Joint interim manager says Walsham-le-Willows players are upbeat despite the uncertainty after Trevor Collins' departure
Joint interim Walsham-le-Willows manager Ian Hubbard said his players are upbeat despite the current uncertainty surrounding the club.
Walsham exited the Turners Hyundai Suffolk Premier Cup on Tuesday night when they went down 4-1 to higher league Lowestoft Town in a first-round tie at the Morrish Stadium.
Adam Hipperson netted a hat-trick for the Trawlerboys while Karl Saffrey put through his own goal trying to clear a shot from Owen Lane.
Debutant Jack Brame, who has re-signed for the Willows after most recently playing at Long Melford, pulled one back to make the score 3-1, before Walsham had their best spell of the game.
Hubbard, who has been placed in temporary charge along with Chay Budd following the resignation of Trevor Collins, said: “We played a really good side tonight who have come off the back of a 6-1 win last week against the side that won our league last year.
“In the second-half I thought we had a really good go, especially coming back to 3-1 and felt we had the ascendency, where we were starting to get on top.”
The Walsham bench were aggrieved about Lowestoft’s fourth goal, claiming the ball had gone out of play in the build-up, before Hipperson completed his hat-trick.
Hubbard added: “In the last 10 minutes one of our best moves of the game carved them open and, to be quite honest, George (Ablitt) perhaps should have scored but the 'keeper made a good save.”
He continued: “The boys are upbeat and we have obviously got a couple of new faces through the door this week and we are looking good for Saturday. We have got a couple of winnable games coming up in the next couple of weeks.
“Me and Chay (Budd) are working hard behind the scenes after being thrown in at the deep end with Trevor leaving. He’s a big act to follow and we are just trying to steady the ship and take the club forward because it is a fantastic football club.”
Walsham, who sit 16th in the Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division table, entertain second-bottom Kirkley & Pakefield on Saturday (3pm), before heading to rock bottom Haverhill Rovers the week after (October 22).
Elsewhere in the Premier Cup on Tuesday night, Ipswich Town’s Under-18s also won 4-1 at Whitton United.
Ben Haddoch and Jack Manly put the Young Blues into a 2-0 interval lead and Ash Boatswain added a third.
Jayden Cohen reduced the deficit before Jesse Nwabueze restored Town’s three-goal advantage and set up a trip to Leiston in round two.
The biggest winners of the night were AFC Sudbury who saw off visitors Brantham Athletic 6-1.
The home team led 3-0 at the break after Jake Turner put them ahead and Josh Stokes then scored twice.
Alfie Owen-Jones pulled one back before Sak Hassan and two more from Nnamdi Nwachuku underlined Sudbury’s superiority to earn a trip to Mildenhall Town in the second round.
