27th August 2024
Thetford Town vs Harleston Town @ Mundford Road - Thetford
Thurlow Nunn Premier Division (Step 5)
19:45 KO
£8 entry
Attendance - 165
Half-time score: Thetford Town 0-0 Harleston Town
Goals:
Thetford Town: Mann - 81'
Thetford Town: Diggens - 90'
Final Score: Thetford Town 2-0 Harleston Town
No time for Thetford to stew on their Saturday loss away at Woodbridge, as they host Harleston Town for an evening game. Mid-week games have not been a happy hunting ground for Thetford Town of late, the last win coming back in December 2023 as they defeated Newmarket Town away in the Challenge Cup, but having secured only 6 points from 5 games, this trend needed to be turned around tonight. It was not going to be easy though, Harleston have been a good side for the last couple of seasons and look to be a resilient side, having only lost 1 game so far, before kick-off.
Today's programme had the young, pacey winger Dylan Grove on the cover.
It had been a warm, pleasant day in Thetford, but the temperature did drop a bit as the sun drew in, I should definitely have brought a light jacket with me. Either way, perfect footballing weather, into which Thetford Town lined up in their iconic claret and blue, with Harleston Town in a jazzy pastel green/navy strip, away colours of course.
KEY MOMENTS
TT = Thetford Town
HA = Harleston Town
10' - TT - Jake Mann puts Grove through down the right flank, he shows the defender a clean pair of heels and squares the ball into the box to find Diggens, but his effort is pulled over the bar.
13' - HA - Hipperson is threaded through, but Dickerson is out rapidly to block the prodded effort, conceding a corner in the process.
18' - TT - A neat one-two between Mann and Grove sees the latter charging off into space, with options either side he uses the outside of his boot to try and thread Diggens through, keeper Nunn is out first and the two players get to ball at the same time, with Diggens taken out inside the box, and after a half-hearted penalty appeal, the referee gives a goal-kick.
26' - HA - A Harleston corner is flicked on at the near-post, it falls for Hipperson inside the opposite side of the box, he powers in a stinging strike that is curling in, but Dickerson makes a wonderful diving save to turn the ball out for another corner. In the resultant corner, the ball goes out to the far side and is looped back in, captain Matt Cook is open but mishits his effort wide of the goal, should have buried that one.
35' - TT - Swift Thetford attack down the left, Laker drives deep into the box, and from the byline squares back to makeshift striker Elliot Smith, the goalmouth is wide open but keeper Nunn gets across well to block the effort from point-blank range, another one that should have been buried in this game.
41' - HA - Hipperson flashes the ball across the box from the right flank, Hide is open in the middle but fails to connect, under some pressure from Dickerson it has to be said. I was informed by a Harleston fan that Harrison Hide is indeed the son of famous boxer Herbie Hide, great sporting fact!
58' - HA - Harleston have a free-kick in a decent position. Turner steps up and shoots, his effort dipping low into the bottom left corner, forcing Dickerson to make a less than comfortable save, turning the ball out for a corner.
73' - TT - From a short Thetford corner, Olpin is found inside the D, his strike is blocked but spins wildly out to the right, where Laker absolutely puts their laces through the ball, and with keeper Nunn well beaten the ball smashes into the bar and out, the frame ringing for ages afterwards, so unlucky, a hit that clean deserved to rip into the onion bag with that satisfying sound we all know and love.
78' - HA - Snap strike from Hipperson on the left corner of the box forces Dickerson to get down low to make a tricky save at his near post.
81' - TT - GOAL (1-0) - Wow, a cute little ball over the top (not 100% sure who it was but I think it was Olpin) sets Jake Mann free, he skips forwards and beats the on-rushing Nunn to the ball, a deft little tap sees him poke it past the keeper and it rolls inevitably into the bottom right corner curving like a golf ball on a putting green to its target, what a fantastic piece of skill, took something like that to beat the keepers this evening!
85' - TT - Gilchrist plays King in, he jinks about the edge of the box probing for space before he lays it off to Mann coming in from the left, the strike is hit first time with some pace, but Nunn makes a fine stop to deflect it out for a corner. In the resulting corner, it is taken short and King pulls off a trademark run into the box along the byline, he lays the ball back and a prodded effort is cleared off the line by a defender, so close!
90' - TT - GOAL (2-0) - Thetford cement the win, a quick Thetford counter sees Gilchrist charge down the right, he gallops over the defender and drives into the box, he squares to Diggens who steps across the covering defender to blast home from close range. George deserved that goal for sure, and brilliant work from Dan in the build-up, when these two are tuned in together, they are unstoppable.
A fine and incredibly hard fought win for Thetford Town sees them break their mid-week hoodoo in fine fashion. It was a game with clear chances for both teams, and were it not for two excellent goalkeeping performances, we would have been looking at a higher scoring game. It was one of those games that as it drew on, the first goal would win it, and that was certainly the case as Thetford scored in the final 10 minutes, then hit the visitors on the counter as they pushed up for the equaliser. To a man Thetford left it all out there, with huge performances in all positions, the defence having a particularly tough battle against a big and dangerous forward line. Harleston will rightly feel like they should have scored, and this game was settled by fine margins for sure. I'm looking forward to the return fixture as this evening's game was a great watch. Harleston host higher level Step 3 opponents Biggleswade Town in the FA Cup in their next game, I hope they can get the win for the Thurlow Nunn, best of luck to them. Thetford face a trip away to Heacham this coming Saturday, moved forwards due to the gap in the fixtures, and this works well, an away trip to the coast in Summer, looking forward to it, and hoping Thetford can secure back-to-back wins as they look to kick-start their spluttering start to the season, UP THE TOWN!!!
Line-Ups:
THETFORD TOWN: Ryan Dickerson, Josh Wells, Jaydyn Lott, Adam Laker, Sam Bond (C), Callum Olpin, Jake Mann, Dylan Grove, George Diggens, Kieran Money, Elliot Smith. SUBS: Tom Smith, Harvey Lott, Cameron King, Dan Gilchrist, Liam Levy-Twomey.
HARLESTON TOWN: Kieran Nunn, Harry Hawthorne, Joe Manning, Matt Cook (C), Lewis Haydon, Adam Hipperson, Brandon Pickess, Josh Durham, Rob Turner, Charlie Pennell, Harrison Hide. SUBS: Adrian Musasa, Alfie Mark, Connor Delaney, Danny Pennell.
Comentários