3rd September 2024
Thetford Town vs Walsham-le-Willows @ Mundford Road - Thetford
Thurlow Nunn Premier Division (Step 5)
19:45 KO
£8 entry
Attendance - 185
Half-time score: Thetford Town 1-0 Walsham-le-Willows
Goals:
Thetford Town: Grove - 45'
Thetford Town: Smith - 54'
Thetford Town: Diggens - 61'
Thetford Town: King - 65'
Walsham-le-Willows: Tompkins - 94'
Final Score: Thetford Town 4-1 Walsham-le-Willows
Tonight's match promised to be a blockbuster of a game as Thetford Town hosted rivals, and top of the league Walsham-le-Willows. With Thetford having won the last two games, and with Walsham losing to Ely City on Saturday, a Thetford win would see them close the gap to 3-points, with an all important game in-hand! Of course, it is a lot easier to write this than do it, the best performance of the season is going to be required to make this a reality, but with Thetford having broken their mid-week curse last week, there was no better time. Games between these teams are always tight, for instance the last one on Boxing Day saw Thetford somehow cling onto a point in Suffolk as their goal was bombarded, so today's performance was going to need to be better than that one for sure. All-in-all, an exciting game at Mundford Road, and one I couldn't wait for, this is non-league footie is all about!
Tonight's match day programme had midfield dynamo Jake Mann on the front cover.
There had been on and off showers all day, but the game remained dry and the pitch was fast, perfect for flowing football on this cool evening. Thetford Town lined up in claret & blue, with Walsham-le-Willows in a smart looking cornflower blue away kit.
KEY MOMENTS
TT = Thetford Town
WW = Walsham-le-Willows
24' - WW - Even opening, end-to-end football with no clear cut chances. First real one falls to Walsham, Twinn is played onside from a ball over the top, he blitzes down the right and cuts into the box, but Dickerson does well to make a sliding stop.
29' - WW - Another chance for Walsham, a blocked strike spins nicely to Glover whose well hit strike on the volley flies just wide of the post.
42' - TT - Great link up play between Elliot Smith and Grove down the right, cross comes in from Grove, it looks to be looping in below the crossbar, but Dunne gets up well to tip the ball over for a corner.
45' - TT - GOAL (1-0) - A few times this half, Grove has run at McKenzie-Vince from the right and come out on top, he goes again and twists the left-back into knots showing some incredible skill and pace, and having taken the ball just into the box he rifles it across Dunne and into the top left corner, simply unstoppable!!! A goal of the season contender for sure, and could not have come at a better time at the end of the first half.
54' - TT - GOAL (2-0) - Having weathered an early Walsham surge, Thetford captain Sam Bond hits an outrageous diagonal ball to put Grove in deep down the right flank, he cuts past the defender and into the box before squaring back to Elliot Smith, his first effort is saved, but he follows the ball in and gets the rebound over the line, the second goal giving Thetford some much needed breathing space.
58' - WW - Walsham captain Chaplin lets fly from 25yrds, his effort has plenty of venom but goes just wide.
59' - TT - Fluid attacking move from Thetford, Laker receives the ball in a great position and tries to bend one in, there is plenty of curl on the ball but it flies marginally wide, deserved to go in that one, was struck wonderfully.
61' - TT - GOAL (3-0) - Diggens stakes his own claim for goal-of-the-season with a ridiculous goal. Jake Mann drives deep down the right and crosses in a fantastic ball, picking out Diggens near the far side of the goal, in space Diggens lines-up and tries an audacious scissor kick and executes it perfectly, the connection is sublime and the ball slams into the net. Two worldies in one day, the fans being spoiled indeed! More importantly, the goal sees Thetford build a decisive 3-goal lead.
65' - TT - GOAL (4-0) - Thetford are rampant, Grove bursts down the right yet again, he drives into the box and looks likely to bag his second but Dunne makes a great stop, but the rebound falls to King who makes no mistake in the box, sending Thetford into dreamland against the league leaders!
69' - WW - A Walsham free-kick is swung towards the far side, the ball bounces and falls perfectly for Twinn to bury it, but from inside the box his effort it drilled over, when it's not your day....
80' - WW - Another fierce strike from Twinn, this time from the edge of the box, it has swerve, but swerves away from the far post rather than towards the goal.
82' - TT - Substitute Gilchrist lays the ball back to Laker, in space he attempts another of his now trademark curling strikes, it is again wonderfully struck it takes Dunne by surprise and forces him to punch it away.
94' - WW - GOAL (4-1) - Consolation goal for Walsham-le-Willows, a 20yrd daisy cutter from Tompkins has pinpoint accuracy and nestles into the bottom left corner, at this point, most of the fans did not realise it went in, but it deserved recognition, was a fine finish to be fair.
First of all, it has to be said, what a brilliant game of football, a great advert for non-league football and the Thurlow Nunn division. A game played the right way, both teams attacking hard in a game that ebbed and flowed and was exciting to watch. On this day Thetford came out on top, but the scoreline did not tell the tale of the game, it was a lot closer than that. It was a very even game until Grove's moment of magic put Thetford on top just before the break. Walsham-le-Willows flew out of the traps in the second-half, but it was Grove again down the right who set-up the chance for the 2nd goal, knocking the wind out the Walsham offensive. If that knocked the wind out of Walsham, Diggens unreal scissor kick absolutely floored them, and shell-shocked they conceded the 4th. The game then became scrappy as wholesale substitutions came on, and this led to Walsham's late consolation. Until the Thetford goal, I was impressed by how swift and accurate the Walsham attack was, they looked fearsome indeed, but seeing how clinical and ruthless Thetford were in the 2nd half was pleasing to see, and this has to rank up there with the best performances seen at Mundford Road for a while, especially when you factor in that this was against the league leaders in a very strong Walsham-le-Willows side. I for one cannot wait to see the Veo highlights for this game, two memorable goals in one game gave all the Thetford fans such a buzz, the stand was rocking! A result like this must surely create some momentum and send a message to the league that Thetford Town are a clear threat, and they can look to back up this statement win on Saturday as they travel back into Suffolk to face recently relegated Stowmarket Town, where another performance like tonight will make it a difficult afternoon for the hosts, looking forward to it, UP THE TOWN!!!
Line-Ups:
THETFORD TOWN: Ryan Dickerson, Josh Wells, Jaydyn Lott, Adam Laker, Sam Bond (C), Cameron King, Jake Mann, Dylan Grove, George Diggens, Kieran Money, Elliot Smith. SUBS: Malachi Wright, Marley Reynolds, Santi Davies, Dan Gilchrist, Harvey Lott.
WALSHAM-LE-WILLOWS: Ryan Dunne, Kyran Cooper, Olly McKenzie-Vince, Matt Glover, Reece Lanchester, Isaac Moss, Scott Chaplin (C), Harvey Hubbard, Ethan Garcia, Kieran Twinn, Ryan Clarke. SUBS: Jack Brame, Harrison Tompkins, Jesse Wyatt, Sam Nunn.
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