7th March 2023
Dereham Town vs Thetford Town @ Aldiss Park - Dereham
Norfolk Senior Cup Quarter Final (Step 4 vs Step 5)
19:45 KO
£8 entry
Attendance - 164
Half-time score: Dereham Town 1-0 Thetford Town
Goals:
Dereham Town: Johnson - 25'
Thetford Town: Gilchrist - 53'
Dereham Town: White - 57'
Dereham Town: Johnson - 70'
Leigh Simons recorded the goals, see the links below:
Final Score: Dereham Town 3-1 Thetford Town
A huge evening for Thetford Town as they travelled up the A1075 to face higher league opposition in Dereham Town in the quarter finals of the Norfolk Senior Cup. Despite them being a league apart, this was going to be a really interesting a game, and a real test of how good Thetford Town were, because they are top of Step 5, whilst Dereham Town are flirting with relegation in Step 4, albeit in a difficult Midlands division this season. After Thetford's first home loss of the season, they had a confidence boosting 8-0 away win at Whitton United to set themselves up nicely for the game. The prize awaiting the winners tonight is a trip to the FDC to face Step 4 Wroxham, going well in a comfortable mid-table position in the Isthmian North.
Upon arrival it was a shame to see that the programmes were online only, but the clubhouse was heaving which was nice to see. The best word to describe the weather conditions is arctic, and on this clear, chilly evening, Dereham Town came out in their home shirt of black and white stripes, and Thetford Town in their first colours of claret and blue.
KEY MOMENTS
DT = Dereham Town
TT = Thetford Town
4' - TT - Gilchrist with great work down the left flank, he sends a looping ball into the box where it meets Diggens at the far-post, but he was always stretching and the efforts flies harmlessly wide.
5' - DT - Yun scythes through the middle of the Thetford defence and into the box, his left-footed strike arcing just over.
15' - DT - Johnson bursts through the Thetford backline, he is 1-on-1 with keeper Rodgers, but the keeper is out quickly to close the space, making a great double save to deny the Dereham striker.
17' - DT - Swift is put through on the box, under close attention from Rodgers, he is unable to squeeze off a strike and is shepherded to the by-line, he squares the ball back to Thurston who has a dig from the edge of the area, the ball crashing into the crossbar and out.
24' - DT - Winger White pumps in a dangerous curling ball from a free-kick taken on the right wing, Rodgers comes out to claim the ball but misses, it travels to Lott on the far side, he heads the ball back into the middle where it finds captain Frary, but with the goalmouth gaping in front of him, his header is over the bar.
25' - DT - GOAL (1-0) - The relentless early Dereham pressure eventually pays off, under a high press, the Thetford defence make a mistake and Yun takes the ball into the box, he draws in Rodgers then squares the ball to Johnson whose close range effort flies into the top of the net to give Dereham the lead, and it was certainly coming.
28' - TT - Thetford are probing around the edge of the box, and eventually King finds a way through on the right flank, unleashing a venomous strike at the near-post, forcing a decent save from Bilham as it is bending in.
45' + 1' - DT - Dereham attack down the right flank, the ball is crossed in where it finds Gascoigne at the near-post, his glancing header going just over.
51' - TT - Lake curls in a free-kick ball from the right-flank, Clarke rises highest to get his head on it, and it looks to have been blocked at close range by a defenders arm, nevertheless, the ball falls back down to near Clarke, he hooks the ball over his head and it goes just over the bar.
53' - TT - GOAL (1-1) - Smith steals the ball in a dangerous position and unleashes Machaya, he takes the ball down the pitch and a tackle comes in from a defender on the edge of the box, just as the ball looks lost he dives in to win it from the clutches of Bilham, knocking the ball into the path of Gilchrist, who slides the ball in, just beating the defender to the ball, a scrappy goal, but a goal nonetheless, game on!
57' - DT - GOAL (2-1) - Johnson attacks down the right wing, he is cornered by Clarke but manages to get round him to send in a looping ball into the box, it just misses the head of a Dereham attacker by millimeters but it is heading in, forcing a good reaction save, but it is parried into the path of White whose left-footed strike beats the flailing Rodgers at his near-post, a swift reply from Dereham.
70' - DT - GOAL (3-1) - From a debatable free-kick, Johnson steps up and absolutely leathers the ball into the left-hand side netting, what a strike to effectively kill off the cup tie.
92' - TT - A free-kick is awarded in a dangerous position, Lake steps up and has a good hit, but the ball is just wide of the mark.
96' - DT - Dereham go in for the kill, the ball falls to one of the substitutes, Henman-Mason or Marshall, the volleyed effort blocked off the line.
A battling performance from Thetford Town, on a bitterly cold evening, they certainly showed their skill and matched Dereham Town for large parts of the game, but ultimately the powerful forward pair of Johnson and Swift, and the organised defence of Dereham Town won through on the night for what was a relatively comfortable win. That being said, Thetford came out strong in the 2nd half, to bag a quick equaliser, but Dereham did not panic and replied within 4 minutes to knock the wind out of the Thetford sails. After bagging the 3rd, a fantastic free-kick from Johnson, who had to be man of the match bagging two goals and an assist, they sat back and absorbed wave after wave of Thetford attacks in an impressive manner, not allowing them to create anything meaningful. Thetford should be proud that they went toe-to-toe for large parts of the game, and they never gave up, but the manner of the performance shows what level is required in Step 4. I wish Dereham Town all the best in their semi-final with Wroxham, and for Thetford, the schedule is relentless as they face Soham Town Rangers at home on Saturday, in an important game to keep their season going, where another big performance will be required from the team, UP THE TOWN!!!
Line-Ups:
DEREHAM TOWN: Ross Bilham, Danno White, Oscar Winterbone, Jaydyn Lott, Dion Frary (C), Chris Greenslade, Oli Yun, Kai Thurston, Ryan Swift, Luke Johnson, Joe Gascoigne. SUBS: Tyler Knowles, James Cooper, Louis Henman-Mason, Charlie Marshall, Jacob Skinner.
THETFORD TOWN: Macauley Rodgers, Nathan Clarke, Matt Morton, Adam Laker, Sam Bond (C), Elliot Smith, Jake Mann, Cameron King, Emmanuel Machaya, Dan Gilchrist, George Diggens. SUBS: Jordan Lake, Ryan Fuller, Santi Davies, Andrew Cusack, Tom Smith.
Comments