26th September 2023
Dereham Town vs Thetford Town @ Aldiss Park - Dereham
Thurlow Nunn Premier Division (Step 5)
19:45 KO
£8 entry
Attendance - 251
Half-time score: Dereham Town 0-0 Thetford Town
Leigh Simons recorded highlights are available to watch on YouTube, see the link below:
Final Score: Dereham Town 0-0 Thetford Town
Fresh off the back of a painful penalty shoot-out loss to St Neots Town, in a game where Thetford Town did everything but score, they had an immediate chance to rectify this with yet another away trip. This time, opponents were local Breckland rivals Dereham Town, a team much fancied at the start of the season, who sit a respectable 6th in the league and boast a formidable home record, having won all games except a 1-1 draw with top of the league Lakenheath on the weekend. To add to this, the Dereham Town side boasts two familiar figures to Thetford Town fans, in striker Michael Campbell and midfielder Jordan Lake, both great former servants of the club. This was certainly a much anticipated game.
Upon entry, it was great to see that printed programmes were back at Aldiss Park, and I thought it was a great touch that they could also be downloaded, best of both worlds, and to add to that, it was also a fantastic programme for £2.
Having not had any food at Dereham Town for a while, and having missed dinner due to a late shift, I ordered a cheeseburger, was a little pricey at £5.30, but did go down well.
Before long, both teams were lining up to kick-off on the excellent manicured pitch, with Dereham Town in their home black and white stripes, and Thetford Town in their home claret and blue, in what was a calm and mild September evening.
KEY MOMENTS
DT = Dereham Town
TT = Thetford Town
3' - TT - Diggens threads a ball through to release Avis down the left, he takes the ball into the box, cuts across the defender a lashes in a shot, but keeper Coombe gets down well to make a fairly comfortable save.
14' - DT - Rhys Logan goes on a penetrating run into the Thetford box from the right, he stabs in a shot, Tom Smith makes a block, the deflection falls to Campbell coming in through the middle, but as he hits his strike, captain Bond puts in a fantastic block.
18' - DT - Rhys Logan picks up the ball at the 20 yard mark, he cuts in to beat the defender and drives a low ball across the Thetford box to find Campbell at the far post, Campbell's prodded effort is heading in, but it hits the legs of the diving Tom Smith to go out for a corner.
74' - TT - A long ball from Bond releases Haylett deep down the right flank, he puts a ball into the box, keeper Coombe pushes it out of the path of Avis, but it is open in the middle of the box where Lake gets his foot on the ball before the onrushing King can connect, he does well to win the incoming challenge and clears the ball whilst on the floor.
83' - DT - Buttle curls the ball in to Rhys Logan who is in space within the box, he lines up a strike and as he shoots that man again, Thetford captain Sam Bond, leaps in front of the ball to make another important block.
85' - TT - A stinging Avis free-kick is parried out by the keeper, but right into the path of the onrushing Gilchrist, but before he can connect, Buttle gets a leg in front of him to clear the ball.
89' - DT - Spooner picks up the ball in midfield, strides forwards and unleashes a brilliant lofted strike from 20 yards, it has the diving Tom Smith beaten but crashes onto the top side of the crossbar and out. Almost the moment of magic to break the stalemate.
94' - DT - A deep cross from the left evades everyone and bounces in the box, at the far post, Gee hits the ball on the rise and scoops it over the bar from close range, big let off for Thetford in the dying moments of the game.
A game of few chances, and a game lacking any real clear cut chances, both teams largely cancelled each other out over the course of the 90 minutes. That it is not to say that it was not hard fought and fiercely contested, but this was certainly a day that the defences came out on top. The final 10-15 minutes ramped up a notch, with both teams making a few half-chances, but neither could get the ball into the net. It has to be said that Dereham did carve out the better chances, hitting the bar and missing a couple of close range efforts, especially one deep in injury time, so all-in-all, Thetford Town will be feeling the most relieved by the score, to secure a point on the road at a difficult place to go too, and get another massive clean sheet. Captain Bond led by example and put his body on the line to secure the points, it was a fine performance indeed, and when Grove came off the bench, he made a few probing runs and was unlucky to not make more from them. Overall, this could be an important point, especially as they next face Newmarket Town away on Saturday, in what will be another huge test for the team. They will go into this game looking to avenge their FA Cup defeat earlier in the season, so this should give them some added drive, so here's to hoping they can come away with another result, UP THE TOWN!!!
Line-Ups:
DEREHAM TOWN: Tom Coombe, Harry Pitcher, Mac Gee, Jordan Lake, Sam Watts, Chris Skipper (C), Rhys Logan, Brad Spooner, Michael Campbell, Robbie Sweeney, Jordan Buttle. SUBS: Joe Gascoigne, Jamie North, Charlie Clarke, Andy Eastaugh, Harvey Gilham.
THETFORD TOWN: Tom Smith, Sam Bond (C), Ryan Haylett, Hugh Cullum, Jake Mann, Kieran Money, Adam Laker, Cameron King, Dan Gilchrist, George Diggens, Shaun Avis. SUBS: Archie Galley, Ryan Fuller, Malachi Wright, Dylan Grove, Santi Davies.
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