Under-18's and U23's player Olly Bowman discusses the season.
DK: How did you find the season from a personal perspective (U23s/U18s) - arguably a successful one?
OB: Yeah I think it was definitely a successful season, top scorer for the 23s is a good feeling and of course winning the league at 18s and 2 separate cup finals tells you all you need to know!
DK: Can you pick 3 standout games from this season, if so which ones and why?
OB: I’d definitely say Woodbridge 23s in the semis, although not my best game from being 3-0 down at half time to winning 4-3 to take us to the final was special. I’d also say Stow 23s at home, even though we were soundly beaten it was my first minutes back from my long injury and it just felt unreal to be back playing (was nice to score too!) And finally id say Felixstowe away last game of the season, although not our best performance it was our last game together and our last 18s game ever so it was a very special night to cap off 2 unbelievable years.
DK: What'd you make of the season for the U23s?
OB: All things considered a really good season for us 23s especially considering the place we were in last year compared to now, finishing 5th this year is good but I feel and think most of the other feel we could’ve done better but reaching the cup final is an excellent achievement for us and I’m so proud of the boys.
DK: I believe you finished top scorer for the U23s, which you must be proud of?
OB: Yeah I did end up finishing top scorer for the 23s which is of course something I’m very proud of, always good to score goals and contribute to the team in that regard.
DK: How special was it to reach the Suffolk Senior Reserve Cup Final, and how proud are you of the run in that competition?
OB: Yeah it was very special, I believe it’s the first time the u23s had got there so that makes it that even more bit impressive for us and I’m so proud of the run even if it wasn’t meant to be in the final.
DK: A very historic season for the U18s - how proud are you overall?
OB: Yeah very happy all things considered, I think we’re all a bit tilted by the cup final result against Leiston but on the night they probably deserved it, winning the league is fantastic however and our historic FA youth cup run is even more impressive so yeah very happy.
DK: An unbeaten U18 League Champion campaign, how does that feel?
OB: Feels amazing to be honest, we all knew we were capable of something like that with the talent we had but there’s nothing harder in football than winning a league title over the course of a whole season and doing it unbeaten is almost unheard of so yeah extremely happy and proud.
DK: How did you find it playing different roles between the U23s and U18s?
OB: It’s two very different styles of football you know, at 18s everyone’s the same age similar builds so it’s more of a total football approach, you see more of the nicer side of football whereas with u23s it’s basically men’s football so you get the more ugly side but I enjoy both you know so it suited me. Of course I also played on the wing for the 23s whereas for 18s I was a fullback so that was different as well having to adapt and change my mindset was difficult but a good challenge and definitely made me more adaptable and all rounded.
OB: The one the comes to mind first is mine against Stow at home which I previously mentioned, I only played 15 mins that day on my first game back from injury and the ball was sprayed out to me, I touched it down, did a drag back to beat my man and then wrapped it far corner. Just an amazing feeling to score on my first game back after 3/4 months out.
DK: How does the season rank with your previous years at the club?
OB: On a personal development note this has been my best year at the club, I’ve been here 3 years now and I can easily say I’ve developed as a player and as a person the most this year, however it’s really a toss up between this year and last for which has been my favourite season, I’ve absolutely loved my time at Needham so far and couldn’t ask for a much better group of lads to have gone through it all with!
