27th December 2022 Thetford Town vs Lakenheath @ Mundford Road - Thetford Thurlow Nunn Premier Division (Step 5) 19:45 KO £7 entry Attendance - 217
Half-time score: Thetford Town 1-0 Lakenheath
Goals:
Thetford Town: Gilchrist - 22', 54' (P)
Thetford Town: E. Smith - 70'
Lakenheath: Young - 80' (P)
Lakenheath: Brand - 88'
Final Score: Thetford Town 3-2 Lakenheath
Firstly, I hope that everyone had a lovely Christmas. Getting to Boxing Day games is tricky for me, so I'm glad that this one was moved to today, a good decision from the two teams and I thank them. It has been over a month since I was last at Mundford Road, so I was certainly up for this one, especially as it was against local rivals Lakenheath. Lakenheath are having a great season and are a formidable team going forwards, and probably my favourite game of the season was Thetford's come back from 2-0 down, to win 3-2 away at Lakenheath, so this game was well set-up to be a thrilling one.
Before the game I headed to The Norfolk Terrier for a sneaky pint, before getting to the ground! It was absolutely peeing it down all night, and with the wind picking up it made for a bitingly cold evening, within which Thetford Town came out in their home colours of claret & blue, with Lakenheath in their away white shirt.
KEY MOMENTS
TT = Thetford Town
LH = Lakenheath
11' - LH - A cross into the box falls to ex-Thetford Town player Ross Bailey on the edge of the box, he lines up to shoot but his scuffed effort goes wide.
13' - TT - A long ball from Jake Mann frees Diggens, he runs into the box from the right, draws in keeper Beckwith then squares the ball out to Gilchrist, who looses his footing in the slippery conditions to see the chance go begging, a big let off for Lakenheath.
17' - LH - Captain Hawley finds Ross Bailey in a lot of space, he powers in a strike from 25 yards out, and it flies just wide of the far post.
20' - TT - With the outside of his boot, Gilchrist plays Machaya through the middle but he is unable to fully control the ball but eventually wins a corner. From this, the ball falls to King outside the area and he cracks off a strike, his dipping effort having to be tipped over the bar by Beckwith for another corner.
22' - TT - GOAL (1-0) - A trademark run from King sees him power through the middle of park, and with 1 defender left he has a myriad of passing options and elects to feed in Gilchrist who accurately side-foots the ball into the bottom left corner of the goal to see Thetford take the lead in this end-to-end game.
35' - TT - Thetford break through Machaya, he squares the ball off to King, bursting in from the left, he shoots and having beaten Beckwith with his effort, it is cleared off the line by a Lakenheath defender, so close!
43' - TT - Gilchrist picks up a loose ball deep in Lakenheath territory, he threads Diggens through, he is through on goal, 1-on-1, he takes the ball in and shoots to the keepers right, but Beckwith is able to make a save with an outstretched leg, a great effort to keep Lakenheath in the game before the break.
44' - TT - Thetford hunt for the 2nd before the break, and during a sustained attack, King is able to turn and shoot in the area, his effort deflected wide for a corner.
53' - TT - RED CARD (LH) - Some quite simply incredible work from Gilchrist in the middle of the park, fighting off 4-5 defenders, he wins the battle and hits a ball upfield to release King, he takes the ball all the way into the box, shoots at the goal, beating Beckwith yet again, but the ball appears to be handled on the line by defender Wells, seeing him sent-off, and Thetford awarded a penalty.
54' - TT - GOAL (2-0) - Gilchrist steps up and slots the ball into the low right-hand corner to give Thetford Town the 2 goal cushion that they were looking for.
57' - TT - Another sustained attack from Thetford, this time down the right flank, forces Beckwith to make another great save from a King effort lashed across the mouth of the goal.
59' - TT - Substitute Visocanskis has a go from the edge of the area, it is heat well and the looping effort forces a fine diving save from Beckwith.
61' - TT - King breaks in the middle of the field, and seeing Beckwith off his line, he tries to lob him from the edge of the centre-circle, at one moment, judging by the frantic back-pedalling by Beckwith, it looked to be heading into the top right corner, but flew narrowly wide. A real shame as this would have been a fine goal to seal a great performance from Cameron King.
62' - TT - King marauds forwards again, he lays the ball out to Gilchrist coming in from the right, but his effort is curled over the bar.
70' - TT - GOAL (3-0) - Gilchrist is fed into the box, and twisting and turning around the defenders, he hits a shot heading straight for the bottom right corner of the goal, but Beckwith gets down well to parry the ball out. What then ensues is a chaotic scramble between Machaya, Elliot Smith, Beckwith and a defender, with the ball eventually falling for Elliot Smith to blast home from point-blank range.
79' - LH - Lakenheath are awarded a penalty, substitute Brand is fed into the right of the box, keeper Tom Smith comes out quickly but makes some light contact with the attacker to concede the needless penalty.
80' - LH - GOAL (3-1) - Luke Young steps up and hits the ball mid-height to the left, Tom Smith dives the right way and gets a hand to the ball, but he does not get enough on it and it flies into the inside of the side-netting. Game on?
88' - LH - GOAL (3-2) - A long-ball from keeper Beckwith causes confusion in Thetford's defensive ranks, the ball falls to substitute Brand, and his half-volleyed effort skims along the floor and nestles in the bottom left corner of the goal, beating the diving Tom Smith. Could the 10-men of Lakenheath make a famous come-back with 10 men against the league leaders?
90' - LH - Dramatic scenes, from a long throw in, the ball bobbles around the box, centre-back Phillips turns and shoots, the ball crashing into the inside of the right-hand upright and somehow out, literally millimeters away from sealing an unthinkable comeback, amazing stuff down at Mundford Road.
93' - LH - In the dying moments, Lakenheath are awarded a free-kick in a dangerous position. Up steps deadball specialist Peters, he whips the ball over the bar, forcing keeper Tom Smith to turn the ball over for a late corner.
What a brilliant game that was, at one moment, Thetford Town were 3-0 to the good with only 11 minutes to play, the next moment they were holding on for dear life as the 10-men of Lakenheath went on a late surge. However, Thetford were ultimately able to hold-on and take all 3 points, cementing their position at the top of the table, now 8-points clear! Thetford Town played brilliantly well for 79 minutes, and made enough chances to score 5+, and almost losing this lead would have certainly made them regret the missed chances of the evening. In some ways, the 2nd half was too easy for Town, and they eased their foot off the pedal and began to cruise, making some silly decisions in the process and allowing pacey substitutes Banks and Brand, and the tall Debenham to make an impact on the game when they came on. Thetford were literally a whisker away from losing 2 points as Phillips hit the post. Despite the disappointing final 10 minutes, I don't think Thetford should dwell too much on that and should take the performance overall as a positive, as long as they learn to never underestimate an opponent, even 3-0 down and down to 10-men they can still pack a punch as the boys found out tonight. All in all, I think it was the correct result, but fair play to Lakenheath for never giving up and for the amazing spectacle, that is now two exciting 3-2 games this season! Thetford next travel up to Fakenham Town, a game I sadly cannot make, but I wish Thetford Town all the best, and hope that they build on the performance of the first 79 minutes today, a result should be deserved if they play like that again, UP THE TOWN!!!
Line-Ups:
THETFORD TOWN: Tom Smith, Connor Balment, Matt Morton, Sam Bond (C), Adam Laker, Jake Mann, Cameron King, Elliot Smith, Dan Gilchrist, George Diggens, Emmanuel Machaya. SUBS: Artur Visocanskis, Santi Davies, Ryan Fuller, Macauley Rodgers.
LAKENHEATH: Charlie Beckwith, Josh Wells, Sam Peters, Sam Hawley (C), Dean Grogan, Casey Phillips, Ryan Yallop, Ross Bailey, Ryan Taylor, Tom Thulborn, Luke Young. SUBS: Euan Banks, Connor Brand, Tom Debenham, Craig Nurse.
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