilliantly into the top right-hand, far, corner.

Roper (41') fired over from a tight angle at close range from the right-hand side, while Breeden (43') hit a dipping left wing cross-shot just over the crossbar.

Coldwell struck the wall with a powerful (45') well hit 30-yard free-kick, while Needham headed a left wing corner into a dangerous area comfortably at Leighton, as the two teams went into the break level at two goals apiece.

The young Marketmen went agonisingly close within a minute of the restart, Dawson Coldwell was slipped through on goal to shoot just wide of the bottom right-hand corner, prior to Breeden (47') finding space on the right-hand side only to fire a good low cross-shot across the six yard box and narrowly wide of the target.

Breeden latched onto the loose ball on 48 minutes, but wrapped his low shot just wide of the bottom right-hand corner from just outside the box.

Kyle Roper (50') beat his man only to fire a great strike just wide of the top left-hand corner from 20-yards out, just before striker Coldwell duly netted a superb second goal to give Needham a well earned 3-2 lead on 51 minutes.

Coldwell made it 4 goals in 2 games as he exploited space to fire home expertly into the bottom left-hand corner, before a fourth goal in quick succession doubled the young Reds' lead.

Aden Chandler (53') was threaded through on goal, by a perfect dissecting through-ball, to neatly spin past the onrushing Leighton and turn home into the vacant net.

Alfie Mark (61') saw a smart effort from the right-hand side beaten behind by the quick reactions of Leighton, ahead of Alfie Mark (66') turning round hunting for an angle to shoot, only for his low shot to be well held by the diving stopper guarding his near post.

Needham remained on the front foot, hungry for more goals, Lewis Randell (69') was threaded through in acres of space down the right wing only for his first time cross to be swatted away by the goalkeeper on his line.

The visitors (74') pulled a goal back to halve the deficit, an intelligent left wing low cross was turned home by Doman first time at close range, cooly finding the bottom right-hand corner.

Needham (76') lashed a brilliant low shot from the left-hand edge of the box just wide of the bottom far corner, before Needham restored their two goal lead to make it 5-3 (77').

A brilliant through-ball threaded Lewis Randell through on goal, which the substitute bared down on goal to smartly fire home past the keeper into the bottom left-hand corner.

The action packed game continued to deliver as Walham made it 5-4 in the 81st minute. A brace for Doman saw the substitute found free to finish well into the bottom far, left-hand, corner.

The Walsham keeper (84') was alert to grab the ball ahead of Fin Brock who was breaking close to goal.

Alfie Mark (91') saw two golden chances pass him by in quick succession, the first unfortunate to see his brilliant curling shot go just wide of the top far corner while the second saw a clever cut-back find the forward in space at point blank range who shot agonisingly just over.

The Young Marketmen return to Bloomfields for the first of two more consecutive home fixtures on Thursday (3rd September, 7:45pm), when Soham Town Rangers visit.

Goalscorer Kyle Roper discussing the victory, said, "it's a very good feeling, but I feel like we could have played a bit better today. A little bit disappointing, but it's another win." 

On captaining the team, Roper added, "yes, it felt good. I wasn't really expecting it, but most of the boys are away. The second years are away, but yes, it felt good and I feel like it was a good feeling." 

Reflecting on picking up another goal and assist, "yes, just getting in the right spaces at the right time, taking on the half-turn and up the shot and then the assist. Dawson is just always there, just a pass to him and he's never going to miss from there."

When asked how it feels to make a winning start to the season, "yes, it's a great feeling, but we keep going. The first two games are very important, but we'll push next week. FA Youth Cup is a very big game and we hope to get through to that as well." 

"I felt like most of their goals were very sloppy and ours were. We reacted well in terms of their goals, but we shouldn't have conceded four like that. We should be much better than that at the back. (We) bounced back straight away, good reaction, but that can't be happening in big games." 

Asked if that sums up Under-18's football, the attacking midfielder replied, "it can be a little bit, because we're only 16-18, still learning and getting experience. Mistakes will happen, but we don't want them to, so hopefully we can learn and not do that again."

Roper is also keen to emulate last season, "we want to keep going, keep driving, play hard, work hard and keep winning."


Needham Market:- 1 Freddie Foreman, 2 Danylo Konik, 3 Leyton Coote, 4 Cohen Watts, 5 Riley Coote, 6 Riley Parker, 7 Alex Breeden, 14 Charlie Fox, 9 Dawson Coldwell, 10 Kyle Roper (C), 11 Aden Chandler. Subs: 16 Ted Johnson, 15 Fin Brock, 17 Alfie Mark, 18 Lewis Randell.

Walsham Le Willows:- 1 Zak Leighton, 2 Max Ellis, 3 Evan Mercer, 4 Jack Lodge, 5 Josh Gilbert, 6 Albie Blanchard, 7 Ruben Hipperson, 8 Luke Johnson (C), 9 Ben Hooper, 10 Finn Deeks, 11 Isaac Walshe. Subs: 12 Finn Stumnson, 14 Luke Doman, 15 Dougie White, 16 Jayden Swallow, 17 Will French.

Goals: Kyle Roper (9'), Coldwell (33', 51'), Chandler (53'), Randell (77'); Ben Hooper (22', 40'), Doman (74', 81').

PLAYER DEPARTURE

The club can confirm the departure of midfielder Eddie Barker. 

Eddie joined the club in the U15 Eastern Junior Alliance (EJA) before progressing through the club's Academy, through the Under-18's and Reserves and then broke through to the First Team, making his debut in the latter stages of 2023/24.

Eddie made numerous appearances for the Marketmen, featuring in our inaugural season in the National League North, and scored his first league goal for the club away to Real Bedford last season.

We thank Eddie Barker for his contribution to the club and wish him every success for the future. 

MARKETMEN HANDED AWAY CUP DRAWS

The Marketmen will enter this season's Emirates FA Cup in the 1st Qualifying Round, with the draw made on Monday afternoon. 

Tom Rothery's side will travel to fellow step 3 outfit Stanway Rovers on Saturday 5th September (3pm).

The newly promoted side have had a tough start to their first ever season at this level, losing their last 3 and drawing one of their 4 opening Isthmian Premier Division matches at the time of writing. 

Elsewhere, Needham will travel to Lowestoft Town in the First Round of the Suffolk Premier Cup, which should the holders be victorious it'll be a trip to Haverhill Rovers in the Second Round.

Dates to be confirmed for the Premier Cup fixture, with away travel to Stanway to be confirmed in due course. 

SKIPPER STRIKES AS WOMEN'S TEAM PROGRESS IN FA CUP

 Needham Market bounced back from last week’s humbling start to the season with a confidence boosting 1-0 win over Woodbridge Town in the FA Cup. 

Starting in the expanded Preliminary round the club made history with a run to the 2nd round proper only a couple of seasons ago and the start of their journey this time was begun by captain Mia Etheridge-Golding with the only goal. 

Just like last week the club handed more competitive debuts with goalkeeper Amy Brunning, defenders Lexi Debenham and Millie Lamden playing from the start and fellow defender Caitlin Howe coming on as a second half substitute. 

The opening stages were frantic with both teams creating some half chances on what a was a difficult and dry pitch to play on. 

And it was on the 17th minute that the contest was settled with Etheridge-Golding tapping home from close range after good work from Esme Marsh and Keira Topple in the buildup. 

They had chances to make this more comfortable with Anna Sulivan being denied by the woodwork after a cross deflected into her path within the box. 

Jae Lewis-Samual also went close to the break with a neat turn at the edge of the box that allowed her to curl one that was parried up in the air by the home keeper before being cleared close to the line. 

It was only 1-0 at the break but it had been a fairly comfortable half. 

And that continued in the second with Needham looking more likely to add to their tally than the home side getting themselves back into the game. 

The first 20 minutes were uneventful with lots of midfield battling but no quality in the final third with both goalkeepers having very little to do. 

It took until almost the final quarter for there to be a real chance of note with Annie Posnett dragging wide from close range after being set up by Chloe Brame.  

Topple almost scored a brilliant goal of her own making but like for most parts of this match it was the final ball or finish that made the score closer than the game really suggested. 

Not a classic by any means on a hot day and on a dry hard pitch but in the cup, it doesn’t matter the score all that matters is winning the game and getting through. 

This season’s hopeful long cup odyssey is off and running.  

COWLEY PENALTY INFLICTS FRUSTRATING DEFEAT ON MARKETMEN

Needham Market v Halesowen Town | 22.08.2026 | Bloomfields | Pitching In Southern League Central Premier Division Game 4 |

Jason Cowley's first half penalty inflicted a third defeat in four games on Needham Market as Halesowen Town returned to winning ways to make it 2 wins from their opening three matches.

Tom Rothery made 2 changes to Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Alvechurch, Ollie Saunders and Liam Pearce returned to the starting eleven in place of Kyle Hammond (ill) and Marcel Lewis - who dropped to the bench. Joe Neal and Harlyn Palmer, the latter fresh from scoring for the Reserves on Tuesday, returned to the bench.

James Bradbrook (2') was on hand to comfortably hold onto a tame shot at goal, before smartly pouching an overhit through-ball (3') then a right wing cross at his near post.

Luke Ingram (6') saw a low half-volleyed shot on the turn deflected narrowly wide for a goal-kick, as the striker had the first real chance of the afternoon.

MOTM (Selected by match sponsors Highway Assurance) Ollie Saunders' looping ball forward was glanced on smartly by Ryan Miles, releasing Luke Ingram (14') clear on goal whose rasped half-volley effort at goal was initially spilt by Dan Platt who gathered the loose ball.

At the other end, Needham defended sternly as Tommy Smith (18') blocked Jason Cowley's shot as Ben Hunter had a clearance deflected behind for a goal-kick.

Liam Pearce (19') had a fierce strike blocked, only for his strong appeals for handball to be dismissed by the referee.

A golden chance went begging for the Yeltz in the 24th minute as Ebanks could only turn Cassidy's left wing cross wide from a yard out at the far post.

The visitors did go in front though, after Dan Morphew (29') was adjudged to have fouled Meredith in the area, with Cowley (30') sent Bradbrook the wrong way to find the bottom left-hand corner.

Cowley (37') meanwhile latched onto the ball in space in the area but skewed his low shot wide of the near, right-hand, corner, as Luke Ingram (38') weaved into space on the left-hand edge of the box only to see his low wrapped strike deflected narrowly wide of the bottom far corner.

Needham headed over from the corner, before the Marketmen went majorly close (42'), great team play saw Smith found by Saunders to play a great ball forward, which is cleverly flicked onto Saunders whose shot is agonisingly wide of the bottom far corner at close range.

Ebanks (45') fired comfortably over from distance, as the Marketmen trailed at the break.

A better second half from the hosts saw Liam Pearce (49') break onto the left-hand byline smartly but to see his low cutback cleared, as Bradbrook (54') was alert to keep a stray pass from Keiran Morphew from going into his own net.

Marcel Lewis was introduced in place of Liam Pearce moments beforehand, as Joe Neal (60') replaced Tevan Allen.

Needham went close to an equaliser in the 62nd minute, a brilliant run from Ryan Miles saw the ball break to Marcel Lewis, the substitute exploited space only to shoot agonisingly just wide of the bottom far, right-hand, corner.

The second half sprung to life, as the Yeltz went close at the other end (65') as Cowley headed Meredith's great right wing cross just wide of the near post at close range.

Joe Neal (73') meanwhile worked space to shoot from distance but saw his wrapped low shot comfortably held by Platt, with Curry replacing Dan Morphew (76') soon after.

Harlyn Palmer made his First Team league debut, in place of Miles (77'), the former's great smart run (86') and play from Neal carved a good opportunity for Lewis to latch onto possession unmarked but his shot was blocked.

An excellent 91st minute marauding run from Josh Curry found Neal in space to smartly turn between two defenders with neat skill but his shot went over.

Needham travel to Stratford Town on Saturday (29th, 3pm).

Needham Market:- 1 James Bradbrook, 2 Jake Dye, 3 Tommy Smith, 5 Keiran Morphew (C), 6 Dan Morphew (76' Curry), 7 Luke Ingram, 8 Ollie Saunders, 10 Ryan Miles (77' Palmer), 11 Tevan Allen, 12 Liam Pearce (54' Lewis), 17 Ben Hunter. Subs: 9 Joe Neal, 14 Josh Curry, 16 Marcel Lewis, 18 Harlyn Palmer, 19 James Coton.

Halesowen Town:- 1 Dan Platt, 2 Ben Cassidy, 4 Matt Preston, 5 Ryan Wynter (C), 6 Ryan Wollacott, 7 Todd Parker, 8 Lewis Ison, 9 Jason Cowley (81' Silva), 10 Callum Ebanks (72' Barnett), 13 Millan Butterfield, 22 Dan Meredith. Subs: 3 Ethan Sephton, 11 Vanylson Silva, 15 Luke Postle, 18 Rob Evans, 23 Ty Barnett.

Goals: Cowley (30'pen).

Att: 330.

Needham MOTM Selected by Match Sponsors Highway Assurance: 8 Ollie Saunders.