Felixstowe & Walton United manager Stuart Boardley eager to overcome former club Leiston in Suffolk Premier Cup Final at Needham Market FC

Felixstowe & Walton United manager Stuart Boardley is eager to overcome his former club Leiston to end his spell with the Seasiders on a high in the Endeavour Automotive Suffolk Premier Cup Final tomorrow (7.45pm) at Needham Market FC.

Boardley, along with assistant Andy Crump, will step down after five-and-a-half years in charge at the end of the season.

It was Boardley who led Leiston to their last success in the competition, ironically versus Felixstowe, who they defeated 3-2 in the final at Portman Road in the 2018-19 season.

He said: “I have said since we won the semi-final it will be a very fitting way to finish from a cup perspective, especially against my old club Leiston.

“I don’t think I could have written a better script, so let’s hope we can now finish it off.

“The competition is something we always target at the start of the season. Both me and Andy rate and like it and it provides a nice end to the season.

“Playing at Portman Road is always the pinnacle, and it is disappointing that we can’t be there again this year, but it would be nice to bring the trophy back to Felixstowe that we (Leiston) so cruelly took away from them in 2019.”

The Seasiders lost 2-0 to Needham Market in last season’s final, but Boardley said that experience may or may not be of benefit to his side, who he said will be the underdogs.

Felixstowe have never won the cup despite reaching seven finals - Felixstowe Town losing three times (1980-81, 1986-87 and 1994-95) and Felixstowe & Walton United being runners-up four times (2001-02, 2013-14, 2018-19 and 2023-24)0.

Boardley said: “I hadn’t realised it was seven, if I am honest.

“The support we have had here over the last five-and-a-half years has been incredible and before that in Kev (O’Donnell’s) and Watty’s (Ian Watson’s) time and probably even beyond that, so it would be great for the club and the trajectory of the club to ensure we win something during our time.

“It was obviously a goal of mine and Andy’s when we started to make sure we came out of it with a trophy, and it will not feel like a failure, but we will be really disheartened if we didn’t finish this season with some sort of trophy.”

Leiston manager Chris Wigger said his side ‘definitely deserve’ to be in the final this year at Needham Market’s Ecologic Stadium Bloomfields.

The Blues were one of only four sides involved in this season’s two first-round ties, beating Bury Town away 1-0, before they saw off old rivals Lowestoft Town 2-1, a young Ipswich Town XI 5-0 and AFC Sudbury 3-0 to reach the final.

Wigger said: “I have always understood the value that everyone at the football club places on the competition and we always take it seriously, although games do sometimes come at busy times of the season when you are playing Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday.

“Sometimes it is a shorter route to the final, such as when we lost to Needham Market on penalties in the final at Colchester United, but we were looking back the other day at who we have had to play in this season’s competition, and we have played some really good sides, so we definitely deserve to be in the final.”

Since defeating fellow Pitching In Southern League Premier Central side AFC Sudbury in the last four, Leiston have lost star striker Jamar Loza to promotion-chasing Kettering Town.

Leiston have also had injury concerns in recent weeks and could be missing five first-team squad regulars including Adam Mills, who is cup-tied.

Ismael Fatadjo has a knee injury, Wyatt Hill hasn’t played since hurting his ankle in the semi-final, Oli Yun remains a doubt with a calf problem, while Cameron Rayworth is waiting to hear if he can play with a splint on a fracture to his hand.

Leiston beat Banbury United 3-0 at home on Saturday and are now ninth in the table and five points adrift of the final play-off spot with just four matches remaining.

Teenagers Stan Horne, Ewan Parlett and Billy Jordan all came on as second-half substitutes for their first-team debuts.

Wigger said: “We had three 17-year-old debutants on Saturday. They have been involved with the first-team squad on and off during the season, but it was the right time to introduce them as they may be involved on Wednesday.”