23rd January 2024
Thetford Town vs Diss Town @ Mundford Road - Thetford
Norfolk Senior Cup - Third Round (Step 5 vs Step 6)
19:45 KO
£8 entry
Attendance - TBA
Half-time score: Thetford Town 1-2 Diss Town
Goals:
Diss Town: Webb - 5'
Thetford Town: Olpin - 25'
Diss Town: Haylett (OG) - 45'+3'
Thetford Town: Avis - 51'
Diss Town: Hogston - 70'
Final Score: Thetford Town 2-3 Diss Town
Following Thetford Town's 7-2 Norfolk Senior Cup victory against Aylsham back in November, they were drawn at home again for their third round tie, welcoming our near neighbours Diss Town, who play in the division below. Diss Town have had a varying season, a series of strong performances seeing them flirt with the edges of the play-offs, however, recent form has dipped, seeing them drop into the mid-table. However, judging by how close the pre-season friendly was between these two teams, it was sure to be a competitive and exciting game, as both teams look to advance into the next round of this prestigious cup.
Todays Barnes Print programme had Kieran Money on the front cover.
Whilst noticeably warmer, the conditions were certainly not nice, with fine swirling rain and a strong wind, getting progressively worse as the game was played. Into these conditions, Thetford Town lined up in claret and blue, with Diss Town in their distinctive bright orange home kit.
KEY MOMENTS
TT = Thetford Town
DT = Diss Town
5' - DT - GOAL (0-1) - Captain Baker whips in a brilliant ball from the left, and striker Charlie Webb gets in front of the defender, his glancing header sending the ball into the net.
11' - TT - Thetford have a free-kick from 20 yards, Diggens steps to take it and fires the ball towards the bottom right corner, forcing a diving save from Ben Self, who tips the ball around the post for a corner. From the corner, Thetford go close, with an effort cleared off the line.
25' - TT - GOAL (1-1) - King fires a corner ball into the danger area, the clearing header falls to Olpin, open just inside the box, he chests the ball down and volleys it into the net for a spectacular equaliser.
35' - TT - King whips a corner into the near post, a strong header from Hugh Cullum is heading in, but Ben Self gets down well to parry the ball out for a corner, fine stop!
45' - TT - King is running round the edge of the box, he tries to thread a ball through, it is blocked and falls back to him, allowing him to lash in a left-footed effort, plenty of power but flies over the bar.
45'+3' - DT - GOAL (1-2) - In the dying moments of the 2nd half, a series of calamities leads to Diss Town retaking the lead before the break. After a questionable throw-in decision, Diss Town are awarded possession, then win a dubious free-kick just inside the Thetford half, on the left wing. Whitby pumps a long ball into the box, Haylett's defensive header is flicked backwards and loops over Rodgers and into the net. Despite the refereeing errors, the defending has to be better than that.
51' - TT - GOAL (2-2) - Thetford Town bag an early equaliser in the second half. From a corner, the cleared ball is recycled and shifted out to Haylett on the right, he cuts in and fires in a stinging left-footed shot, keeper Self spills the ball into the path of Avis who taps in from close range.
53' - TT - Almost a carbon copy of the goal, Haylett unleashes a stinging shot from the right, the ball is spilled into the path of Avis, but Self react well to his effort, getting enough on the ball to slow it down, and as it spins painfully towards the goal line, the ball is cleared in time by the defender.
58' - TT - Olpin fires in a speculative shot from 25 yards, in the swirling rain the ball is spilled again to Avis, from close range he reacts by chipping the keeper, only to see the ball hit the crossbar, and he is unable to slot in the rebound as the space and angles are frantically shut down by the desperate Diss players and the chance goes begging.
61' - TT - Olpin is threaded in on goal down the right, he arrives at the ball just before Ben Self, tries to take the ball past him but the keeper does well to recover and claim the ball.
68' - TT - A venomous strike from Grove, just outside the box, is straight down the throat of Ben Self, but he is able to control this one in the ever worsening conditions.
70' - DT - GOAL (2-3) - The wet and windy conditions are causing havoc both ends. Hogston intercepts a loose Thetford ball, then has a pop from 25 yards, Rodgers jumps and claims the ball, but it slips out of hands and drops into the goal, disaster for Thetford, but ecstasy for Diss.
78' - TT - A long ball sees Olpin through down the left, with support runners, all he has to do is square the ball back, but his ball to Smith is too straight and is intercepted by the defender, and the chance is snuffed out. As the wind and rain ramps up, Thetford are unable to adjust to the conditions, and Diss close out the game relatively comfortably, to secure a famous win.
A poor performance from Thetford Town is horrible conditions, and it was clear that Thetford were unable to adjust their game plan as they attempted long balls in vain as they chased the game, the wind blowing them off target. In contrast, Diss Town reacted well, and played a compact game to beat the higher league hosts, putting them through to the quarter finals of the Norfolk Senior Cup. On both sides, the keepers struggled, with big errors leading to at least two of the goals, but there were errors all over the pitch, they are just more obvious when you play in goal. All-in-all, Diss Town were good value for their win and closed the game out brilliantly, giving everything, exhausted bodies littering the field at the final whistle. Big congratulations to them, and I wish them all the best in the next round. For Thetford Town, the Carrow Road dream is over for another year, with all focus now on the league and the Challenge Cup, I hope they can turn things around on Saturday when they host struggling Kirkley & Pakefield, three points would go a long way towards making up for tonight, UP THE TOWN!!!
Line-Ups:
THETFORD TOWN: Macauley Rodgers, Dylan Grove, Ryan Haylett, Sam Bond (C), Hugh Cullum, Jake Mann, Callum Olpin, Kieran Money, Shaun Avis, George Diggens, Cameron King. SUBS: Elliot Smith, Jaydyn Lott, Harvey Lott, Malachi Wright, Isaac Gilby.
DISS TOWN: Ben Self, James Wilson, Callum Bray, George Erith, Kehan Whitby, Harvey Norman, Daniel Hogston, Ben Blyth, Charlie Webb, Kyle Baker (C), Kurtis Hodges. SUBS: Kyran Smith, Ashton Derham, Adam Dighton, Tai Walker, Joshua Gauntlett.
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