29th October 2022
Long Melford vs Thetford Town @ Stoneylands - Long Melford
Thurlow Nunn Premier Division (Step 5)
15:00 KO
£8 entry (included a complementary programme)
Attendance - 101
Half-time score: Long Melford 0-2 Thetford Town
Goals:
Thetford Town: Machaya - 8'
Thetford Town: Gilchrist - 18'
Leigh Simons recorded the goals, see the links below:
Final Score: Long Melford 0-2 Thetford Town
Having missed the last three Thetford games, there was a real mixed bag of results with two losses on the road as well as a thumping 8-0 win at home against Whitton United, so all that I knew was that we were sure to be in for an entertaining game of football this autumn afternoon. Long Melford have been playing well this season having narrowly avoided relegation last season, but currently sitting at 7th in the league before the game today. I have not been to the Long Melford ground before so I was looking forward to checking it out.
Having a quick pre-match drink down the main street at The Cock & Bull, we headed to the ground, and upon entry I was glad to see programmes handed out with entry as part of the fee, and it was a decent little programme, not a bad idea overall.
I headed to the swanky new clubhouse and was impressed to see a bespoke Long Melford FC beer called 1868, the year that Long Melford were formed.
I do love Nethergate beers, in fact, as I type this I'm using a nice Nethergate Craft Lager drip mat as a rest, and this one was no exception, although it took a while to pour, it was a really drinkable and flavourable pint of bitter and I actually had a second, top marks. The food was also of a high standard, at first I thought £5 for a cheeseburger was a bit steep, but this was more of an artisan burger, and was flipping gorgeous, fresh off the grill and in a nice soft brioche bun, well done to the girl in the kitchen.
Before too long, both teams came out in their home strips for this glorious and surprisingly warm autumn afternoon, with Thetford Town in claret and blue and Long Melford in black and white stripes.
KEY MOMENTS
LM = Long Melford
TT = Thetford Town
2' - LM - A deflected balls sees Wingfield through, he squares the ball across the face of goal, but it is just beyond the reach of Hassan Ally.
8' - TT - GOAL (0-1) - A cross into the box by Gilchrist is guided in by a mid-air touch from Machaya in the centre of the box, the ball hitting the right hand post before going in, a fine instinctive finish from the young man to give Thetford an early lead.
18' - TT - GOAL (0-2) - Laker attacks down the right wing and crosses the ball in, making a run in from the left wing it falls to Cusack who's first touch is powered into the centre of the box, and steered into the goal by none other than Gilchrist, to stretch Thetford's lead, another great instinctive finish from the team.
45' + 2' - TT - Some neat interplay from Machaya and Gilchrist sees the latter through on goal, and coming in from the left it looked to be a sure goal, but the keeper comes out quickly to put enough pressure on Gilchrist to force his effort narrowly wide of the near post.
45' + 2' - LM - Moments after the Gilchrist chance, Long Melford go up the other end, and a slip from a Thetford defender allows Judge to go through on goal 1-on-1, and what looked to be another sure goal is brilliantly saved by Tom Smith, who gets down low to get a strong hand onto the ball to deflect the effort wide of the post, an outstanding save at a critical point of the game just before half-time.
66' - LM - A Whiting-Noakes free-kick is met by Collins at the far post, but his headed effort in narrowly over.
68' - LM - Another Whiting-Noakes free-kick is met by what looked to be another Collins header, but his effort is yet again over.
69' - TT - During a sustained Thetford attack, the ball falls to King in a dangerous position, he takes a touch towards goal and unleashes a powerful strike that seemed to have been saved by keeper David Leader's face judging by his reaction, to push it out for a corner.
84' - LM - A cross from Waugh finds substitute Ben Humphreys in the centre of the box, he shoots and his effort is pushed onto the post and out by Tom Smith, with the ball eventually cleared by a defender, another incredible stop from the keeper to maintain Thetford's advantage.
That was a much needed win for Thetford, having lost their last two away games, it was important to stop the rot, and they certainly achieved their goal, and maintained their place at the helm of the table. Whilst it was not the best attacking display, Long Melford defended well, and the bobbly pitch seemed to slow Thetford down quite a bit, with a fair few players from both sides slipping over throughout the game. Despite this, Thetford played well and saw out the game with few dramas, although they did have to call upon Tom Smith twice to make two fine stops. Looking at Long Melford, they look a half-decent side, very solid and compact at the back, and I thought Wingfield and captain Jacob Brown looked dangerous going forward, I was almost certain that one of them were going to score, but the Thetford backline ultimately limited the chances well this afternoon. Next up is a much anticipated game between two of the early front runners, a tasty home tie against Harleston Town, the first of two games this November having drawn them away in the Norfolk Senior Cup, I for one cannot wait for this one! A well deserved weeks rest for the team until then, and until then, all that is left to say is UP THE TOWN!!!
Line-Ups:
LONG MELFORD: David Leader, Ross Waugh, Sam Newton, Jake Jackson, Deklyn Roy, Josh Collins, Hassan Ally, Harry Whiting-Noakes, Will Wingfield, Jacob Brown (C), Ben Judge. SUBS: Charlie Holmes, Frederico Dende, Ben Humphreys, Lewis Brennan, Ryan Gibbs.
THETFORD TOWN: Tom Smith, Andrew Cusack, Matt Morton, Connor Balment, Adam Laker, Jake Mann, Emmanuel Machaya, Elliot Smith (C), Cameron King, Dan Gilchrist, George Diggens. SUBS: Jordan Lake, Artur Visocanskis, Macauley Rodgers, Sam Bond, Ryan Fuller.
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