8th July 2023
Newmarket Town vs Needham Market @ Tristel Global Stadium - Newmarket
Pre-season Friendly (Step 5 vs Step 3)
15:00 KO
£5 entry
Attendance >100
Half-time score: Newmarket Town 1-1 Needham Market
Goals:
Newmarket Town: Cole - 11'
Needham Market: Lay - 34'
Needham Market: Allen - 54'
Newmarket Town: Robinson - 60'
Newmarket Town: Chambers-Shaw - 65'
Needham Market: T. Smith - 78'
Needham Market: Hammond - 81'
Needham Market: J. Smith - 87'
Highlights of this game courtesy of Leigh Simons, link below:
Final Score: Newmarket Town 3-5 Needham Market
KEY MOMENTS
NT = Newmarket Town
NM = Needham Market
11' - NT - GOAL (1-0) - Striker Matty Hayden is fouled right on the edge of the box. Cole steps up to take the free-kick and hits a low left-footed strike into the bottom right corner of the goal.
21' - NT - PENALTY - A late challenge from Garnham goes in on Chipps inside the box and the referee points to the spot. Hayden takes on the spot kicking duty and hits a firm strike to his left, but keeper Garnham is equal to it, and a fantastic diving save sees him turn it out for a corner.
34' - NM - GOAL (1-1) - Harris crosses in the ball from the left wing, and Lay hits an overhead kick to see the ball roll into the net.
42' - NM - Lay bursts into the box and hits a low strike, it is heading into the bottom corner, but a diving save from the keeper just manages to keep the ball out of the net.
54' - NM - GOAL (1-2) - Page is threaded in down the left wing, and he immediately cuts the ball back into the box, where it is tapped in from close range by Allen.
60' - NT - GOAL (2-2) - A Newmarket player keeps a sustained attack on the Needham box alive from the deck, flicking the ball out to the right side of the box. The bouncing ball is teed up perfectly for Robinson to smash his laces through the ball, half-volleying it across the keeper and into the bottom corner of the goal, great hit.
65' - NT - GOAL (3-2) - Chambers-Shaw picks up a loose ball on the edge of the area, he control the ball, swivels and strikes, and his low left-footed effort rolls into the bottom right corner of the goal, just out of reach of the diving Garnham, the goal putting Step 5 Newmarket Town back into the lead against their higher league opponents!
66' - NM - With the atmosphere in the stands building, Needham begin to up the intensity. A brilliant Hammond cross from the right wing finds the No.20 in the box, his touch steering the ball narrowly wide of the upright.
77' - NM - Shots come in thick-and-fast, the best from Allen, but Newmarket are putting bodies on the line, blocking effort after effort.
78' - NM - GOAL (3-3) - Needham finally break through, from a corner, the scramble in the box results in a close range strike from Tommy Smith that hits the back of the net.
81' - NM - GOAL (3-4) - Needham emphatically take the lead, a Hammond corner curling directly into the goal, beating Archer at his near-post.
87' - NM - GOAL (3-5) - Needham seal this enthralling game, another pin-point ball in from Hammond is looped into the top corner of the goal by Jamie Smith, just beyond the reach of the stretching Archer.
I was not planning on commenting on these pre-season friendlies, but what a game! This pre-season friendly had it all, a good atmosphere, the Needham Market lads and their drum causing a rival group from Newmarket to spontaneously set-up a rival group, the backdrop to a frantic game in which both teams clearly played for the win, despite it being 'non-competitive', to make a fine spectacle for all in the Tristel Global. Needless to say, both teams got a lot from this game, and Newmarket Town certainly held their own against a team 2 divisions higher, which bodes well for their 23/24 Thurlow Nunn season. Bravo to both teams, what a game (especially that 2nd half!), a fine advert for non-league football!
Line-Ups (not fully complete)
NEWMARKET TOWN: Tom Williams, Ben Robinson, Jordan Chipps, Matty Hayden, Ryan Cole, Alex Archer, Callum Chambers-Shaw etc.
NEEDHAM MARKET: Marcus Garnham, Tevan Allen, Tommy Smith, Keiran Morphew, Flynn Crosthwaite, Dan Morphew, Ollie Fraser, Taylor Clark, Jacob Lay, Kyle Hammond, Seth Chambers, Reece, Jamie Smith, Callum Page, Reece Harris, James Letts, Dylan Williams etc.
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