15th February 2025
Ely City vs Thetford Town @ Demcom Stadium - Ely
Thurlow Nunn Premier Division (Step 5)
15:00 KO
£9 entry
Attendance - 166
Half-time score: Ely City 1-0 Thetford Town
Goals:
Ely City: Jenkins - 17'
Thetford Town: Diggens - 67'
Ely City: Kerr - 69'
Final Score: Ely City 2-1 Thetford Town
The football schedule can be an odd one at this level, there are some teams Thetford Town have played twice in the league, and some we have yet to face, such as Ely City. The first game was this afternoon with Thetford Town the visitors, with the reverse fixture only a mere three weeks away, so the start of a big double-header. And big it is indeed, Ely City have been at the sharp end of the table all season, so a chance for either team to get one over their rivals. The last few seasons have seen Ely City struggle in the league, so I was keen to see this much improved team, and how Thetford Town matched up to them.
On the way into the ground I picked up a printed match-day programme for £2, excellent full colour example, very nice indeed!
What started out as a dry yet chilly morning rapidly deteriorated come game time, with persistent sleet and flashes of snow, with the pitch looking by far the worst of season, I was expecting to be driving back before a ball had been kicked when I entered the ground and saw the pitch. Despite plenty of discussions, the decision was made for the game to go-ahead, and before long both teams were lining up, Ely City in all-red with Thetford Town in their away mint green kit, the white shorts about to get ruined, I feel for whoever washes the kits!
KEY MOMENTS
EC = Ely City
TT = Thetford Town
3' - TT - King threads Diggens in, he manages to round the keeper, but now at the by-line he looks to play the ball across, his ball blocked and out for a corner.
5' - EC - A Ely player goes down heavily after slipping on the pitch, players from both teams calling the physio over immediately. He is eventually stretchered off, not sure who it was but I hope the injury is not as bad as it appeared.
17' - EC - GOAL (1-0) - Thetford attack and push-up, they are dispossessed and the ball is launched forward, there is a foot race between Ely City captain Louis Jenkins and the last man, bizarrely Cameron King, Jenkins is able to out-muscle King before drilling in a cleanly struck effort to beat Dickerson at his near-post, cracking finish to give the hosts an early lead.
19' - EC - A through ball looks to have put Friend 1-on-1, but Dickerson is out like a flash to somehow get to the ball first and clear.
20' - TT - Long ball to Gilchrist in the box, a deft touch to control the ball before striking, forcing Key to make a good save.
24' - EC - Ely attack, ball shuffled out to find the open wing-back Kerr on the left, he unleashes a superb 20-yard strike, Dickerson is beaten, the ball smashes the underside of the crossbar, down and out, close to crossing the line but not quite, Thetford Town living dangerously.
27' - EC - Ely again, Friend with a good chance in the middle but somehow he blazes over.
31' - TT - Centre-back Wells with what is becoming a trademark foray forwards, he steps through multiple challenges, gets into the box and shoots towards the bottom right corner, his low effort going just wide of the target, would have been a fantastic goal and Key was beaten if on-target, real shame.
36' - TT - Diggens attacks down the right, he squares to Grove who lays the ball back to Olpin, he drives in a dangerous strike from 20-yards out, but it is a bit too close to Key who is able to make the stop and collect the ball.
39' - TT - Olpin out to Laker on the left, he cracks in a powerful effort at the near-post, but Key is able to bat it away.
42' - TT - Olpin striding through the middle, he is wiped out but the referee plays advantage as Diggens takes the loose ball forwards, he selflessly squares to Gilchrist in the box, but Key is across quickly to make the save from the strike, should have been the equaliser.
47' - TT - Early in the 2nd half Olpin has another go from 20-yards out, the effort is cleanly struck, Key saves but cannot hold onto the ball, the Thetford attackers sense an easy tap-in, but he is able to recover in-time.
67' - TT - GOAL (1-1) - Ball crossed into the box from the right, a deft touch from King sets up Diggens beautifully and he calmly slots the ball into the bottom left corner, clinical finish to see Thetford back in the game.
69' - EC - GOAL (2-1) - Horrible moment for Thetford Town, a routine back-pass is held up by a particularly soggy part of the pitch, the Ely attacker looks in, a superhiman effort from Dickerson as he sprints out to make a sliding challenge outside his box, but the ball falls to an Ely player, and with Dickerson miles off his line things look bad, some desperate defending prevents the shot coming in for a bit, until Kerr lofts the ball over everyone to see it drop into the left side of the goal, putting the hosts back in the lead. Following the goal there is a lengthy discussion at the dug-outs, presumably the Thetford management team asking why the game is carrying on after the incident that triggered the goal.
78' - TT - Neat cross in from the right by substitute Jake Mann, Diggens rises highest and heads the ball, but it flies wide of the target.
83' - TT - King threads Gilchrist in, brilliant chance for the equaliser with the goal at his mercy, he opts for power and blazes in at the near-post, but his shooting boots are not on this afternoon and the ball smashes into the post and out, big moment!
90' - EC - As Thetford search for an equaliser the back is exposed, and Ely soon get a 3-on-3. Efforts come in from Ebanks-Blake, Lawal and Kerr following a goalmouth scramble, but somehow the ball stays out of the net, game should have been done and dusted there and then for the hosts, but they need not worry as they hold on for the win.
Hard to assess that game, the pitch and conditions played such a big part that it over-shadows everything. Firstly, huge shout out to all players out there who managed to get through that one and put on an entertaining game. After the early injury I was really concerned that there would be multiple injuries, but somehow everyone came through the rest of the game, which was a relief. Ely had a better first half, adjusting better to the conditions, but Thetford came back in the 2nd half leading up to their goal before a simple backpass was slowed up by a particularly boggy part of the pitch, leading to the Ely winner. For me that was clear evidence that the game should have been called off, but after a lengthy discussion the game was allowed to continue, and Thetford did have chances to level, but so did Ely to stretch their lead further. The big question is should the game have gone ahead? The fact a full 90 minutes was played is certainly evidence for yes, but for me it is a no, it was too risky and it is a wonder that only one player picked up a serious injury, and it should have been called off before the 2nd half was underway, the pitch resembling a cow field after 45mins of battling football at this point. It is also worth pointing out that many Ely City fans were vociferously shouting at the referee to call the game off too in the early stages before the accusations of sour grapes fly in. All this is irrelevant however, the referee made the call, and Ely City adapted to the conditions slightly better to secure a big win. Ely City are due to visit Thetford Town in three weeks, here's to hoping for a drier game so we can see these two top sides go toe-to-toe in better conditions, and after today, especially after some confrontations after the final whistle, there will certainly be some added spice to this already huge upcoming game, one not to miss! Next up for Thetford is an away trip to the North Norfolk coast as they play Sheringham, see you all there, UP THE TOWN!!!
Line-Ups:
ELY CITY: Tyler Key, Louis Jenkins (C), Alex Kerr, Alfie Rogers, Jacob Partridge, Joe Brannan, Aaron Hamer, Charlie Root, Jack Friend, Sam Tagg, Tom Stoker. SUBS: Tatum Cartner, Alex Theobald, Antwan Ebanks-Blake, Tobi Lawal, Finley Logan.
THETFORD TOWN: Ryan Dickerson, Adam Laker, Sam Bond (C), Josh Wells, Dylan Grove, Callum Olpin, Kieran Money, Cameron King, Elliot Smith, George Diggens, Dan Gilchrist. SUBS: Jake Mann, Jaydyn Lott, Harvey Lott, Jordan Buttle, Marley Reynolds.
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