7th September 2024
Stowmarket Town vs Thetford Town @ Greens Meadow - Stowmarket
Thurlow Nunn Premier Division (Step 5)
15:00 KO
£9 entry
Attendance - 245
Half-time score: Stowmarket Town 1-1 Thetford Town
Goals:
Stowmarket Town: Salisbury - 9'
Thetford Town: Mann - 36'
Stowmarket Town: Simmons - 48', 57'
Thetford Town: Diggens - 65'
Thetford Town: Smith - 95'
Final Score: Stowmarket Town 3-3 Thetford Town
Following Thetford Town's epic 4-1 win over Walsham-le-Willows there was little time to bask in this victory before the team was back on the road, this time to take on the recently relegated Stowmarket Town. Last time Stowmarket Town were in the Thurlow Nunn Premier they were a dominant side, but they had to yet to find some consistent form this season. This is typified by their two games against Cornard United, a 5-2 home win in the league followed by 5-1 loss in the FA Cup. They are seemingly an unpredicatable side, and therefore a real threat, further evidenced by their earlier victory over early pace setters Walsham-le-Willows. Would Thetford be able to put in another stellar performance and march on with a 4th consecutive victory, or would Stowmarket put an end to this? Was going to be fun to find out!
On entrance to the ground, was a shame to see the lack of a printed programme, replaced by a downloadable one. I did have a look and it was detailed, but it just isn't the same in my book. The club shop had a good selection of items, but had run out of pin badges so no memento of the afternoon sadly. Otherwise, was a decent set-up, one of the best in the league, complete with a nice club house where I grabbed a pint of the official Stowmarket Town lager, 1883.
I also grabbed a cheeseburger from the food hut, quick service and a decent burger with a nice amount of caramelisation/char, not bad for £4.50.
Despite the weather forecasts for a grey overcast day, it was blazing sunshine on kick-off, and it was a borderline scorcher. Into the sun, Stowmarket Town lined up in their home amber and black stripes, with Thetford Town in their away mint green kit with gold detailing.
KEY MOMENTS
ST = Stowmarket Town
TT = Thetford Town
2' - ST - Early chance for Stowmarket, from the edge of the box, Grabowski shoots, his low strike is pulled marginally wide.
9' - ST - GOAL (1-0) - Wow, goal for the hosts, danger man Salisbury shows brilliant control to turn and shoot on the volley from outside the box, the strike loops over Dickerson and into the top left corner of the goal, spectacular skill and a fine finish.
15' - TT - Thetford begin to play themselves back into the game. From the left, Laker whips in a nice ball, from the far-post it is squared back to Elliot Smith, he shoots but his close range effort is deflected wide for a corner, so close!
18' - TT - Big penalty shout for Thetford, Grove drives into the box from the right, he swings his boot for either a shot or a cutback and his standing leg is kicked out from underneath him and he crashes down, but somehow the referee waves play-on. That was about as nailed on a penalty as you could get, frustrating...
33' - TT - Thetford corner, Elliot Smith shows great strength and athleticism to get to the ball first near the far-post, but his effort is just wide.
35' - TT - Laker fires off a now trademark power strike from outside the box, this one is heading in under the bar, forcing the substitute keeper, Shorten, to tip it over the bar, Thetford winding up nicely as the game progresses.
36' - TT - GOAL (1-1) - From the subsequent corner another corner is won and from this the ball flies around the box, Thetford do well to keep the danger live before squaring back to Jake Mann, from a central rearward position he takes a touch then cooly slots the ball into the net, neat finish.
43' - TT - Money finds Diggens down the right, he drives into the box and absolutely leathers in a strike at the near post, forcing Shorten to turn it round the post for a corner.
45'+1' - TT - Brilliant work by Diggens down the left, he beats his man and squares back to the open Kieran Money, the goal is begging but just before he pulls the trigger, Stowmarket captain and centreback, Reece Langridge, slides in to make an unreal goal saving challenge!
48' - ST - GOAL (2-1) - Sloppy play at the back from Thetford, an attempted long-ball is intercepted and spins perfectly to Joel Simmons, open on goal he can hardly believe his luck and he does well to calmly slot the ball home, Thetford back to chasing this one.
57' - ST - GOAL (3-1) - Salisbury causing chaos at the back, he tries to breakthrough, Bondy wins his challenge, ball is cleared but appears to loop off the back of someone and again spins straight out to the open Joel Simmons, with still lots to do he chips the ball on the half-volley, and loops it over the scrambling Dickerson, disaster for the visitors, two scrappy goals conceded this half, but a fine finish it has to be said, that was not a gimme by any stretch.
62' - TT - Elliot Smith drills in a 20yrd strike that whistles just over the bar.
65' - TT - GOAL (3-2) - One back for Thetford, substitute Gilchrist pulls off one of his trademark tricky runs along the by-line, he squares back to Diggens, and close to the penalty spot and in some rare space he powers his laces through the ball and it bursts straight into the net, no saving that one!
78' - TT - Thetford press, desperate to salvage something from this one. Substitute Harvey Lott battles hard down the right, manages to eventually get past his man and crosses the ball into the box, it finds his brother, Jaydyn Lott, who flicks the ball up and stabs in a volley, but it is mere millimeters over the bar, how close can you get!
82' - TT - Another strong penalty shout for Thetford, shots are flying in, Smith lines up his own and is taken out by a strong if slightly rustic challenge to say the least, seen those given.
95' - GOAL (3-3) - Thetford never give up, in what feels like the dying embers of the game, King crosses a dangerous ball into the box, Elliot Smith beats the offside trap and at the far-post gets the faintest of touches on it to re-direct the ball into the net with his head, cue rapturous scenes from Thetford Town and their loyal fans, great stuff to see!
What a brilliant game, another great advert for non-league football. Not sure where I stand on this one, jubilant to see the lads fight back from a losing 3-1 position to salvage a point, but with the nagging sense that this was 2-points dropped. Overall Thetford had the better play and the better chances, but Stowmarket were incredibly clinical, making Thetford pay for their errors at the back, and the first goal from Salisbury was a real peach, and what a player I must say, although Bondy done well to largely neutralise him. Thetford also had at least 3 penalty shouts, 1 very strong one, and this did seem to frustrate them to say the least, awarding these could have changed the game, especially if they went into the break 2-1, up. All-in-all, I think a game with lots of positives, sweeping attacking play, a never-say-die attitude and a message to the league that a 2-goal cushion against us is not enough. Again, lots of great performances across the field, Dylan Grove having another blinder down the right, Jake Mann & Kieran Money bossing the midfield, Adam Laker very effective down the left (I hope not injured after coming off at half-time), Cameron King play-maker extraordinaire, another fine forward display from Elliot Smith and great cameos from Dan Gilchrist and Harvey Lott who added an extra spark to our attacks. A seemingly rare one week break now for the team, with an even rarer home fixture as Thetford Town host newly promoted Cornard United, and with £5 entry for this one, expect a bumper crowd and a great game of footie, UP THE TOWN!!!
Line-Ups:
STOWMARKET TOWN: Charlie De Lara-Bell, Bobby Bell, Luke Simmons, Aiden Phair, Reece Langridge (C), Will Wharton-Richardson, Brandon Salisbury, Mo Igwebuike, Joel Simmons, Harley Jordan-Smith, Igor Grabowski. SUBS: Kalum Benham, Mileeq Banya, Finn Shorten, Alex Clarke, Bart Lorimer.
THETFORD TOWN: Ryan Dickerson, Josh Wells, Jaydyn Lott, Adam Laker, Sam Bond (C), Cameron King, Jake Mann, Dylan Grove, Kieran Monet, Elliot Smith. SUBS: Malachi Wright, Marley Reynolds, Santi Davies, Dan Gilchrist, Harvey Lott.
Comentarios