29th January 2022
Thetford Town vs Fakenham Town @ Mundford Road - Thetford
Thurlow Nunn Premier Division (Step 5)
15:00 KO
£7 entry
Attendance - 96
Half-time score: Thetford Town 0-0 Fakenham Town
Goal:
Fakenham Town: Mann - 48' (OG)
Leigh Simons recorded the goal, see the link below:
Final Score: Thetford Town 0-1 Fakenham Town
It was a big game for Thetford today, a poor run of form, not bagging a single point since November, has left them teetering on the edge of the relegation zone. Fakenham Town, whilst slightly higher in the league, and with some games in hand, should be a team that Thetford are targeting to beat in their bid for safety. The weather was sure to play a big role in the game, although it was mild the wind was strong, and the sun bright and very low. I have never seen Fakenham Town before, but I followed their impressive cup run in the FA Vase, so I knew that they would be a tough outfit. Before the game, I heard from a Fakenham fan that they were missing at least 6 first team regulars to a wedding, therefore it was a big chance for Thetford to score some much needed points.
Fakenham started the brightest, and fashioned three good chances in the first 10 minutes. In the 6th minute, a Henman-Mason header threaded the ball past the defence and into the box to be chased, but Thetford keeper Rodgers just managed to get to it first and collect it. In the 9th minute, Brain whipped in a good ball for Jarvis, but his header was tame and comfortably saved. In the 10th minute, Robinson was through on goal but was dispossessed before unleashing his strike, going down in the process, but the referee waved play-on.
Having weathered the early storm (pun intended), Thetford had a good 10 minute spell of their own. In the 15th minute, a booming clearance from captain Bond was picked up by the prevailing wind, and with keeper Coombe off his line, it looked to be heading in, as he desperately scrambled back, the ball slammed into the ground around the edge of the area and bounced over the goal, much to the relief of Coombe. In the 17th minute, new signing Gilchrist managed a decent shot on goal, but Coombe got down well to save. In the 18th minute, Gilchrist put a dangerous ball into the box, a loose leg from defender Grand prodded it goal-bound, it looper over the keeper and hit the crossbar and out to Laker whose follow up was blazed wide.
After this, Fakenham carved out a chance in the 25th minute, captain Guyton played Jarvis through on goal, but Clarke got across well and dispossessed Jarvis to concede a corner. The corner was taken well, in-swinging at near-post and deflected out for another corner that came to nothing. In the 28th minute, a Henman-Mason half-volley was heading in at the near post, but Rodgers managed to save. For the rest of the half, each team toiled and struggled in the conditions to create any more chances, and it wasn't the best footballing spectacle.
Early in the second half, the referee gave an inexplicable corner to Fakenham when it looked a certain goal-kick. In typical fashion, Brain stepped up, sent in another in-swinger to the near post, Thetford defender Jake Mann got a glancing header on the ball and it rifled into the far top corner of the goal. That pretty much summed up Thetford's luck this season, a wrongly awarded corner and an own goal. The Thetford fans, being a hardened bunch, began shouting corner at the referee for every obvious goal-kick.
Thetford stepped up their game, but Fakenham were proving difficult to break down. The best attack came in the 59th minute, when player-manager Morton took the initiative and went on a marauding run down the field, he managed to cross in to Varela, who helped the ball onto the far post for Laker who was lying in wait, and with an open header from only 2 yards out, with the goal begging, he nodded over the bar. This was a huge miss, and he was immediately substituted, not sure if this was pre-planned or in response to this.
Following the devastating miss, the last 30mins of the game was all Fakenham, Thetford looked lost and lacked any ideas. Fakenham should have scored an additional 2-3 goals, if it were not for goalkeeper Rodgers putting in a big performance. In the 68th minute, a Dickinson free-kick was heading for the bottom right corner, but Rodgers got down well to push the ball out for a corner. In the 77th minute, Robinson played in Brain who hit a left-footed strike that was again pushed out for a corner. In the 79th minute, Fakenham substitute Watts also missed a header from 2 yards, some consolation for Thetford perhaps. In the 86th minute, Jarvis passed to Watts who cracked off a good shot that was again excellently saved. In the 88th minute, another strike from Watts, this time a long range effort across the goal, looked to be heading to the far corner, but another great dive from Rodgers nudged the ball out for a corner. In the 89th minute, Robinson went on a good run, but his effort flew just over the bar. Fakenham closed out injury time on the front foot and looked comfortable in claiming the 3 points.
The weather conditions cannot be an excuse for the poor performance from Thetford today, the last 30mins in particular were terrible and they were lucky to only lose by 1 goal. It is disappointing as this was a chance for Thetford to get more points on the board, but they seemed to lack hunger today, and struggled to string more than 3 passes together. In fairness, Fakenham were a well organised and compact unit, putting lots of bodies around the ball and snuffing out Thetford attacks quickly, but even with most of the 1st team out at a wedding, they still managed to make Thetford look poor. There were some positives however, new signing Gilchrist looked lively, and Rodgers was brilliant between the sticks. The next game is an away day at local rivals Walsham-le-Willows, a tough place to travel, and I should be there, all going well. I'm hoping for a much improved performance, and for an upset next Saturday, UP THE TOWN!!!
Line-Ups:
THETFORD TOWN: Macauley Rodgers, Sam Bond (C), Matt Morton, Nathan Clarke, Andrew Cusack, Kristian Dixon, Jake Mann, Adam Laker, Artur Visocanskis, Daniel Gilchrist, Joao Varela. SUBS: Marley Delgado, Ryan Fuller, Samuel Cantley, Michael Campbell, Emmanuel Akpan.
FAKENHAM TOWN: Tom Coombe, Shane Akers, Calum Dickinson (19), Jack Guyton (C), Fraser Fields, Matty Grand, Jack Robinson, Mitch Rasberry, Ash Jarvis, Callum Brain, Louis Henman-Mason. SUBS: Matty Franks, Jake Watts, Matty Wheeler, Joshua Gauntlett, Stephen Harvey.
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