31st August 2021
Lakenheath vs Norwich United @ The Nest - Lakenheath
Thurlow Nunn Premier (Step 5)
19:45 KO
£7 entry
Attendance - 95
Final Score: Lakenheath 0-0 Norwich United
Having been unable to attend the hotly anticipated Suffolk derby between Bury Town and Stowmarket Town, I decided to watch some Thurlow Nunn Premier football on the Tuesday night up at Lakenheath for what was an intriguing game between two struggling teams. Lakenheath came into this game following 3 back-to-back losses in the league, and shipping 11 goals in the process, whereas typically high flying Norwich United were sitting in the bottom half of the table with the same points tally as Lakenheath, so calling a winner before the game was difficult. I was also keen to see former Thetford Town favourite, Max Melanson, in a Norwich United shirt after signing for The Planters in the summer, and making a quick impression by netting 3 goals already.
Norwich United came out of the traps quickly, and in the 3rd minute a cross from Daniels sailed close to the Lakenheath goal and had to be tipped over by Beckwith. After the quick start, Lakenheath grew more into the game and started creating the better chances. In the 16th minute, a high press from the midfield forced a mistake from a Norwich United defender putting Morris through on goal, but before he could cut back and set his positioning for an effort on goal, the scrambling defenders managed to get back and prevent the shot.
Lakenheath continued to edge the game, and had the best run of play in the first half, creating a lot half-chances, and one good chance. In the 20th minute, a low driven ball in from the wing from new signing Walters had to be cleared out for a corner by the Norwich United defence otherwise Lakenheath could have been in. In the 23rd minute, Morris was able to make good head contact from an excellent ball whipped in by Hammond on the right wing, but keeper Dickerson was able to muster an excellent save, pushing the ball out for a Norwich United defender to collect the ball and clear, the best chance of the first half. Finally, in the 38th minute, Clarke shuffled the ball out to the left wing for McIntosh to run onto, and his dangerous cross passed by Avis, but he managed a deft heel flick, that although was going wide, won a corner for his efforts.
In the second half, Norwich United again came out fired-up and almost scored in the 47th minute courtesy of a sloppy foul conceded by Lakenheath on the edge of the box. Melanson and Davis sized up the ball, but it was Davis who fired the free-kick narrowly wide of the post. Similarly to the first half, Lakenheath responded and upped their performance and managed to create a couple of chances of their own, the first arriving in the 52nd minute when a Clarke corner bobbled around, fell to captain Hawley on the edge of the box, but he horribly sliced his shot wide. In the 56th minute, a poor clearance from Norwich United goalkeeper Dickerson went directly to Lakenheath attacker Morris, but fast reactions and pressure from Dickerson prevented him from getting a shot off, and after the ball pinged around the area, the ball fell invitingly for Walters to have a crack. He made good contact with the ball but one of the Norwich United defenders managed to get their body in the way to block.
Following 10 minutes of midfield battling and speculative long balls, Norwich United stepped up a gear and began to dominate the game, and in the process, created a whole host of chances. In the 68th minute, some neat interplay between Forbes and Melanson opened up the Lakenheath defence, with Melanson able to have a crack from 20 yards, but his low drive was comfortably saved by Beckwith. The chances came quickly, and in the 70th minute, a pass from Davis found Melanson closer to the goal and he had another crack, but he was unable to make clean contact with the ball and coupled with the ball also hitting a defender, his shot was saved by Beckwith.
Norwich United continued pressing hard, searching for the ever illusive goal, and a deftly chipped ball along the right wing in the 73rd minute found Forbes. He ran through on goal and managed to fire off a shot, but defender Grogan was able to get his large frame in the way to make the all important block. In the resulting corner, Davis curled in a ball to substitute Jackson, who was completely open in the box, under no pressure, but he somehow managed to miss the target with his header.
Lakenheath battled to get back into the game, and resolute defending and strong battling in the midfield was able to keep Norwich United quiet, that is until the 85th minute. Walters lost the ball in a dangerous position and Norwich United launched a swift counter-attack with 3 Norwich United attackers sweeping in against 2 Lakenheath defenders. Jackson put the onrushing Melanson through and it looked to be a sure-fire goal, I was expecting the net to ripple, but somehow Melanson managed to pull his shot wide, and with that, the best chance of the game went begging and Lakenheath were let off the hook. Lakenheath fought until the final whistle, searching for a winner of their own, but ultimately to no avail as the Norwich United defence stood firm.
Unbelievably, this was my first ever non-league 0-0, it is a not a score that seems to occur all that often, but this was most certainly not a bore draw. Both sides played for the win until the final whistle, and this was ultimately a battle between two equally matched teams who largely cancelled each other out throughout the game. There were lots of good tussles, my favourite was Lakenheath's McIntosh up against Norwich United's Barker, with neither gaining the upper hand throughout the game, but each having their moments. Overall, Lakenheath will be the most pleased, they have stopped the rot by getting not only a draw against what are usually high calibre opposition, but also by getting a clean sheet in the process, which is sure to bring confidence back to the team. On the other hand, Norwich United will be disappointed, they are trying but failing to get their spluttering season off to a start, and had Melanson have scored on the 85th minute I think they would have taken home all the points. I hope that this result helps to turn around Lakenheath's fortunes and that they are able to push on to get more results. I also plan to be back at The Nest at some point in September, UP THE HEATH!!
Line-Ups:
LAKENHEATH: Charlie Beckwith, Lee Hammond, Sam Peters, Sam Hawley (C), Dean Grogan, Tom Walters, Alex McIntosh, Nick Castellan, Shaun Avis, Reece Clarke, Brandon Morris. SUBS: Casey Underwood, Teddy Webber.
NORWICH UNITED: Ryan Dickerson, Harry Barker, Mac Gee, Shaun Wones, Dillon Alexander, Sam Watts (C), Matt Daniels, Max Melanson, Jordan Forbes, Alby Matthews, Haydn Davis. SUBS: Adam Probert, Liam Jackson, Kyle Richardson, Lennie Blythe, Andrew Eastaugh.
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