26th October 2024
Thetford Town vs Mulbarton Wanderers @ Mundford Road – Thetford
Thurlow Nunn Premier Division (Step 5)
15:00 KO
£8 entry
Attendance – TBA
Half-time score: Thetford Town 0-0 Mulbarton Wanderers
Goals:
Thetford Town: King - 47'
Mulbarton Wanderers: Jarvis - 69', 73'
Final Score: Thetford Town 1-2 Mulbarton Wanderers
Was a jam-packed day today, with the Charles Burrell Museum annual Steam-Up in the morning, followed by a pre-match meal at The Thomas Paine Hotel. The kids always love seeing the steam engines, and I must confess I am also a fan, the smell and the sound is always enthralling as well as being a great piece of Thetford history.
It was only a short walk up to The Thomas Paine Hotel for the pre-match meal, and it was my first time attending one of these meals and also my first visit to the Thomas Paine Hotel! All-in-all was great to speak with a lot of people connected with the club and the three-course meal was well prepared, overall a great and very enjoyable event, in fact I enjoyed it so much I forgot to take any photographs! Big thanks to all who worked hard to put this on.
Once at the ground I picked up a match day programme, this time the dangerous left winger Adam Laker was on the front cover.
Just before kick-off, long-standing Thetford Town captain Sam Bond was awarded with a customised shirt to celebrate an outstanding 350 appearances for the club, what a legend and an incredible achievement! After this both teams lined up on what was an autumnal grey but mild day, with Thetford Town in claret and blue and Mulbarton Wanderers in their high-viz orange away strip, for the first time these two sides have faced each other since the replayed play-off semi-final last season, was going to be close for sure!
KEY MOMENTS
TT = Thetford Town
MW = Mulbarton Wanderers
4' - TT - Laker comes in off the left wing, he shoots but the shot is blocked, it spins up and back to him where from the edge of the areas he volleys in an effort, but it is straight at keeper Coombe for a comfortable.
11' - MW - Free kick in a good position, Baird steps-up and whips the ball into the far-post, Jarvis sprints in, jumps and hangs in the air, he heads the ball towards goal but it is at Dickerson for the save.
28' - MW - Big chance for the visitors, Hunt intercepts and slides in Jarvis, he is through on goal, Dickerson comes out fast to close the angle, Jarvis tries to steer the ball round him but Dickerson makes a brilliant save with his legs.
42' - TT - Diagonal ball from Olpin skims off the head of a Mulbarton defender and drops to Diggens, he pick the ball up, side-steps the defender and cuts across before drilling his shot just wide of the near-post.
47' - TT - GOAL (1-0) - Thetford score early in the 2nd half, Laker drives down the left and whips the ball in towards the far-post, it is headed away but falls to King on the edge of the box, he takes a touch to set himself and drills the ball into the bottom right corner, emphatic finish!
55' - TT - Laker sets King off down the left, he crosses the ball into the far-post, Grove drops the ball down for the onrushing Wells, the effort is saved and spins up into the air, it falls to Diggens who hits a well struck volley towards the goal, but the effort is headed of the line by Field, painfully close and on hindsight a pivotal moment in the game!
69' - MW - GOAL (1-1) - Laker causing issues down the left again, he cuts into the box, rides the first challenge and is taken out by the second, looks a clear penalty but the referee is unmoved. Mulbarton move the ball out quickly, Hunt plays a through ball to the clearly offside Jarvis, but the linesman and referee are clearly distracted, the play goes on and Jarvis, 1-on-1 with Dickerson again, is able to steer the ball into the net. From a penalty to conceding an offside goal, just speechless really.
73' - MW - GOAL (1-2) - Calamitous refereeing again, Diggens is driving into the box and is cynically taken out as he breaks into the box, again the referee is disinterested, the ball is played forwards again quickly by Mulbarton and this time it is Baird who plays in Jarvis on the right, he is afforded too much room and is able to set himself up to drive his shot into the net. Lightning striking twice in four minutes for Thetford Town, totally undeserved.
92' - MW - Mulbarton defend resiliently to maintain their lead, and as the play breaks down they counter down the left through 2-goal Jarvis, he rides through two challenges before crossing the ball across to substitute Lambert, his first touch volley on the edge of the box is hit sweetly and it heading in, but Dickerson acrobatically tips it over the bar.
What was an all-round brilliant day, and what was proving to be an enjoyable and close game was let down by poor officiating in the second-half, and some unsavoury Mulbarton play in the final 20 minutes, goalkeeper Coombe feigning injury when there was clearly no contact (to which he received no yellow for simulation) and Angus Mackie goading the Thetford fans after the final whistle are two examples that sum it up nicely. To have two strong penalty shouts turned ignored, and for the equaliser to come from an offside position turned the game round for the visitors. Whilst not a vintage Thetford Town performance, there were too many errant passes today, they did not deserve to lose. They eventually managed to break down a very resilient Mulbarton, and were in the ascendancy until the two goals. Once the damage was done, Thetford were unable to get back into the game, and Mulbarton secured all 3-points, definitely a smash and grab. To give a bit of balance, I do have to say that Jarvis was a threat all game and finished his goals really well and I was impressed with the young Noah Hunt. It was just one of those afternoons at Mundford Road that left a familiar bitter taste in the mouth, but no time to sulk, next week sees the visit of Downham Town, a team on excellent form and full of familiar faces, should be a good one, UP THE TOWN!!!
Line-Ups:
THETFORD TOWN: Ryan Dickerson, Elliot Smith, Jaydyn Lott, Sam Bond (C), Adam Laker, Kieran Money, Cameron King, Callum Olpin, Dylan Grove, George Diggens, Josh Wells. SUBS: Jake Mann, Dan Gilchrist, Malachi Wright, Marley Reynolds, Amouree Wellington.
MULBARTON WANDERERS: Thomas Coombe, Angus Mackie, Tom Hunter, James Page (C), Fraser Field, Joe Easton, Owen Lane, Miguel Lopez, Ashley Jarvis, Tom Baird, Noah Hunt. SUBS: Peter Lambert, Liam Ireland, Dom Doggett, Danny Self.
