12th December 2023
Newmarket Town vs Thetford Town @ Tristel Stadium - Newmarket
Eastern Counties Challenge Cup - Second Round (both Step 5)
19:45 KO
£5 entry
Attendance - 116
Half-time score: Newmarket Town 1-0 Thetford Town
Goals:
Newmarket Town: Eady - 32'
Thetford Town: Gilchrist - 63', 70'
Final Score: Newmarket Town 1-2 Thetford Town
Having received a bye into the 2nd round, Thetford Town got the toughest possible fixture, Newmarket Town away....Whilst not wanting to dwell on this for too long, Newmarket have already got the better of Thetford twice this season, a 2-1 win at Mundford Road and a 5-3 win at todays venue, two late goals from Avis making it look better for Thetford than it actually was. Add to this, to get into the 2nd round of this competition, Newmarket smashed Mildenhall 6-0 away from home, the team with the meanest defence in the division, albeit down to 9 men by the end of the game. Nevertheless, all the signs pointed to a home win, but I knew that Thetford Town has quality in the team so there was plenty of hope for a big performance.
On the way in, I managed to bag another excellent Newmarket Town programme for £1.50, full colour and glossy with good content, always high quality here.
It was a warmer, but decidedly wet evening, the rain driving town quite hard at points during the game, turning the already muddy car park into a quagmire. Luckily, the 4G pitch was pristine, and both teams lined up in their home colours for this hotly anticipated Challenge Cup tie, the hosts in yellow and the visitors in claret and blue.
KEY MOMENTS
NT = Newmarket Town
TT = Thetford Town
2' - NT - Newmarket sweep up a loose ball from Thetford at the back, this culminates in a fierce strike in from the left from Ryan Cole, it skips off the astro-turf in front of Tom Smith to make it awkward, but he manages to get enough contact on it to turn it away for a corner.
11' - NT - A deft ball over the top releases Josh Lee down the right, he hits the ball low across the box, it evades everyone only to find Eady bursting in from the left, he strikes across the ball, his fizzing effort marginally wide of the far-post.
22' - NT - Robinson hits a ball into the mixer from the right, Maynard looks to be in but the ball is just beyond him and Tom Smith is able to collect the ball, much to his relief.
26' - TT - Captain Cameron King threads a nicely weighted ball through for Gilchrist to latch onto, seeing two defenders bearing down on him, he decides to strike it from the edge of the area with his initial touch, but keeper Young is equal to it and he turns the effort away for a corner.
32' - NT - GOAL (1-0) - It was coming, and Newmarket Town break the deadlock. Ryan Cole whips in the corner ball to the far-post, the attempted Thetford clearance flies towards the far-post, straight onto the head of Eady who nods home from close range.
38' - NT - Newmarket are awarded a free-kick in a dangerous position. Up steps deadball specialist Ryan Cole, he hits a brilliant strike which dips in towards the bottom right corner, it has Tom Smith beaten but clatters into the post and out, and evades the onrushing support runners, allowing Thetford to clear, big moment!
39' - TT - Some great work from King down and left and into the box, he evades multiple challenges then squares back to Gilchrist, but the strike is weak and Young is able to get down to secure the ball.
41' - TT - A King corner is swung in to the far-post, Avis rises the highest, his glancing header travelling narrowly wide.
42' - TT - A neat 1-2 is played on the edge of the box to put Money through, but his effort is straight at the keeper.
48 - TT - A swift attack from Thetford, Gilchrist is played forwards and drives down the middle, having attracted the defenders he lays the ball out to the left to the open Olpin, he has plenty of time to line-up his shot and he stabs in an effort which is deflected just wide of the far-post for a corner.
63' - TT - GOAL (1-1) - Thetford get their deserved equaliser after an improved performance since the 40min mark. A neat ball from Olpin plays King in down the right, he skins the defender then from the by-line cuts the ball back to tee-up Gilchrist who obliges and emphatically slams the ball into the gapping net.
70' - TT - GOAL (1-2) - Thetford, on the up, complete the comeback with a second. Money wins the ball and plays captain Cameron King through on goal, he skips forwards, and like a magnet draws in the defenders and the keeper, instead of shooting he squares the ball across the box, it evades the defenders and Olpin to find Gilchrist at the far-post, and he hits a beautiful left-footed strike to beat Young at his near-post, the ball nestling into the bottom left corner, cracking finish!
82' - NT - From a corner, the ball falls to Ashley Walter, his snap strike inadvertently blocked by the Newmarket captain James Seymour.
87' - TT - Thetford craft the opportunity to seal the win. Gilchrist down the right squares the ball into Haylett who continued his run into the box, but his effort across the goal is just pulled wide, unlucky.
Despite Newmarket Town's best efforts to take the game to penalties, Thetford Town stood strong at the back and secured a famous win, particularly in light of the previous drubbing at this ground earlier in the season. Newmarket came out of the traps quickly and blitzed Thetford for the first 40mins, but Thetford were resolute, some last gasp defending and a bit luck preventing Newmarket from stretching out a big lead. Having weathered this, the game played into Thetford's hand and they were clearly the better side from this point onwards and certainly were good for their win. This will be a confidence booster for Thetford after a few stuttering results, beating arguably the best team in the Thurlow Nunn Premier at their own ground, and deservedly so. Thetford looked more cohesive today and were more tenacious and physical when not on the ball, it was great to watch. With regards to Newmarket, I must say that their front line of Lee, Cole & Foster is formiddable, they come forward at pace and with strength and must be a nightmare to defend against. But, Thetford were able to work them out and grind out the win to take them into the 3rd round of the Challenge Cup, I will be looking forward to seeing who we face next in the competition. Great performances all round in the rain, great evening of football, UP THE TOWN!!!
Line-Ups:
NEWMARKET TOWN: James Young, James Chivers, Jake Eady, Ashley Walter, James Seymour (C), Tom Williams, Ben Robinson, Isaac Maynard, Josh Lee, Ryan Cole, Jordan Foster. SUBS: Adden Tokley, Clinton Frank, Kacper Brozowec, Jacob Mingay, Andy Ballester-Camcho.
THETFORD TOWN: Tom Smith, Dylan Grove, Ryan Haylett, Ryan Fuller, Hugh Cullum, Jake Mann, Kieran Money, Cameron King (C), Callum Olpin, Shaun Avis, Dan Gilchrist. SUBS: Sam Bond, Jaydyn Lott, Adam Laker, George Diggens, Dylan Kirk.
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