8th February 2025
Dereham Town vs Thetford Town @ Aldiss Park - Dereham
Thurlow Nunn Premier Division (Step 5)
15:00 KO
£8 entry
Attendance - 184
Half-time score: Dereham Town 0-1 Thetford Town
Goal:
Thetford Town: Diggens - 10'
Final Score: Dereham Town 0-1 Thetford Town
Today marked another huge game for Thetford Town, as they travelled up the A1075 to face local rivals Dereham Town for Part 2 of this season's Breckland Derby! The last game was a thriller, with Thetford Town 2-1 up into stoppage time and seemingly about to beat Dereham Town for the first time in a while, until the visitors equalised with almost the last play of the game as the ball was bundled in from a corner. With Thetford Town having had a 2 week break, I was hoping they would be energised and able to finally defeat Dereham, and with the battle for the top getting even closer, getting wins on the board were more important than ever!.
Upon entry to the ground it was a shame to hear that there was no hot food on offer then to find out there were also no printed programmes, not a great start, but more importantly a lot of lost revenue at this big game, with a decent crowd. Either way, the bar was packed and buzzing so we got the drinks in. Before long, both teams were lining up on this chilly grey Saturday afternoon, with Dereham Town in black and white stripes and Thetford Town in their claret and blue.
KEY MOMENTS
DT = Dereham Town
TT = Thetford Town
5' - TT - PENALTY - Gilchrist dinks the ball forward for Diggens to run onto, Dereham keeper Ben Self is there first, it looks an easy claim but he is too nonchalant and Diggens nicks the ball off him before being clipped on the heel by the diving Self, the referee immediately pointing to the spot. Gilchrist steps up but hits an uncharacteristically poor effort towards the bottom right corner, allowing Self to get down to make the save, how big a moment would this prove to be?
10' - TT - GOAL (0-1) - Luckily the missed penalty is soon forgotten, a swift attack from Thetford, Gilchrist threads Diggens through and he slides the ball beyond Self to put the visitors into the lead, cracking ball and a fine finish as the two strikers combine effortlessly.
12' - TT - Brilliant ball from King releases Diggens along the left, he rounds the keeper but at the key moment he finds a soft spot on the pitch and looses his footing, a fortuitous moment for Dereham Town!
15' - TT - Laker with the ball on the left flank, he cuts inside and into the box, the space opens up for him so he tries to curl a strike into the far-side but it is blocked and deflects up allowing Self to make the save.
34' - DT - Nasty moment from Dereham Town, Gilham battles King in the middle, he takes out King with an challenge often seen on a rugby pitch, it is foul but the referee plays the advantage, and shortly after he rides over King and stamps on him in the process, his leg clearly making an unnatural stamping motion, very nasty. The referee missed this as he was focusing on the attack, but after conversing with the linesman decides to award a yellow card. If the linesman saw this, which he must have for the yellow to have been given, I cannot fathom any reason why this was not a red. Harvey Gilham should have been sent off for sure, poor officiating I am sad to say.
40' - TT - Grove bursts down the right, he squares the ball across the box, it travels all the way across when Laker, coming in off the left, powers in a strike with his first touch, but Self makes a fine save to deny him.
55' - TT - Captain Elliot Smith in a central position finds Gilchrist on the left side of the box, he shoots but a Dereham defenders stretches to block the shot, the ball deflecting wide for a corner.
60' - TT - Grove turns and shoots from inside the box, his effort looks to be heading into the bottom right corner, but is narrowly wide of the upright, so close!
67' - DT - Dereham pressurising the Thetford box, an acrobatic overhead effort comes in, it is blocked but drops to the 'should-have-been-sent-off' Harvey Gilham, he has a great view of goal and drills in a stringing strike, but somehow Jake Mann gets across to make an outrageous block, what a moment and what a player!
69' - DT - More Dereham pressure, a long ball is looped in from the right, Dickerson stretches to claim the ball but fumbles, that man again, Gilham, is there, but from close range he steers his effort wide, heart-in-mouth moment.
74' - TT - Thetford under a lot of pressure, a long ball is pumped forward to clear the lines, Diggens chases it and Dereham captain Watts slips, Diggens pounces and drives forward, the covering defender forces him to check his run, but after some neat turns and cutbacks on the edge of the box he has room to shoot and hits a pearler of a strike, heading into top right corner, but Ben Self makes the save of the game to get his fingertips on the ball to tip it over, the ball skimming the woodwork on its way over.
80' - TT - Grove on the right cuts inside and runs into the box, he slips Jake Mann in on his right, Mann drives the ball across the danger area, Diggens is close but cannot connect, but the ball is picked up on the other side and laid back to Gilchrist who blazes over, so close to putting the game to bed.
I want to say that from here Thetford Town closed out the game comfortably, but Dereham peppered the Thetford goalmouth, with a lot of heart-stopping half-chances, but thankfully nothing clear cut as Thetford put everything into securing this famous win, putting bodies on the line to seal all three-points. And what a win, finally beating Dereham for the first time in years, achieving that away from home, securing another clean sheet in the process and taking a 3-point lead in the table!! With Brantham Athletic, Fakenham Town and Mulbarton Wanderers all losing, it made the win even more significant, if Carlsberg done weekends hey! If Harvey Gilham was sent-off, as he should have been, it would likely have been an easier win, and thankfully he was unable to score having had the two best chances for the hosts, it would have been a sickening feeling if he scored. Thetford Town looked a lot sharper and battled harder, this afternoon in comparison with previous games, captain Elliot Smith with a superb performance winning battle-after-battle, Diggens razor-sharp upfront and the the Josh-Jaydyn centre-back pairing proving highly effective. All-in-all an incredible win to set things up perfectly for next weekend as they travel to another promotion rival, this time heading into The Fens to face Ely City for the first time this season, should be a good one, UP THE TOWN!!!
Line-Ups:
DEREHAM TOWN: Ben Self, Harry Pitcher, Toby Oliver, Max Melanson, Sam Watts (C), Mac Gee, Rhys Logan, Harvey Gilham, Ronnie Blois, Charlie Clarke, Alex Brasero. SUBS: Andy Eastaugh, Michael Ellis, Dylan Derbyshire, Jamie North, Max Voutt.
THETFORD TOWN: Ryan Dickerson, Adam Laker, Jaydyn Lott, Josh Wells, Dylan Grove, Jake Mann, Kieran Money, Cameron King, Elliot Smith (C), George Diggens, Dan Gilchrist. SUBS: Callum Olpin, Sam Bond, Harvey Lott, Marley Reynolds.
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