30th August 2022
Lakenheath vs Thetford Town @ The Nest - Lakenheath
Thurlow Nunn Premier Division (Step 5)
19:45 KO
£7 entry
Attendance - 119
Half-time score: Lakenheath 1-0 Thetford Town
Goals:
Lakenheath: Bailey - 6'
Lakenheath: Phillips - 50'
Thetford Town: Diggens - 53', 61'
Thetford Town: Gilchrist - 75', 95'
Final Score: Lakenheath 2-4 Thetford Town
It has been a while since I last saw Thetford Town, a combination of factors including no home games for a while, Bank Holiday's and being at other games, so I was looking forward to seeing them tonight, in what is a local derby against Lakenheath, another team I am hugely familiar with. When I last saw Thetford I was getting excited about the strike partnership forming between Campbell and Gilchrist, but sadly this has been cut short by the former moving up to Norwich United, and I must say that whilst I wish Campbell all the best at The Planters, I was gutted. However, Thetford has strength in depth this year, and I'm sure the team will rally around to find a way to replace his goals and general goal-threat, and one player I'm particularly looking forward to seeing is Cameron King, so I was hoping he was starting tonight. Lakenheath look a good outfit again this year, and their strike partnership of Thulborn and Avis is also formidable and were to be a stern test for the Brecklander's back-line. I was expecting a closely contested game, the last two ending up in draws, so was interested to see if anyone would take the step-up to be the first to take a win in this competitive fixture.
I was glad to see that matchday programmes are back at Lakenheath so I picked one up, another good one from Barnes Print for only £1.
Although the barbecued burgers and hot dogs smelled amazing, having just had tea I resisted and went for a pint of lager instead, and shortly after the teams game out, both wearing their home shirts tonight, Lakenheath in green and Thetford in claret & blue.
KEY MOMENTS
LH = Lakenheath
TT = Thetford Town
4' - LH - Logan steals the ball off Cusack in a dangerous position, he plays in Thulborn but player-manager Matt Morton closes him down well and the subsequent shot goes wide.
6' - LH - GOAL (1-0) - Lakenheath attack down the left and pass into the box, but with all the bodies in the way there is no way through, but the ball comes back out to ex-Thetford player Ross Bailey, who finding himself in some space curls in a wonderful strike across the goal and into the top right corner, top bins. A sublime strike and there was nothing that Tom Smith could have done.
9' - TT - Diggens plays a neat 1-2 with Gilchrist and bursts through on goal, he looks certain to score, but keeper Beckwith comes out quickly to make a fine stop to deny Thetford a quick-fire equaliser.
20' - LH - A left-footed Sam Peters corner is met by a diving header from captain Hawley from close range, it looks to have found a way past keeper Tom Smith but he somehow manages to scrabble the ball back on the line - very close indeed!
24' - LH - With his confidence high after the goal, Bailey tries his luck from 20 yards out and hits a cracker of a shot which is deflected over for a corner.
33' - LH - Young intercepts a poor clearance from Thetford, he is through on goal, from the right-side of the pitch, and shoots through the legs of keeper Tom Smith, but somehow he gets something on the ball to not only stop he shot but to collect the ball as well to deny Lakenheath a 2-goal cushion.
35' - LH - Lakenheath ratchet up the pressure, and another poor back-pass from Thetford is intercepted, this time by Manels, he runs through on goal but a trademark last ditch flying tackle from player-manager Matt Morton denies a shooting chance.
37' - TT - King pings a ball out to Gilchrist down the right wing, with acres of space he runs with the ball into the box and blasts in a shot at the near post, narrowly wide and into the side-netting.
50' - LH - GOAL (2-0) - A Ross Bailey corner is met by a classic bullet header from centre-back Phillips, Tom Smith makes a great reaction save to make good contact with the ball, but it is pushed onto the post and rebounds into the goal to put Lakenheath 2 goals to the good shortly after the break.
53' - TT - GOAL (2-1) - From nowhere Thetford get a goal back, they attack quickly down the left which results in Gilchrist stabbing in a shot inside the box, Beckwith gets his body in the way but the deflection falls to Diggens on the edge of the area who volleys an awkward ball into the goal to give Thetford some hope.
55' - TT - Gilchrist puts Diggens through, seeing Beckwith off his line, he dinks the bobbling ball over his head, it looked like it was heading in, but the ball hits the post and out to safety.
57' - LH - Striker Avis hits a phenomenal free-kick from the left-hand edge of the area, the strike is one of those powerfully hit flat balls that rises and it looked to be arrowing directly into the top right corner of the goal, but it rises slightly too much and crashes into the elbow of the woodwork and out - nearly a wonderful goal from the Lakenheath talisman.
61' - TT - GOAL (2-2) - Thetford score an emphatic equaliser, they break quickly down the left, Elliot Smith finding Gilchrist, he runs with the ball down the wing and curls in a beautiful cross, dissecting the defenders and the keeper to meet Diggens at the far-post who neatly fires in a close-range side-footed volley.
66' - LH - Lakenheath break quickly to set up a 3-on-2, Thulborn takes the ball forwards and to the right and makes the space for a thunderous strike which beats Tom Smith but clatters into the crossbar and out.
68' - LH - Lakenheath break quickly again, this time Avis playing Thulborn in 1-on-1, I was expecting the net to ripple, but Tom Smith comes out quickly to close down the angle, and makes a fine save in the process, a huge moment in the game.
75' - TT - GOAL (2-3) - Morton pings a ball up the right flank, and Elliot Smith, having timed his run to perfection, beats the offside trap and charges down the right wing and directly into the box taking the ball as close to Beckwith as he can, and at the last possible moment he squares the ball across to Gilchrist whose run into the box is rewarded with a close range tap in to put Thetford into the lead for the first time in the game.
93' - LH - An excellent cross flies in from the right-wing, and centre-back Phillips, playing in an advanced position, flashes his header just wide of the goal.
94' - TT - With Lakenheath pressing high to salvage a point, Thetford counter and the balls falls to substitute Fuller whose snap shot from outside the box is millimetres wide of the post.
95' - TT - GOAL (2-4) - Thetford break again and striker Gilchrist is released down the left, he takes the ball into the box, and queuing up are two Thetford attackers for the squared ball, but with Beckwith unsure which way to go, Gilchrist simply passes the ball into the goal beyond the rooted keeper to seal an emphatic turnaround for Thetford Town.
What a cracking game, with Lakenheath 2-0 up shortly after the break the result looked like it could be a done deal, especially after quite a poor first half from Town, but this team don't know when they are beaten and they played brilliantly to spectacularly score 4 unanswered goals in the 2nd half, and the most pleasing thing was to see Gilchrist linking up well with new signing Diggens. I was impressed with Diggens, who I believe signed from Sheringham, he looked a handful and has stepped right into the void as a foil for Gilchrist, so long may it continue. Overall there were some huge performances, Tom Smith with a tremendous save in the 68th minute which was the pivotal moment of the game for me, some excellent last ditch tackling from player-manager Matt Morton that we have somewhat come to expect, visionary passes and mazy runs from Cameron King, combative midfield play from Elliot Smith and hard work and toil from the rest of the team. Lakenheath looked dangerous all game, and on another day could have also scored 4 goals, the width of the woodwork, and some fine saves denying them on the day, but based on that performance, I expect a strong top-half finish. I will be back at The Nest at some point, it is one of my favourite non-league grounds and I wish Lakenheath all the best. I think this has to be up there with my favourite Thetford performances, turning around a 2-0 deficit was incredible to see, I am still buzzing writing this, and the result secures 3 wins out of 4 to maintain the unreal start to the season. I will sadly miss the next two games, but should be at the mid-week home game against Fakenham Town, so until then all that is left to say is, UP THE TOWN!!!
Line-Ups:
LAKENHEATH: Charlie Beckwith, Finley Logan, Sam Peters, Sam Hawley (C), Ryan Yallop, Casey Phillips, Kaine Manels, Ross Bailey, Shaun Avis, Tom Thulborn, Luke Young. SUBS: Dan Olive, Euan Banks, Lee Hammond, Brandon Morris, Tom Walters.
THETFORD TOWN: Tom Smith, Adam Laker, Andrew Cusack, Matt Morton, Nathan Clarke, Jake Mann, Artur Visocanskis, Elliot Smith (C), George Diggens, Dan Gilchrist, Cameron King. SUBS: Sam Bond, Ryan Fuller, Jordan Lake, Santi Davies, John Taylor.
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