21st February 2023
Diss Town vs Haverhill Borough @ Brewers Green Lane - Diss
Thurlow Nunn Division One North (Step 6)
19:45 KO
£6 entry
Attendance - 107
Half-time score: Diss Town 2-0 Haverhill Borough
Goals:
Diss Town: Baker - 39'
Diss Town: Cawcutt - 44'
Haverhill Borough: Stone - 59' (P)
Diss Town: Blake - 59'
Haverhill Borough: Kersey - 80'
Haverhill Borough: Sykes - 89'
Diss Town: Hodges - 93'
Final Score: Diss Town 4-3 Haverhill Borough
A mid-week kick-off at Diss Town had given me another chance to nip down the A1066 to see The Tangerines, a place I really enjoy coming. Since I was last here, they have signed the local legend Matt 'The Steak' Blake, so I was keen to see how he was getting on at his new club. Today's opponents were a Haverhill Borough side struggling for form, so I was hoping for a convincing home win.
Upon entering the ground, I picked up a programme for £2, a full colour glossy one with lots of stats and information.
Although tempted by a hot dog, I then grabbed one of the excellent cheeseburgers for tea, they do really good food at Diss Town with all the meat sourced from a local butcher, and it certainly shows. Whilst tucking into this, the teams came out, Diss Town in their classic orange, and Haverhill Borough in white, in what was a clear evening, but despite the milder recent weather, it was surprisingly chilly.
KEY MOMENTS
DT = Diss Town
HB = Haverhill Borough
19' - HB - A penalty shout for Haverhill Borough as attacker Stone is brought down in the box, but the referee immediately waves play on.
23' - DT - Hodges threads a brilliant through the middle of the park to release Blake, his shot across the face of goal narrowly wide.
39' - DT - GOAL (1-0) - During a sustained Diss attack, Hagan picks up the ball outside the box and hits the ball back in towards the area, the balls falls to Baker who blasts the ball into the net to put Diss into the lead.
41' - HB - Haverhill respond quickly, winger Iron attacks down the right flank, he gets into the box and he powers in a shot at the near post, forcing keeper Curl to push the ball out for a corner.
44' - DT - GOAL (2-0) - During another sustained Diss attack, the ball is lumped in, Baker competes for the ball with keeper Watts with the keeper getting the feintest of touches, but the balls falls to Cawcutt inside the box, Watts closes the space quickly, but Cawcutt takes the ball from beyond his reach and blasts the ball in at the near post from a tight angle, a brilliant finish under pressure, to put Diss 2-0 up before the break.
47' - HB - From a Sykes corner, a Diss defender swipes at the ball, and it was heading in at the near post were it not for Alex Curl at full stretch.
59' - HB - GOAL (2-1) - Powerful winger Walker was causing issues down the flank all evening, he burst into the box from the right wing and is brought down by a late tackle, the referee displaying no hesitation as he points towards the spot. Stone steps up and slots the ball into the bottom right corner to bring Haverhill back into the game.
59' - DT - GOAL (3-1) - Diss immediately reply, a long ball is pumped up the field and experienced striker Blake beats the offside trap and is through 1-on-1, and although Watts comes out quickly to close him down, Blake neatly dinks the ball round him and the ball bounces into the net, easy as you like.
62' - DT - Diss go close from a corner, the ball bounces and a close range shot is block, Haverhill Borough putting their bodies on the line.
64' - HB - Substitute Daniels goes on a scything run through the middle of the park, he feeds Stone coming in from the right, and his shot across the face of goal flashes wide.
73' - DT - Substitute Rio Perry feeds captain Ben Jones in the box, he cuts across to make space for a strike, but his effort is straight at Watts for a reasonably comfortable save.
80' - HB - GOAL (3-2) - Another substitute, Kersey, goes on a blistering run down the left, and at full pelt, he powers in a shot at the edge of the area, the ball fizzing over keeper Curl and lashing into the top of the net, unstoppable!
84' - HB - Haverhill pepper the goal, Curl making two key saves from the left, the ball then finds Sykes open on the right, but he skies his half-volleyed effort.
89' - HB - GOAL (3-3) - Diss lose the ball in a dangerous position, Haverhill make some quick passes and Sykes has a crack from 25 yards out, the ball looping over Curl into the bottom right corner of the goal, what a comeback!
93' - DT - GOAL (4-3) - In the dying moments, Diss are awarded a free-kick in a dangerous position, Hutt steps up, it looks like he is going to have a go from 25 yards out, but he dinks the ball over the wall, Urry heads the ball into the centre of the box to Hodges, who is completely open and he slides the ball into the goal to claim an emphatic winner, much to the delight of the Diss Town faithful.
After the first 30mins, where both teams struggled to get any attacking momentum, I would have never predicted that scoreline, but what a frantic end to a brilliant game that was! The second half was brilliant as Haverhill Borough hit two fantastic strikes to seemingly secure an unlikely point until Diss Town got the winner in the final moments thanks to a well worked set-piece. Both teams went at it and it was end-to-end stuff, and a fantastic watch. The Haverhill Borough substitutes really changed the complexion of the game, but Diss done well to keep going until the bitter end, ultimately getting their rewards. A special mention has to go out to the Diss Town fans behind the goal, it is great to see a group of young lads getting behind their local team, with drums and chanting to bring some atmosphere to the ground. Despite the win, Diss Town are firmly mid-table, with the play-offs seemingly out of reach, but despite this I hope they secure more wins to finish the season well, building for next season. I will certainly be back, with the home game against Downham Town on my radar. Until then, I hope that Diss Town get some good results, until then, UP THE TANGIES!!!
Line-Ups:
DISS TOWN: Alex Curl, Callum Wiley, Joshua Ford, Kurtis Hodges, James Sillet, Ray Urry, Kieran Hagan, Ben Jones (C), Matt Blake, Kyle Baker, Spencer Cawcutt. SUBS: Harry Hutt, Rio Perry, James Wright, Rupert Graver, Charlier Barber.
HAVERHILL BOROUGH: Fin Watts, Charlie Walker, Ethan Murphy, Ollie Santry (C), Harvey Halgarth, Archie Cowe, Spencer Sykes, Louie Bampton, Callum Stone, Bill Bush, Jude Iron. SUBS: Max Kersey, Tyler Lombardo, Harry Daniels, Luke Gannaway.
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