29th October 2021
Norwich CBS vs Diss Town @ The FDC - Bowthorpe, Norwich
Thurlow Nunn Division 1 North (Step 6)
15:00 KO
£5 entry
Attendance - 55
Half-time score: Norwich CBS 1-0 Diss Town
Goals:
Norwich CBS: Wing - 38'
Norwich CBS: White - 56'
Leigh Simons recorded the goals, see the links below:
Final Score: Norwich CBS 2-0 Diss Town
With the cancellation to the Thetford Town home game, Norwich CBS vs Diss Town looked the most intriguing tie to me and Leigh, so we made the short journey up the A11 to The FDC. This is the first time I have managed to see a Diss Town game since the pre-season, I have wanted to see more games, but the reduced league size has limited the number of games, and they always seem to clash with something else which is a shame. Norwich CBS are also an interesting team for those of a Thetford Town persuasion, as the team has quite a few ex-Town players, indeed Luke Bailey recently made the move across. Diss Town have had a so-so season up until now, not really reaching the heights expected of them at the start of the season when they made a lot of big signings. In contrast, Norwich CBS are on a good run of form, recently beating Ampthill Town 4-0 away from home to make it to the 2nd round of the FA Vase. Last time I was at The FDC, I actually saw the same tie, the last game before the winter lockdown, and it was a close 2-2 draw between these two sides (where Valter Rocha scored a banger), so I was hoping for another competitive game.
I managed to pick up a match-day programme, it was a really nice one from Fakenham Prepress Solutions, not a printer I have come across yet. The pages felt really nice and thick, and the printing quality was top-notch. There was a lot of detail in the programme, including a club shop guide, where you can pick up branded merchandise and replica kits, a nice touch and something that would be nice to see more of at this level of football.
The game started tentatively, and quite slowly as both teams tried to figure each other out, and in the initial few minutes there were a few half-decent chances carved out by both sides. In the 6th minute, CBS attacker Johnson won the ball in a dangerous area and fired a curling shot from the edge of the box, but it sailed beyond the top right corner of the goal. In the 10th minute, Diss Town were awarded a free-kick in a dangerous position, down the left flank and deep in CBS territory. The No. 11 whipped the ball in at the far-post, Cawcutt had made a good run, he connected with the ball but his effort was deflected wide for a corner. In the 12th minute, after some good work from CBS attacker Johnson down the left, he sent the ball across the box, the on-rushing Cameron Wing got to the ball first, but under pressure, his effort went narrowly wide of the post.
It was clear that both teams were really struggling to get going, both defences were cutting everything out, the sun was very bright and low affecting visibility, and chances were few and far between. CBS had a couple of good half-chances from set-pieces, in the 25th minute, a North free-kick was sent into the box, and a good header from Sanders was saved, and some desperate scrambling from the keeper and defenders prevented the rebound from going in. In the 27th minute, a North corner skimmed off Sanders head, but it was deflected out for a corner. This was sent curling in and was heading into the goal, and had to be batted out by the Diss goalkeeper.
In the 38th minute, CBS finally broke the deadlock, and it came from some excellent work by Clarke down the left, battling hard to dribble into the box, he laid the ball off to North, whose strike was well saved, but Cameron Wing ran through to clean up and slot home the rebound, 1-0 to CBS.
Diss Town reacted well after conceding, and immediately pushed higher up the pitch. A minute after the goal, a deft flicked on header from Hutt finally set Cawcutt free, he ran through on goal, and from a tight angle he fired across goal, narrowly wide of the far post, a big chance for an immediate response to the goal. In the 42nd minute, the Diss No. 2 dinked a ball through, the CBS defender missed ball and it fell to the No. 11 who ran through and unleashed a shot from a narrow angle that was saved, and a big scramble from the rebound ensued, including a header on the ground from Sanders to get the ball clear, nervy times for CBS.
Just before the end of the half, CBS had a penalty shout, North was running with the ball into the box when he looked to have been brought down. Although I was a long way from the incident, if it was given it did look to be a bit soft in all honesty. Shortly after this, Diss attacker Cawcutt fired a shot straight at CBS keeper McLoughlin, and shortly after the half-time whistle blew with CBS sitting on a one goal advantage.
In the 2nd half, the sun was still a bit of a problem, but it was beginning to drop below the tree-line. In the 47th minute, CBS pinged a long ball through to Clarke, and despite the close attention from a Diss defender, he managed to get off a shot, but it was straight at the keeper. In the 56th minute, CBS managed to bag the all important second goal, on the right flank, deep in Diss territory, Wing nutmegged a Diss defender, and the ball found captain Danny White at the corner of the box, he whipped in a ball for Clarke to make contact with, he missed the ball, but in anticipation of the contact, the Diss keeper as wrong-footed and he could not stop the ball from travelling through into the far side of the goal. Although somewhat of a fluke, if you put balls into dangerous areas, good things can happen.
The second goal seemingly took the wind out of Diss Town's sails, and CBS comfortably sat back on their lead, and were not often troubled by the toiling Diss attack. In the 73rd minute, Diss Town substitute No. 14 added a bit of extra pep, and he managed to run through on goal, but a last-minute strong and accurate slide tackle from Bailey prevented the shot, an superb bit of defending. In the 83rd minute, a blocked shot fell to the No. 11 Diss attacker, who cracked off a half-volley from the edge of the area, but it went over the bar. In the dying embers of the game, CBS had a shot on goal of their own, Horton hit a stinger of a shot from outside the box, the keeper spilled but a Diss defender narrowly got to the ball before a CBS attacker, and was able to clear. Right at the end of the game, Hutt struck a 25-yard free-kick, and it needed a safe pair of hands from McLoughlin to collect it, which he did, and shortly after the final whistle was blown.
The performance may not have been the best, but that was another 3 points for CBS, a 5th win on the bounce, and impressively a 4th clean sheet in a row, taking Norwich CBS up to 3rd in the table for the time being. Truth be told, CBS never really got out of second gear today, however, the defence had to be alert as Diss were looking to play the long ball and beat the offside trap, and they did manage to get in a couple of times, and if it were not for excellent recovery play and goalkeeping, Diss would have certainly scored. Both teams were short of a few first team players, and the sun was very low and bright, it was getting difficult to spectate at times, so I am sure that these factors also contributed. Ultimately, CBS closed out the game really well when they went two goals to the good, and Diss never looked like getting back into the game. Diss are having a poor run at the moment, and I could see why, they did toil at times, and lost the ball an awful lot, but I am hoping that they can turn their form around soon. Next game for me is a rare Tuesday night Step 4 tie, Dereham Town vs Bury Town, a Norfolk-Suffolk derby, and one I am really looking forward too.
Line-Ups:
NORWICH CBS: Joe McLoughlin, Lawrence Blyth, Luke Bailey, Ryan Sanders, Callum Wiley, Karl Horton, Danny White (C), Jamie North, Cameron Wing, Lewis Johnson, Charlie Clarke. SUBS: Ryan Pye, Daniel Ryland, Myron Abodunde
DISS TOWN: Kurt Bish, Owen Woodhouse, Harry Atkins, Rafayyele Ali, Stephen Vennell, Matthew Wilson, Lee Sim, Adam Bennett, Adam Race, Harry Hutt, Spencer Cawcutt. SUBS: Joshua Parry, George Erith, Bradley Potter, Mark Sutcliffe
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