21st December 2024
Cornard United vs Thetford Town @ Blackhouse Lane - Great Cornard
Thurlow Nunn Premier Division (Step 5)
15:00 KO
£8 entry
Attendance - 65
Half-time score: Cornard United 0-1 Thetford Town
Goals:
Thetford Town: Gilchrist - 21'
Cornard United: Swanborough - 58'
Thetford Town: Diggens - 71'
Cornard United: Cooper - 77'
Final Score: Cornard United 2-2 Thetford Town
This Saturday afternoon saw Thetford Town on the road again, this time for a league game down in Suffolk to face Cornard United. Thetford Town have already played Cornard United twice this season at Mundford Road, for a league and FA Vase game, winning each game 6-1. But today Cornard United are the hosts, and with their home fans behind them they were keen to make amends. Sitting mid-table, and with games in hand, and having recently drawn with Downham Town and Dereham Town, and defeating table toppers Fakenham Town 1-0, another 6-1 was looking unlikely! With the heart-breaking FA Vase loss last weekend, and with the league form stuttering, a win was much needed this afternoon, but Thetford Town would need to be at their best on this soggy afternoon.
The ground was down a small lane on the edge of Great Cornard, and once parked up getting into the ground involved a short walk across a park. Sadly matchday programmes were not on offer, speaking to the person at the turnstile it was explained that they did not sell enough to continue, shame to hear.
The weather started mild, with the sun even making a brief appearance, but as the afternoon progressed it turned into heavy rain storms and blustery winds, miserable conditions all round. The game saw Cornard United playing in blue and white stripes, with Thetford Town in their home claret and blue.
KEY MOMENTS
CU = Cornard United
TT = Thetford Town
10' - TT - Thetford attack down the left-flank, Olpin with the ball in the box shoots at the near-post, Weller makes the save and the ball flies out to the edge of the box to King who blazes wide.
14' - CU - Swift attack from Cornard, ball half-cleared but drops to McFaull whose snap half-volley at the near-post forces Dickerson to make a good save, conceding a corner in the process.
15' - CU - Cornard have a free-kick on the edge of the centre-circle. McFaull dinks the ball to the far-post, Cooper is completely open but his side-footed volley is pulled wide of the post, big let-off!
21' - TT - GOAL (0-1) - Thetford get the opener from a probing attack down the left. Jake Mann finds Buttle on the wing, he cuts in and plays a neat 1-2 with Gilchrist and powers in a strike at the near-post, Weller again makes the save but the ball drops to Gilchrist who slots in on the rebound.
24' - TT - Massive chance to go 2-0 up, long ball releases Gilchrist, he squares to the open Diggens, all he had to do was shoot, but he tries to round the keeper and the chance goes begging as the defence scrambles back. Another big moment as the opportunity is squandered.
28' - CU - Swanborough sent down the right, he breaks through the challenge and squares the ball to Soraf, he strikes the ball cleanly from the edge of the box, it is heading into the bottom right corner but Dickerson gets down well to make a brilliant save, turning the ball round the post, magnificent goal keeping!
34' - TT - King bounds forwards with the ball, he drives the ball into Gilchrist who back heels the ball back to to King as he continues the run, he shoots at the near-post but Weller does well to turn it out for a corner.
39' - CU - Cornard corner ball whipped into the far-post, Hughes is open and powers in a header, it is blocked by the defence and loops out to the edge of the box where Soraf attempt an audacious bicycle kick, his effort flying just wide of the post.
41' - TT - Buttle down the left whips in a brilliant ball to the far-post to find Diggens open, but his side-footed first touch volley is too tame and straight at Weller for a relatively comfortable save.
56' - CU - Sustained Cornard attack, ball rolls out to Lindoe on the left who cracks in a stinging effort, the ball is always rising but is not far from the top left corner, would have been a spectacular goal.
58' - CU - GOAL (1-1) - Cornard with the equaliser. A Cornard free-kick is not cleared, the ball bobbles around the box with shots and blocks flying in, until Swanborough is able to fire in from close range, a familiar goal to concede for Thetford Town.
65' - CU - Cornard corner curled into the far-post, Hughes is open again and heads towards goal, but Dickerson with great hands to make the catch in the wet conditions.
70' - TT - From 25yrds out, Buttle with a now trademark left-footed strike, it is curling into the top-left corner, but Weller gets across well and makes a spectacular diving save to tip the ball over with his fingertips.
71' - TT - GOAL (1-2) - From the corner, ball eventually whipped into the far-post, Elliot Smith with a bullet-header towards the far-post and Diggens ghosts in to prod the ball home from close range. Despite strong calls for offside, the goal stands. From my angle, I could not tell if this was a controversial decision or not. Either way, Thetford Town regain the lead.
77' - CU - GOAL (2-2) - The lead does not last long, with another familiar goal conceded. Corner ball headed clear but straight back to McFaull who drives the ball towards the near-post where the open Cooper heads the ball into the net from close range.
In the final minutes both teams battled hard to find a winner, but neither were able to craft any clear-cut chances, although as the clock ticked on the hosts looked the more likely to score, so when the full-time whistle went I was somewhat relieved with the result. It was one of those games, Thetford had chances to go into the break 2 or 3 up, but Cornard also had good chances they were unable to convert, so all-in-all a draw feels a fair result. In conditions like that, it is challenging to assess the performance, I think all I can really come up is conditions like that tend to favour the more physical sides, and Cornard were a big team with both goals coming from set-pieces after defensive errors in the box. There have been a few too many similar goals conceded by Thetford Town in recent weeks, with the team looking vulnerable to set-pieces, so work is clearly needed in this area. In the conditions, in the circumstances and looking at Cornard's recent form, a draw away from home is not to be sniffed at. With Christmas round the corner, the next game is on Boxing Day where Thetford travel up the road to face neighbours Lakenheath, hopefully a belated Christmas present of 3-points for The Brecklanders, UP THE TOWN!!!
Line-Ups:
CORNARD UNITED: Rob Weller, Toby Robinson, Josh Hughes, Scott Kemp (C), Freddy Cooper, Ryan Culleton, Charlie Lindoe, Lewis Soraf, Karl Swanborough, Louie Arnold, Josh McFaull. SUBS: George Day, Billy Nasso, Tom Clark, Jack Graham.
THETFORD TOWN: Ryan Dickerson, Elliot Smith (C), Jaydyn Lott, Josh Wells, Jake Mann, Cameron King, Callum Olpin, Dylan Grove, Jordan Buttle, George Diggens, Dan Gilchrist. SUBS: Adam Laker, Harvey Lott, Sam Bond, Marley Reynolds, Miguel Pereira.
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