Needham started well in a closely fought encounter, but did have the lion share of the early possession as Evan Gledhill's left wing corner was flicked on by Olly Reynolds peeling away at the near post before falling to Ben Smith at point blank range who could only turn it wide on 8 minutes.
Three minutes later a great long ball released Ben Smith down the right wing whose sumptuous cross fell to Alex Oakley who opened space to see a shot blocked.
Needham then created a great chance on 15 minutes, Oscar Wakeling exploited space on the right wing into the box but his low clever cross just couldn't be turned home by Evan Gledhill.
A neat 'Maradona' turn from Charlie Smy soon after followed by a first real shot on target as East Bergholt saw a 25th minute low shot from the left-hand side of the box well held by Skinner down at his near post.
Needham did put the ball in the net on 33 minutes left James Coton was adjudged to have been offside as he found the bottom right-hand corner.
A smart double save from Charlie Skinner kept the scores goalless on 38 minutes as he dived down smartly to his right-hand side to beat a low shot away before quickly reacting to hold the second on the rebound.
Alex Oakley then latched onto a good forward pass before feeding James Coton on the right-hand edge of the box only to wrap his low shot agonisingly just wide of the bottom far corner in the 41st minute.
On 45 minutes another great double save from Skinner thwarted Bergholt, firstly diving low to his right off his line to palm away a dangerous cross before holding onto the resulting low shot.
Four minutes after the restart, James Coton broke into acres of space clear on goal before ballooning his shot over.
Bergholt broke the deadlock on the hour mark, breaking through on goal before slotting past Skinner at close range.
A great chance for Needham on 68 minutes was headed narrowly wide by Olly Bowman as Needham continued to play well albeit with little really between the two sides, apart from the goal.
Hudson Minns then a far post shot crucially blocked at close range with 10 minutes remaining, though Needham deservedly equalised in the 91st minute. A great surging run forward from Brad Smith saw some great quick passing as Oscar Wakeling threaded Alex Oakley through inside the box to equalise cooly into the bottom left-hand corner.
Needham Market Res:- 1 Charlie Skinner, 2 Ben Smith (32' Bowman), 3 Brad Smith (HT' Manhood, 59' on), 4 Ryan Pitt (59' off), 5 Olly Reynolds (c) (HT' Minns), 6 Charlie Smy (59' off), 7 Harry Hopkins (59' off), 8 James Coton (59' off), 9 Evan Gledhill (59' off), 10 Alex Oakley (HT off, 59' on), 11 Oscar Wakeling (32' Bobby, 59' on). Subs: 18 Hudson Minns, 12 Louis Manhood, 17 Harlyn Palmer, 14 Flynn Bobby, 15 Olly Bowman.
Ratings: Skinner 8.8, Ben Smith 7.8, Brad Smith 8.5, Pitt 7.5, Reynolds 6.8, Smy 6.5, Hopkins 6.6, Coton 5.2, Gledhill 6.3, Oakley 7, Wakeling 7; Minns 6.5, Manhood 6.8, Palmer 6.1, Bobby 6.5, Bowman 6.
Goals: Alex Oakley (90'+1'); 7 (60').
REACTION | Brad Smith Post Match Interview | Reserves V East Bergholt United | 08.07.2025 |
DK: A good run out and a deserved draw, wouldn't you say?
BS: Yes, good game, good draw. We'll take that. First pre-season game back, it's always good to get a draw. Maybe it's not what we wanted, but we'll take it for now.
DK: That surging run at the death proved decisive.
BS: Heard the ref say 20 seconds left on the clock, so I thought I had to pick it up and draw forward, try and create something. Luckily, we got something out of it, so I'm happy with that.
DK: Head loss? Bit of both, a bit of head loss (Flynn Bobby: Nose bleed). Same time, got to do what I can for the team, get forward, create something. Luckily, it worked. I like to try and create headlines, get on the ball, do my bit for the team, help out as much as I can.
DK: Defensively, you were all pretty solid today, despite the changes other than the goal.
BS: Yes, we were pretty solid at the back, just limiting chances for them. They were solid, really, making sure that they don't get too many opportunities. We gave away a silly goal, apart from that, we were solid.
DK: Would you say it was a close encounter?
BS: Yes, it was a close game. They deserved their goal, and I think we deserved to score as well. Both teams had chances. It was a fairly even game. It was just a draw from there.
DK: Would it be fair to say that the only criticism for us being the fact that maybe we didn't test their keeper as much as what they tested Skinner?
BS: Yes, I don't think we got enough shots off throughout the whole game, but it's something we can work on. We work on it in training every day, so we'll keep going with that, and it's good chances, really.
DK: Next up, another good test against another SIL senior side, in Coplestonians on Saturday.
BS: Yes, it's going to be another good test. It'll be a physical game, a tough game, and hopefully we can pick up a win.
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