26th November 2022
Mundford vs East Harling @ The Glebe - Mundford
Anglian Combination Premier Division (Step 7)
14:00 KO
Free entry
Attendance - approx. 70-80
Half-time score: Mundford 0-1 East Harling
Goals:
East Harling: Perry - 29'
Mundford: Hunt - 54'
Mundford: C. Rocha - 63'
Final Score: Mundford 2-1 East Harling
It has been a very long time since I was last at The Glebe, indeed, it was last season in one of the early games of the season against Heacham. For whatever reason, the games that I had planned on going to fell through, and I think the lack of Tuesday evening games has also added to this delay. Nevertheless, I was glad to be returning this afternoon, a place of some great football memories for me, and I was also looking forward to seeing a few familiar faces turn out for The Stags since ex-Thetford Rovers managers Bruno Tavares is now managing the side. Opponents today were East Harling to set up a local derby between two teams with contrasting fortunes, with East Harling flying high near the top of the table, whereas Mundford are near the bottom, mainly due to a slew of draws. Despite this, I was expecting a competitive game as I know there is real quality in the Mundford squad.
In contrast to the last few weeks, it started out as a gloriously sunny autumn day, perfect for a game of football. Both teams came out in their home jerseys, Mundford in red and black stripes, and East Harling in green.
KEY MOMENTS
MU = Mundford
EH = East Harling
26' - EH - Mcgeachy steals the ball off Goodchild and bursts into the box from the right wing, his shot flashing wide of the far post.
29' - EH - GOAL (0-1) - Mcgeachy beats his man down the left wing and cuts into the box, he crosses a ball into the box to find Ryan Perry, who hits a side footed volley from close range to give the visitors the lead.
32' - MU - Lee Sim and Felgueiras play a neat 1-2, releasing the latter into the box, through on the goal his shot is well saved by the keeper but ricochets back to him. Felgueiras takes a touch towards the by-line and cuts the ball back across the box to Carlos Rocha powering in, and from around the penalty spot he strikes the ball and it absolutely clatters into the crossbar and out to deny Mundford the equaliser.
34' - EH - The No. 5 picks up the ball from outside the area and powers in a well hit strike to force a scrambling save from the Mundford keeper Rider to concede a corner.
40' - EH - Mcgeachy feeds in Ryan Perry, but the Rider is out fast to smother the shot.
45' - EH - Gomes breaks down the right wing and sends a ball into the box to find Mcgeachy, his snap volley straight down the throat of Rider for a fairly comfortable save.
50' - MU - A brilliant flick from Carlos Rocha releases Lee Sim down the left, after taking a few touches he crosses the ball into the box to find Carlos Rocha at the far post, but somehow he blazes over the bar from close range.
51' - MU - A cross from the right from Magic Smalls is met by the head of Carlos Rocha, forcing a save from the keeper.
54' - MU - GOAL (1-1) - Mundford finally hit the net, a free-kick taken by Magic Smalls in deftly dinked into the space, into which Luke Hunt had timed his run to perfection, and he was able to power in from close range - a brilliantly worked goal!
63' - MU - GOAL (2-1) - Mundford continue to apply the pressure and take the lead when Magic Smalls feeds Carlos Rocha from the right wing, the keeper comes out and fails to connect with the ball, leaving Carlos with an open goal into which he stroked the ball in to.
69' - MU - From a quick break, Carlos Rocha feeds in Felgueiras down the left, he runs in and seeing the keeper coming off his line he attempts to chip the keeper, and his effort is really close, bouncing off the top of the crossbar and out.
An impressive win for Mundford sees them clinch only their second win of the season against really good opponents, underlying how much potential there is in the squad. Bruno has been building and reinforcing the squad, indeed seeing debuts for Telmo Rocha and Felgueiras, and the team looked sharp when attacking, especially at the start of the second half when they turned the game around after an average first half. With more performances like this, I am sure that they will begin to turn more of the draws into wins, and begin to climb up the table. Looking at East Harling, in the beginning phases of play, their top scorer Webb went off injured, but despite this they largely dominated the first half and had chances to stretch their lead, but after Mundford turned the result around, they laboured to get back into the game, creating very little, partly due to the great game management from the Mundford team. I hope to be back sooner, and in the meantime I wish Mundford all the best.
Line-Ups (will update fully once on FA Full-Time website):
MUNDFORD: Joseph Rider, Charlie Goodchild, James Walters, Joel Brien, Reuben Hazelby, Luke Hunt, Bernardo Felgueiras, Lee Sim, Magic Smalls, Carlos Rocha, Telmo Rocha. SUBS: Marcelo Ramos, Kieran Steward, Jamie Underwood.
EAST HARLING (alphabetical): Callum Bray, Harley Durrant, Matthew Giles, Ruben Gomes, Liam Kindred, Asa Mcgeachy, Ryan Perry, Gabriel Smith, Stephen Vennell, Charlie Webb, Reece White. SUBS: Matthew Allin, Jack Barnett, Arron Carter.
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