George Monger scored a 25-yard screamer for Redbridge but it was defensive mistakes that caused the game to slip away.

Needham Market took an early lead with a goal after 6 minutes; the opener came from a long throw from the right, Nathan Clarke was there in the box to header home. 1-0 Needham Market.

Matthew Gill pulled off a number of good saves in the first half; the most notable was from a neat passing move from the visitors. Needham worked the ball in from the left wing to the edge of the box, central to goal. Ollie Fenn slipped an inch-perfect ball through two defenders for Sam Newson, he lined up and let off a low curling shot towards the bottom right corner but Gill was able to tip the ball around the post. A really fine save!

Needham increased the lead from the resulting corner on 38 minutes; Bradley Barber whipped in a left footed corner from right, Danny Bloomfield was first to the ball with a front post flick-on which was then tapped in by Sam Newson in the middle of the 6 yard box. 2-0 Needham Market.

Half-Time – Redbridge conceded two soft goals but were still in the game, apart from two goals they had defended well but just lacked quality in the final third. The visitors had created more chances and looked more dangerous on the attack but possession had been evenly distributed.

Danny Laws made a substitution shortly after half-time, replacing Phil Boyland with Jack Wilkinson. The away side made another change after 61 minutes, replacing Kieran Leabon with Duane Wright.

Redbridge pulled a goal back in the 64th minute; The Motormen were awarded a free-kick just inside the Needham half, skipper Nikki Beale chipped in a long ball towards the edge of the box which was headed away but only as far as Monger.

Monger controlled with his right foot which set himself up for a left footed volley, he fired the ball into the right side of the net from around 25 yards, beating ‘keeper Louis Johnson who was at full stretch. A truly spectacular volley from distance and possibly a way back into the game. Redbridge 1-2 Needham Market.

Steve Portway made his first change after the goal, replacing Ryan Reed with Jon Green. Redbridge began to pick up the tempo and throw all they had at the visitors, for the next 6 minutes Needham were forced to deal with some heavy pressure.

Redbridge shot themselves in the foot with a sloppy defensive mistake on 70 minutes. After clawing themselves back into the game their hard work was undone by one lapse of concentration. Joseph Moffat gave the ball away in-front of goal, his poor clearance went straight to Barber in a dangerous position, Barber advanced into the area and finished with a powerful left footed strike to the left of Gill. 3-1 Needham Market.

Portway then made his second substitution after 73 minutes, replacing Christopher Roberts with Daniel Chambers. His counterpart Laws responded with a change of his own, bringing on Elliot Crowe for Danny Bloomfield.

Redbridge continued to press the visitors and were frantically trying to increase their tally. With 5 minutes remaining Portway brought on Nana Asamoah, replacing the hard-working Jacob Cleaver.

The visitors put the game to out of reach in the 90th minute; Another teasing corner from Barber this time towards the back post, the ball was headed down and Newson was in the right place to tap in from close range. Newson’s second goal of the game, 4-2 Needham Market.

Full-Time – Defending from set-pieces really let Redbridge down today, three soft goals from direct set-pieces was the punishment and will definitely be a focus in preparation for Tuesday’s London Senior Cup tie with Croydon.

Positives for the next fixture – The team will be disappointed by the goals they conceded here, apart from these examples the defending was strong. Ryan Reed played well until he was replaced; he continued to show trickery and creativity on the right wing.

George Monger scored an absolute screamer today, a goal to be proud of. A 4-1 score-line suggests this was a one sided game but in all fairness it was much closer.

By Lewis Edwards – @LCEdw

Click here for Del Robinson's post-match interview with Lewis Edwards.