15th April 2023
Thetford Town vs Hadleigh United @ Mundford Road - Thetford
Thurlow Nunn Premier Division (Step 5)
15:00 KO
£7 entry
Attendance - TBA
Half-time score: Thetford Town 1-0 Hadleigh United
Goals:
Thetford Town: Olpin - 32'
Hadleigh United: Mayhew - 87'(P)
Thetford Town: Gilchrist - 93'
Hadleigh United: Chinnery - 95'
Final Score: Thetford Town 2-2 Hadleigh United
Today marks a bittersweet day, as it is Thetford Town's last home game of the season, a season that has been some incredible and exciting football played on The Rec, and no matter what happens in the final games, it will go down in Thetford Town's history as one of their best seasons, certainly within living memory. From a personal perspective it has been a pleasure to watch and report on, and long may it continue! Today sees Thetford welcome Hadleigh Town, a team that won the reverse fixture way back in August on a scorching hot summers day, so a game I am sure that the Thetford players will be up for. It has to be noted that talisman Cameron King suffered a broken collar bone against Long Melford, so will be missing for this game, and possibly the rest of the season, and whilst he will certainly be missed, everyone in the squad has played superbly and I'm sure that they have got what it takes to make one last final push as this phenomenal season draws to a close, but today was to be a good first test against decent opposition.
On a sunny day, with intermittent showers, Thetford Town came out in their home claret and blue, with Hadleigh United in their away yellow strip.
KEY MOMENTS
TT = Thetford Town
HU = Hadleigh United
4' - TT - Olpin releases Gilchrist coming in from the left, he steps past the defender and fires in a shot, heading into the bottom left corner, but keeper Punter gets down well to stop the ball.
11' - TT - Some neat interplay from captain Elliot Smith and Gilchrist in the box results in a shot by Gilchrist, it is turned away and falls just beyond the reach of Olpin who would have had an easy finish.
17' - HU - From the left wing, Tom Warren hits a ball into the box, striker Bloom stretches and gets a touch on the ball ahead of the Thetford defender, but it hits the outside of the post and out, very close!
18' - HU - Mayhew whips a great ball into the box, Bloom is first to it, but he fails to make good contact and the ball skims off his head and wide.
19' - HU - Lloyd Clarke hits a swerving effort with the outside of his boot from 20 yards, forcing Rodgers to make an uncomfortable save.
32' - TT - GOAL (1-0) - Some excellent work from Gilchrist seems him blitz into the box, evade several challenges, before he lays the ball out to Olpin, he takes a touch to make the angle, then hits a left-footed strike into the bottom left corner of the goal to put Thetford 1-0 up.
32' - HU - SIN BIN - In the aftermath of the goal, Liam Wales is sin binned for dissent, putting Hadleigh down to 10-men for 10 minutes.
44' - TT - Gilchrist hits a good strike from 20 yards out, it is heading into the bottom left corner of the goal, but Punter dives and gets his fingertips on the ball to push it just wide of the far-post for a corner.
51' - HU - From a Liam Wales corner, Tom Warren rises highest, but nods his effort wide.
58' - TT - Lake whips the ball in at pace towards the first man, Gilchrist's run sees him get in front of the defender, but his side-footed volley flies just wide, always a difficult one to put away.
70' - HU - Liam Wales picks up a loose clearance, drives forwards and has a crack from just outside the box, the ball skimming the top of the bar and over.
76' - HU - A corner is whipped in towards the far post, a Hadleigh player heads the ball towards goal, possibly Harry Wales, and it is cleared off the line by the head of Cusack, as Thetford cling on to their lead.
82' - HU - Thetford lose the ball during an attack, and a long ball pumped forwards releases substitute Curtis Harvey down the right wing, he flies down the field then puts in a brilliant cross that falls to another substitute, Chinnery, but somehow he blasts over from point-blank range.
87' - HU - GOAL (1-1) - During a Hadleigh United attack, the ball is half-cleared, which results in a late challenge on the edge of the box, to which the referee immediately points to the spot. Mayhew steps up, and under some pressure from the crowd, he emphatically blasts the ball into the back of the net.
93' - TT - GOAL (2-1) - Thetford respond after the equaliser and start several waves of attack. The ball is whipped into the box, Fuller rises high and flicks it out to the left with his head, Gilchrist latches onto it and slots the ball beyond the keeper and into the bottom right hand corner of the goal, to put them back into the lead in injury time!
95' - HU - GOAL (2-2) - Heartbreak for Thetford Town, in the last play of the game, the ball is whipped into the box, Chinnery takes a touch then hits the ball into the net from close range, to stun the home crowd into silence. From where I was sat, it looked like the ball hit his hand to help him control it, but the goal stood and the final whistle was blown, and the exasperated Thetford players collapsed to the ground, all but signaling the moment the league title fell out of their hands, after what has been a brilliant season.
With the news of Ipswich Wanderers suffering their first loss since January, against Sheringham, Thetford Town will be left ruing the chance to close more ground on them, but the last minute goal has all but given the league to Ipswich Wanderers. Thetford are now 7-points behind, so if Ipswich win their final game at home against Harleston Town, they will be crowned champions, although if they draw or lose, Thetford can still pip them to the title if they can pull off a unlikely triplicate of away wins in the space 5 days. That last gasp equaliser from Hadleigh was heart-breaking, especially after Gilchrist scored what looked to be a late winner, but it does have to be said that Hadleigh had threatened all game with balls whipped into the box, and this final ball in finally found its mark to do the damage, although the possible handball does leave somewhat of a bitter taste in the mouth if this was indeed the case. Thetford did miss their talisman today, although they still managed to put together some neat moves, and score two very good goals. The next game away at Norwich United is very important, with a win needed to heap the pressure on Ipswich Wanderers. Due to work pressures next week, I will likely miss the two mid-week away games, but I am hoping that Town can secure two huge away wins, I will be watching on keenly from afar, UP THE TOWN!!!
Line-Ups:
THETFORD TOWN: Macauley Rodgers, Ryan Fuller, Matt Morton, Andrew Cusack, Jordan Lake, Elliot Smith (C), Jake Mann, Callum Olpin, Adam Laker, Dan Gilchrist, George Diggens. SUBS: Sam Bond, Santi Davies, Connor Balment, Oliver Godbold, Tom Smith.
HADLEIGH UNITED: Nick Punter, Lloyd Clarke, Theo Carter, Ethan Clarke (C), Ben Elliott, Harry Wales, Liam Wales, Jordan Patrick, Louie Bloom, Ethan Mayhew, Tom Warren. SUBS: Reuben Chinnery, Curtis Harvey, Liam Scopes, Steven Holder, Sam Mills.
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