5th February 2022
Walsham-le-Willows vs Thetford Town @ The Morrish Stadium - Walsham-le-Willows
Thurlow Nunn Premier Division (Step 5)
15:00 KO
£7 entry
Attendance - 83
Half-time score: Walsham-le-Willows 1-1 Thetford Town
Goals:
Thetford Town: Clarke - 37'
Walsham-le-Willows: Twinn - 45'+2'
Thetford Town: Gilchrist - 58'
Walsham-le-Willows: Cooper - 68'
Walsham-le-Willows: Smith - 78' (P)
Final Score: Walsham-le-Willows 3-2 Thetford Town
Today saw Thetford Town travel the short distance to face local rivals Walsham-le-Willows, and with the village team getting the better of Thetford over the last couple of seasons, they would be fired up to get a result. However, the league table suggested that this was going to be a difficult task, with Walsham sitting 5th, whilst Thetford were firmly in a relegation dogfight, and in a poor run of form. Although I have been to The Morrish Stadium before, it was in the dark, so it was nice to return and see it in the daytime, and since the refurbishment of the clubhouse, the set-up and facilities were looking top-notch, and the catering was great!
As ever, I picked up a programme, a classic £1 Barnes Print, they sure know how to make a great non-league programme.
The game started relatively slowly as both teams tried to settle into the game, a strong wind going towards the Thetford goal was also making things more tricky. Walsham had the first decent chance in the 5th minute, Jamie Smith getting through on goal and managing a strike that was well blocked. Thetford created a good chance of their own in the 12th minute, Laker played a neat through-ball for Gilchrist to latch onto, and his pace saw him through on goal, 1-on-1 with the keeper, but as Fenner came out to narrow the angle, Gilchrist tried to shoot round him, and his shot was skewed wide.
Both teams struggled to create chances for the next 20 minutes, with the defences marshalling the attacks well, although Thetford were having some luck down the left flank through Laker, Gilchrist and Visocanskis. In the 30th minute, Fuller chested the ball down and unleashed a volley from outside the area, but it was at Fenner and comfortably saved. In the 36th minute, Gilchrist made a good run down the left flank, cut in by the goal-line, battled well to get past the defender, and managed to crack off a strike at the near post, that was deflected off Fenner for a corner. In the subsequent corner, Gilchrist whipped in a dangerous curling ball that was heading for the top corner at the far post, and it was just headed out by a Walsham defender. There was a frantic scramble for the ball in the box, and it popped out for Clarke to slot the ball home, sensationally putting Thetford 1-0 up.
Following the goal, both teams were even, and the defences were again breaking down most attacks on both sides. With half-time looming, Walsham's Henry Harvey went on a strong run down the right flank, whipped in a pin-point cross towards Twinn, at the far post, who directed his header across the goal, beyond the flailing arms of Bugg, and into the goal to give Walsham an equaliser just before the break, the worst possible time for Thetford to concede.
The second half began following the pattern of play in the first half, with both teams well matched. In the 56th minute, Walsham striker Jamie Smith was nearly through, but a last ditch tackle from player-manager Morton prevented the strike. Following this, Thetford had a blinding 10 minutes of fluid attacking football. In the 58th minute, Visocanskis went on a good run along the left flank, and he found Gilchrist whose shot at goal was stopped by Fenner and scrambled clear by a defender. Shortly after this, Visocanskis had the ball outside the area, and he unleashed a low stinging shot that beat Fenner and ricocheted off the post and into the path of Gilchrist, who had followed the ball, and he was able to tap into the gaping open net to restore Thetford's lead, much to the delight of the Thetford faithful.
In the 63rd minute, more good forward play from Gilchrist saw him find Fuller, he turned and shot from outside the area, but his effort was wide. In the 66th minute, Thetford had a great chance to put some space between themselves and Walsham, a Bugg goal kick was picked up by Gilchrist, he threaded a ball behind the Walsham defence, and across the pitch to Varela on the right, he was through and flashed his strike across goal, wide of the far post. Following this, in the 68th minute, Jamie Smith was given too much room, he marauded forward and fired a powerful shot heading for the right of the goal, Bugg dived to make a fantastic save, but the ball fell to substitute Cooper who blazed home from a tight angle to level the score at 2-2.
Walsham pushed for a winner and in the 75th minute, a curling effort from a 30 yard free-kick went narrowly wide. In the 77th minute, Walsham were awarded a penalty, they were attacking down the right flank, striker Jamie Smith took the ball into the box and was brought down. There was no hesitation from the ref and only minor protests from Thetford. Jamie Smith himself planted the ball on the penalty spot, and smashed the ball low and to the left to put Walsham in the lead for the first time this game. His name was very familiar so I looked back at my notes, and as I suspected, this was the fourth game in a row I have seen him score against Thetford, he scored in the 2-0 win earlier this season, and scored the only goals in the two 1-0 Walsham victories last season, so a real nemesis for Thetford!
Thetford responded quickly, and in the 78th minute, a quick, long throw-in by Fuller was picked up by Gilchrist, he laid the ball off to substitute Dixon who found fellow sub Jake Mann in some space, just outside the area, and he hit a strike using the outside of his boot, and his effort was deflected out for a corner. Gilchrist whipped the ball in, and it was travelling in again, this time at the near-post, but it was cleared for another corner, which came to nothing. The play became increasingly niggly and scrappy, and in the 89th minute, a strike from Twinn was well saved at the near post by Bugg. In injury time, Thetford went hunting for an equaliser, and came agonisingly close in the 91st minute. Dixon worked hard down the right wing, he crossed in to find Gilchrist in the box, he managed a strike at goal, but it was too close to Fenner and pushed out for a corner. This time, Dixon took the corner, and this one was heading directly for top far corner, but it was just kept out by Walsham. This ended being the last good chance for Thetford, as Walsham closed out the game to wrap up the three points.
This was a much improved performance from Thetford, and I left the ground feeling robbed, the lads deserved at least a point, they matched Walsham all the way, and looked dangerous on the attack. Again, key moments cost Thetford, conceding just before the break, and also conceding the penalty. A particular highlight for me was the higher quality set-pieces, in particular the corners that Walsham struggled to deal with all game. I was again impressed with Gilchrist who looks a decent threat and I thought he linked up well with Fuller, and I was also impressed with Dixon when he came on. I also think that despite conceding three goals, the defence looked more solid today, Walsham were just clinical when they had chances. Even more encouraging is that Thetford were missing a few key players in Smith, Felgueiras and Cusack, so all the more impressive that they went toe-to-toe with Walsham, so plenty to be positive about. Even though they won, I was not overly impressed with Walsham, but they know how to work a goal, and counter-attacked well, there is clearly some good quality in the side. For Thetford, they need to take this performance into their next game, a huge fixture against Swaffham Town. This is the first of a two week turnaround double-header, with this first tie at home, next Friday night. Needless to say, Thetford need to target these two games as a way putting some fresh air between themselves and the dreaded relegation zone. I will be there next Friday cheering the boys on, and I hope they train well this week and are ready to fight hard for the win, UP THE TOWN!!!
Line-Ups:
WALSHAM-LE-WILLOWS: Steve Fenner, Henry Harvey, Jed Wigley (C), Harvey Hubbard, Karl Saffrey, Ian Miller, Kieran Twinn, Ryan Clark, Jamie Smith, Matt Collins, Charlie Norman. SUBS: Matthew Skevington, Scott McGavin, Cameron Nicholls, Kyran Cooper, Dan Stobbart.
THETFORD TOWN: George Bugg, Sam Bond (C), Matt Morton, Nathan Clarke, Artur Visocanskis, Jordan Lake, Marley Delgado, Adam Laker, Ryan Fuller, Daniel Gilchrist, Joao Varela. SUBS: Samuel Cantley, Kristian Dixon, Jake Mann, John Taylor.
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