17th October 2023
Newmarket Town vs Mildenhall Town @ Tristel Global Stadium - Newmarket
Thurlow Nunn Premier Division (Step 5)
19:45 KO
£8 entry
Attendance - 571
Half-time score: Newmarket Town 0-0 Mildenhall Town
Goal:
Newmarket Town: Lee - 51'
Final Score: Newmarket Town 1-0 Mildenhall Town
This game was clearly the stand out game of the evening, pitching the top two teams of the Thurlow Nunn Premier, in Newmarket Town and Mildenhall Town. Mildenhall Town had an enviable 100% record going into this game, but local rivals and hosts Newmarket Town were going to try everything they could to take break this record on the artificial pitch. And it was certainly doable, with Newmarket having a fearsome home record this season, recently putting early pace setters Thetford Town to the sword, being 5-1 up at one point, and scoring at least 3 goals in every home league game so far this season. On the flip side, Mildenhall had only conceded 4 goals all league campaign so far. This one certainly had a lot to live up to, would the teams cancel each other out, or would it be a goal-fest, one thing was for sure, the crowd was excited to find out, and the players were most certainly up for it!
On the way in I grabbed a £1.50 programme, I've said it before but I do think these are the best programmes in the division from newprint ltd, full-colour, glossy, thick and full of content, bargain really.
It was a packed crowd, with fans lining all sides of the pitch, and weather conditions were perfect with it being calm and still, and although mild for mid-October, noticeably chillier than the previous few weeks. Before long, walking out to some iconic music, Newmarket Town lined up in their home yellow jerseys with blue socks, with Mildenhall Town in their white away kits, game on!
KEY MOMENTS
NE = Newmarket Town
MI = Mildenhall Town
20' - NE - After an even start, with a few half-chances for either side, Newmarket carve out the first clear cut chance of the game. Conway whips a ball into the danger area from the right wing, and striker Josh Lee must have been millimeters from making contact, which would have likely resulted in a goal, early warning sign for Mildenhall.
32' - MI - Sustained pressure on the Newmarket box results in the ball falling to Alfie Connor, who had come on for the injured Swinton, he hits the falling ball and it skips along the ground at pace, but it is just wide of the far post.
34' - NE - A couple of longer range Newmarket shots are blocked, the ball then falls kindly to Foster, and in space he picks his spot and curls in a 20 yard strike, but it fractionally wide of the target.
42' - NE - PENALTY - A ball into the box evades everyone, and Conway finds himself on the end of it, but somehow keeper Pope saves the point-blank range effort, Conway follows up on the rebound but the ball is blocked, it is then picked up outside the area by Cole, he strides into the box and a late challenge goes in, with the referee immediately pointing to the spot. The fouled player, Ryan Cole, steps up to take the penalty, his effort driven towards the bottom right, but Pope gets across brilliantly to make another unreal save, big moments down at the Tristel Stadium!
43' - NE - Newmarket, sensing a goal, hammer forward again, Cole picks up the ball just outside the box, he shapes himself for a strike and his low daisy-cutter of a shot is heading into the bottom left corner, but yet again, captain Pope makes a great dive, to push the ball out for a corner, three big saves from the captain in 2 minutes to keep Mildenhall in the game!
48' - MI - Mildenhall create an early chance in the second half, a ball is crossed in from the right towards the near post, Call flicks the ball into the centre with a backheader, then Robson rises high to loop his header towards goal, it has James Young beaten, but crashes onto the top of the crossbar and out.
51' - NE - GOAL (1-0) - Newmarket emphatically break the deadlock, some brilliant work down the right wing by Ballester Camacho sees him break free of the defender, allowing him the space to whip an accurate ball into the box, where he finds ex-Mildenhall striker Joshua Lee, his brilliant leap seeing him connect with the ball, and looping it over the helpless Pope, and the bumper crowd goes wild!
55' - NE - Newmarket almost follow up the goal with a 2nd, Cole bursts forward from the half-way line and unleashes a howitzer of a strike, on the run, from 25yards, it has Pope well beaten and looks to be heading into the top right corner, but it smashes into the bar and out, so close to what would have been a really special goal!
56' - NE - A corner ball is whipped into the far-post where it is met by captain Tom Williams, his bullet header flying just wide of the upright.
58' - MI - A snap shot from Anderson, inside the box, is beyond the outstretched palm of keeper Young and it looks to be heading in, but it clatters into the corner between the post and crossbar and out, with Robson's follow-up effort blocked and deflected for a corner.
61' - NE - Foster is loose down the right wing, he takes the ball to the edge of the box, close to the by-line, then squares back to Ben Robinson, it looks to be an easy finish, where a calm side footed effort would have most probably sealed the goal, but he gets over-excited and blazes his effort over, could this end up being a big miss?
86' - NE - Newmarket do well to shut down Mildenhall, and begin a game of absorbing pressure then hitting Mildenhall on the counter. One of these counter-attacks results in a ball into the box for Maynard, he chests it down then rifles in a strike, but it flashes wide of the far-post.
96' - MI - As the clock ticks on, Mildenhall start hitting hopeful long-balls, and one nearly pays off, the ball is not dealt with, and on the bounce, Robson steals half a yard, he tries to loft the ball over James Young, but there is not quite enough height on it and the keeper is able to pluck it out of the air.
What a brilliant game between two excellent teams, it really felt like two boxing heavy-weights going at each other. With the centre-back pairings for both teams being as solid as a rock, it took some fast and creative play to break-through, but it has to be said that on balance, Newmarket Town created the better chances, and were well deserving of their win, a win which seems them not only end Mildenhall Town's 100% record, but also leapfrog them in he table to claim the top spot, for now at least! The Newmarket Town attack this season is lethal, they hit teams hard and with pace, with an athletic frontline of Joshua Lee, Jordan Foster and Ali Conway supported by the outrageously skillful Ryan Cole, with other threats such as Maynard, Ben Robinson and Ballester-Camacho to look out for, I can see why they score a lot of goals. If they can keep this squad fit, they will take some stopping indeed. On the other hand, Mildenhall Town look a more organised, measured and composed team, looking to dominate the midfield, and they do this very well, backed up with some great defending, with a special mention to the player-manager Phil Weavers. With roughly a third of the season played already, it is looking like the title winners will come down to one of these two sides, however, it is a long season, and other teams such as Dereham Town, Lakenheath, Downham Town and Thetford Town, amongst others, will certainly be looking to push them all the way, it is shaping up to be one close and exciting season!
Line-Ups:
NEWMARKET TOWN: James Young, Andreu Ballester Camacho, Ryan Cole, Ashley Walter, Tom Williams (C), Jake Eady, Ben Robinson, Isaac Maynard, Joshua Lee, Ali Conway, Jordan Foster. SUBS: Adden Tokley, Kacper Brzozowec, Clinton Frank, James Seymour, Alex Archer.
MILDENHALL TOWN: Josh Pope (C), Ben Nolan, Jed Wigley, Phil Weavers, Adam Capel, Simon Swinton, Jarid Robson, Alex Steed, Olly Hughes, Tanner Call, Callum Anderson. SUBS: Casey Underwood, Tommy Robinson, Alfie Connor, Kieran Twinn, Lloyd Groves.
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