One week to go until the season starts… and Felixstowe got another valuable pre-season test under their belts against a well-organised Havering side.

The day started with the unusually rare sight of almost everyone arriving on time for the briefing. Kelcher had already excused himself, while Freddy Weller rolled in a whole 30 seconds late after apparently executing a carefully planned manoeuvre around Felixstowe traffic. Sam Oakley noticed. Standards are clearly being set. ?

Once the hockey started, Felixstowe looked sharp.

Some excellent passing from Matt Walker released Weller down the left, where his pace caused Havering's right-back plenty of problems. The link-up play between Granths, Jake and Sam continues to improve, with the ball moving around nicely and misplaced passes becoming increasingly rare.

Austin was also straight into the action, producing some excellent carries down the right and plenty of energy. His performance earned him Man of the Match although he did spend much of the afternoon receiving advice, some of it contradictory, and accepting all of it with impressive obedience! ?

Felixstowe took the lead when Sam Oakley pounced on a Havering mistake and finished smartly. Havering responded with pressure of their own and eventually found the equaliser.

Half-time: 1–1.

The second half saw Felixstowe continue to compete well. Leon and Dave provided their usual defensive outlets, while Kelch produced some quality moments in tight areas causing gasps from the crowd and possibly a little envy from the visitors!

Aaron showed excellent defensive timing, even when playing high, while Alex Williams brought plenty of skill and aggression into the D, winning some important short corners.

The short corners themselves? Well… some of the rehearsed routines looked very good, others looked like they'd been choreographed by the Chuckle Brothers. ?

There was also a strong contender for DOD when Weller won a touchline battle, only for his opponent to attempt to delay the restart. A slight strength mismatch (some might say a push ?), combined with some conveniently placed camera equipment, resulted in a rather undignified tangle. In the true spirit of pre-season, Weller shook hands before returning to the bench to offer only *light* mockery.

Elsewhere, Matt Cade provided a useful aerial threat from defence, Jack came agonisingly close to keeping his minutes-to-goal ratio alive, and Jimmy Walker fired some excellent attacking passes into dangerous areas.

Jake Tydeman was, as usual, outstanding almost faultless, with only the reverse shot making the training-ground improvement list!

And at the back, Fraser made several smart saves and cleared well, his composure and positional play have come on a long way in his eight months at the club, and he'll likely be seeing plenty more action this season.

Havering eventually edged the game 3–1, scoring from a short corner and adding a neat finish from open play.

A good, competitive test against a tidy side exactly what pre-season is for.

⚪? Plenty to work on. Plenty to be proud of.

And now there's just ONE WEEK TO GO.

Next time out, the points count.

Can the team from the coast turn the promise into three points?

Bring on the season. ??⚪