AFC Sudbury 5 – 1 Bungay Town
By Darrell Allen (31/05/2025)
Above: Bungay Town in a team huddle ahead of kick-off at Portman Road. Photo: Ben Cunningham.
A cup final against a team three leagues above them was never going to be easy, but there were positives to take from Bungay Town’s performance in a 5-1 loss to AFC Sudbury.
Overcoming adversity, the season saw Bungay retain the Norfolk Women and Girls League Division One title as well as winning the Norfolk Women and Girls League Cup. The Suffolk Cup final ended in defeat for Bungay, however there were positives to be found, especially considering their opponents, AFC Sudbury, play at a level three leagues above them.
Bungay set up with five at the back with the intention of keeping AFC Sudbury out for as long as possible. Unfortunately, that plan went quickly out of the window as Sudbury were in front inside 120 seconds through Maisie Goodwin.
A second was added within 20 minutes through Pheoebe Guiver, a third on the half hour mark from Megan Edwards and fourth from Emily Newcomb. Bungay were understandably disappointed to be in this position – with three of the four goals being deflections.
Plan A out of the window, the cup had gone but that wasn’t going to stop Bungay Town enjoying their evening and on the stroke of half time, Hazel Saddington brought the crowd alive by playing in Beth Turner. The Sudbury keeper did well to stop Beth finding the net.
This chance gave Bungay renewed confidence and belief that further opportunities could come and the team came out second half and played full of belief. The attitude was nothing to lose and everything to gain as Bungay began to get joy passing the ball around well and creating opportunities.
The seventh-tier side finally got their reward for a remarkable second half performance when Selina Rowland played a wonderful ball down the left to Hazel Saddington to run on to and slot the ball into the net on 76 minutes.
It was an iconic moment for Saddington, a Norwich City fan to score at Portman Road, the home of Ipswich Town. The celebrations that followed were the best of the night as Bungay got the moment they so desperately wanted and deserved in the game. AFC Sudbury manager Luke Mallett was disappointed to concede:
He said: “I think in the first half we showed up and we played good football and we moved it around. They were resilient and kept a low block and had lots of numbers back, but we kept the ball moving and although we could have been a little more clinical, I was really happy with the first-half.”
The remaining 14 minutes and stoppage time saw little action of note as Bungay did well to restrict Sudbury to any further goals and can take a huge positive drawing the second half 1-1.
A special mention has to go Bungay Town goalkeeper Chloe Pearce and the defence who were outstanding all evening, in particular Fran Heaney who received the Player of the Match award for Bungay Town.
At the conclusion of the game Bungay went over to Cobbold Stand where their supporters were housed and appreciation was shared between players and supporters for what was a magnificent occasion for the club and superb performance from the team.
Bungay finished the night with huge plaudits on an evening where they done themselves proud against opposition from three levels higher and scored at Portman Road.
In a season of huge success and so many reasons to be proud, this was a fitting conclusion and memories for life for all the players and staff who were involved on Tuesday night.
TEAMS: AFC SUDBURY: Amelia Carter, Sophie Jeffrey, Leonnie Beazant, Eleanor Rossiter, Aliyat Lambe, Alex Penny, Maisie Goodwin, Jessica Allen, Megan Edwards, Phoebe Guiver, Lina Nagib. Substitutes: Maddison Carpenter, Lily-Jo Hinton, Kaste Edwards, Emily Newcomb, Jade Barrett.
BUNGAY TOWN: Chloe Pearce, Grace Storey, Charnelle Riggall, Ruby Roos, Abi Bell, Lauren Purling, Beth Turner, Mia Rose, Hazel Saddington, Fran Heaney, Selina Rowland. Substitutes: Maddie Flatman, Lila Eden, Sofia Serghiou, Molly Webb, Brooke Osborne.
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