football rambles

 On Saturday I went on what was a surprisingly arduous journey to Dereham to see two of the stronger teams in the division take on each other and it was a fairly even match, which although scrappy at times saw both teams have chances. It didn't look like that would be the case at the start of the game though. Shortly after kick off George Diggins was brought down in the box by the keeper and awarded a penalty. The Dereham keeper saved though, so it remained 0-0. That didn't las long though as a couple of minutes after Diggins got through again and managed to put Thetford in the lead. It was only surprising that there were no further goals in the game and it ended 1-0 to the visitors who maintained their lead at the top of the table.

 It's always fun to go to a game at Thetford and Saturday was no different. We went to see the Thomas Paine statue and then moved on to the nearby Bell pub before going up the road to see the match.  It was a good game and Downham made a good fist of it against one of the stronger teams in the league. Downham fell behind first in the first half before Valter Da Rocha equalised with a trademark long range effort. In the second half Thetford took the lead again, but in the dying moments of the match Marley Delgado equalised only for Thetford to get a winner deep in stoppage time. A shorter report this time, as it's a few days ago and as usual in Thetford we had a few too many beers.

 A double from Cameron King gave Thetford a victory over Brantham Athletic on Saturday. Thetford started the game brightly but were unable to convert their chances. They didn't get the breakthrough however until after the break. Up until then there was always the concern that Brantham would get back into it. However, in the second half, Thetford never looked really seriously under threat and they finished off the game in the 81st minute.

 Thetford are one of the favourites to win the Eastern Counties League after finishing 2nd least year. Downham have been one of the surprise teams having just been promoted. Whenever I see them they seem to score goals! This was a really entertaining game and after firing two goals early on Thetford looked comfortable. However, Thetford scored in stoppage time to make it 2-1, but Downham weren't finished and went in at the break with a 3-2 lead. There were 2 more goals in the second half as Downham went to win 4-2

 Saturday saw Thetford take on Haverhill Rovers on what on paper looked like a bit of a mismatch with Thetford nailed on for promotion - presuming that the ground meets requirements - and Rovers languishing adrift in the relegation spots. Thetford were not to have it all their own way though. Thetford raced into the lead with two early goals and by 20 minutes were two up through Elliot Smith and Daniel Gilchrist. At this point we were expecting a bit of a walk over, but a Rovers side that had a number of young players stepping up to the squad didn't give up and Thetford got a bit complacent. A mix up at the back and some lazy defending allowed them back in the game, when one of the young players stepping up, Will Newell slotted home to make sure Thetford couldn't go in at the break too confidently. Thetford must have had a rocket at half time, as they came out firing once again and it wasn't long before Cameron King had made it three for the home side. The rest of the half ...

 It's been a busy week, so I am only just catching up with this game from last Saturday, so it's also going to be a very short report! The game was really entertaining and top of the table Thetford were really good value for money. All of the goals were good quality. George Diggens got a brace for Thetford and Cameron King was also on the score sheet. Scott Chaplin scored the goal for Walsham. At 2-0 it appeared that Thetford were cruising, but Walsham pulled one back before Thetford finished them off. As always it was a good day out at Thetford and hopefully they will go up next season, but I am not 100% sure that their ground will make it even if the team do.

 After a few days in Hamburg, it was back to Ely for Easter. I had planned on going to a few games, but was knackered and had spent more money than I would have liked! In the end on the Bank Holiday Monday we went to Ely v Thetford in the local Derby. I had kind of fallen out of love with Ely City, the last time I'd gone it was a depressing day in October and they had got pumped by Gorleston. They got pumped again against Thetford and despite getting a second half equaliser from a penalty that didn't even cross the line, Thetford punished them mightily in the last 30 minutes of the season. The weather was good, the beer was cheap and there were a lot of fans including some young Ultras who made it more interesting than it had been in the past, so the game wasn't great from an Ely perspective, but it was a good day out.

 I am really late with posting on this game from Saturday. It wasn't a bad game and wasn't a great game either. The wind and heavy pitch accentuated the slope even more. Thetford had their chances, but Fakenham were the better on the day. The club house and trip to Spoons after were probably the highlights at a game that was played in some tough conditions. The above two photos show the teams entering the pitch. A photo of what looks like a board for doing media interviews in front of Fakenham in defence A Thetford attack Some closer up match action

 It's been a while since I have made the trip up the road to Thetford for a game, mainly due to the pandemic, but also because they always seem to clash with Ely games. This time though both Ely teams were away, so it was a good opportunity to visit a club that I have enjoyed watching in the past and a clubhouse that I also really like.  The clubhouse was great and after a Shed Head, I also sank a few Stellas. The game was also good and exceeded expectations in front of a really decent crowd. Wroxham ahead of the game were second in the league - and still are with Ely losing to leaders Gorleston on the same day - and Town had what can be best described as a patched up team. The game however was pretty equally matched. Thetford actually started off the brightest, but as the half progressed Wroxham grew into the game and took the lead through Ryan Miles on 24 minutes - no wonder he's keeping Grant Holt out of the starting line up!  Thetford initially responded well, but Wro...