24th September 2022
Thetford Town vs Woodbridge Town @ Mundford Road - Thetford
Thurlow Nunn Premier Division (Step 5)
15:00 KO
£7 entry
Attendance - 109
Half-time score: Thetford Town 1-0 Woodbridge Town
Goals:
Thetford Town: Diggens - 9'
Thetford Town: King - 62'
Leigh Simons recorded the goals, see the links below:
Final Score: Thetford Town 2-0 Woodbridge Town
A big home game at Thetford Town today, and one I was excited for as they took on fellow high-fliers Woodbridge Town in a game pitting 2nd against 3rd in the Table. Having followed Thetford over the last few seasons, we have spent most of the time near the bottom of the league so it makes a nice change to be one of the form teams to beat, and to be going into a game against the 2nd place side and feeling confident that we can take something from the game. Huge credit to the management team, players, support staff and volunteers at the club for all their hard work behind the scenes. That being said, I was just looking forward seeing a competitive game of football at a fantastic club. About 90 minutes before kick-off the heavens opened up for around half-an-hour to make the pitch nice and wet, perfect for a fast flowing game of football.
Both teams came out in their home colours, with Thetford Town in claret and blue, and Woodbridge Town in black and white stripes.
KEY MOMENTS
TT = Thetford Town
WT = Woodbridge Town
7' - TT - A Laker corner is headed towards the near post by captain Elliot Smith, Gilchrist gets onto the ball but scuffs his effort wide.
9' - TT - GOAL (1-0) - Laker threads the ball through to Machaya down the right-wing, he bursts into the box and squares the ball across to Diggens who turns and slots in past keeper Spurling, who manages to get a touch, but it is not enough and the ball flies into the net.
17' - WT - Forward Garrett finds some space in front of goal and unleashes a howitzer of a strike from just outside the area, which fortunately for Thetford, flies wide of the post.
18' - WT - Woodbridge counter-attack quickly after a decent Thetford attack, Garrett flies down the right-wing and outpaces Clarke to square a dangerous ball across the box, but fortunately for Thetford, the player coming in at the far-post slips over and the ball travels harmlessly out of danger.
33' - TT - King puts Gilchrist through on goal, his low strike is saved by the keeper but deflects straight into the path of King who had followed in, his snap shot crashing into the crossbar and out, so close!
38' - WT - Woodbridge captain Rae feeds the ball into Keeble in a central position, he makes enough room for a strike from outside the box, his effort forcing Tom Smith to make a good save.
40' - WT - A long ball up the field finds Keeble in an advanced position, with plenty of space he makes a cut back to send the Thetford defender the wrong way, then fires in a powerful shot across the goal forcing an excellent diving save from Tom Smith to parry it out for a corner.
43' - TT - Inside the box, Diggens lays up Laker for a strike, who had continued his run from deep, his effort forcing a good save from Spurling at the near post.
62' - TT - GOAL (2-0) - After a period of sustained pressure on the Woodbridge goal, they eventually break through during a quick counter attack, Gilchrist passed to Diggens who with his first touch chipped the ball from the left side of the box into the centre, to find King all alone, he squared up the ball and the goal and hit a precise side-footed volley to give Thetford a deserved 2-goal lead.
70' - TT - Diggens intercepts a poor ball from the Woodbridge back-line and bursts forward, he plays through Gilchrist who charged in from the right, he looked to be lining up a strike but squares the ball at the last second, it appeared to be an easy tap in for Diggens, but a well-timed last-ditch sliding tackle from a Woodbridge defender got to the ball just in-time to put it out for a corner.
71' - TT - King slices open the Woodbridge defence with another trademark through-ball, putting Gilchrist through on goal but his strike at the near post is batted away by Spurling to concede a corner.
79' - TT - A strong effort from Diggens is blocked by the keeper, but there is too much sting in the ball and it spills out to the on-rushing Gilchrist who fires the ball towards goal, but keeper Spurling does well to make himself big to block the re-bounded effort.
91' - WT - With keeper Tom Smith off his line, substitute Ethan Broom has a half-chance from a tight angle, but his effort goes wide.
What a solid, resolute and mature performance that was from the Thetford Town team, to beat not only one of the form sides in the league, but to also bag a clean sheet, whilst closing out the game with few dramas, was absolutely brilliant to watch in the everchanging autumnal weather. Over the past few games, the plaudits have gone to the Thetford attackers, but today the most impressive thing for me was the resolute defensive performance against a big, physical and powerful team full of attacking prowess, a team which seemed to run out of ideas against the water-tight back line and fast press from the midfielders. Clarke was a beast in the middle, Lake was a constant nuisance, Elliot & Jake were physical in the middle of the park and Laker played another blinder, but the stand out performer for me was player-manager Matt Morton who cut out ball after ball, and disrupted many of the better Woodbridge attacks, often putting his body on the line to do so, what an inspiration on the field. You could tell why Woodbridge are so high in the table, they looked a skilful and physical side with quality in all areas, which makes the manner of the Thetford win even more impressive, but I'm sure they will be up there all season. Next up is a classic local derby, away at Walsham-le-Willows on a Friday night, I for one cannot wait, always one of the best away days of the Thurlow Nunn calendar. After this gruelling 2 week period, which saw Thetford travelling to Newmarket and Soham, two top sides, I'm sure some of the players are carrying one or two niggles, so I hope that they take some well earned 'rest' with no mid-week games scheduled, and prepare well for the big game on Friday night, UP THE TOWN!!!
Line-Ups:
THETFORD TOWN: Tom Smith, Andrew Cusack, Matt Morton, Nathan Clarke, Adam Laker, Jordan Lake, Elliot Smith (C), Cameron King, Emmanuel Machaya, Dan Gilchrist, George Diggens. SUBS: Jake Mann, Ryan Fuller, Macauley Rodgers, Connor Balment, Santi Davies.
WOODBRIDGE TOWN: Jack Spurling, Callum Sinclair, Luke Mallet, Sean Rea (C), Mason Sinclair, Cameron Panich, Elliott Capel, Andrew Crowe, Mark Ray, Ryan Keeble, Remi Garrett. SUBS: Ethan Broom, Billy Clark, Taylor Southgate, Owen Broom, Gabe Ruth-Pateman
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