Hopperational details
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Date & Venue
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Friday 8
April 2016 at The Recreation Ground, Mundford Road
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Result
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Thetford Town 4 Gorleston 0
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Competition
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Eastern
Counties Premier Division (Step 5)
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Hopping
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Ground 584,
chosen because it was a match that mattered to at least one of the teams
involved.
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Pre-match preparation
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This is Thetford
Town’s last home game of the season – their other four are all away, and they
are uncomfortably close to the relegation zone. This is a division of twenty teams, and if
the same history applies as in that other Premier League, Thetford are still
ten short of forty points. Gorleston
have done enough to be safe in lower-mid table, and Thetford won the reverse
fixture fairly recently. It feels like
a “must win” for the home side otherwise there could be an uncomfortable
ending to the season.
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This match in one sentence
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A hard-fought
first half eventually led to a comfortable win even before home supporters
provoked the visiting keeper into his own red mist.
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So what?
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That's thirty-three points for Thetford, who are more likely now go on to keep their Premier Division place and further fixtures with Gorleston. Relegation rivals Swaffham Town, 5pts behind but with a game in hand, have lost eight in a row.
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The drama unfolds
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Both teams
started at a good pace. Gorleston’s
defence looked solid early on and they had the first real chance, Keegan
Middleton flicking the ball to himself and creating the chance for a
left-footer just wide. The first of
several niggles came midway through the half.
A Gorleston player made a miracle recovery after a tackle that earned
a yellow card for the defender. Yes, an
uncontrollable lunge, but someone has been watching too much Match of the
Day. Thetford gradually got on top
territorially but could not create the end product. Then out of nowhere, Gorleston pinged the
woodwork as the game neared the interval.
In stoppage time, Thetford won a freekick on the edge of the box and
here is what happened. For some reason (incompetence!) I did not make a note of the scorer so will edit when the official result is published.
1-0 at
half-time
Gorleston started
the second half well but then conceded a scruffy close-range goal. I think the scorer was Joe Allen but would stand to be corrected. 2-0
after 51 mins
Insult was
added to injury when they were then caught on the break. Robbie Priddle timed his run to perfection
and scored with a low shot to remove any doubt about the destination of the points. 3-0
after 61 mins
The game
looked as if it was petering out when the visiting keeper Taurean Molloy reacted
to a spectator behind the goal. It is
almost certain that something provocative was said, and it is certain that
the keeper moved towards the spectator and instigated a physical contact. Thetford players got between the spectators
and other Gorleston players, and to be fair they seemed to be defusing the
situation quickly. The ref really had no choice but to produce a straight
red, and from where I was sitting it looked as if the keeper then made
contact with the ref’s arm before being ushered away by other players. I thought it strange that he was eventually
escorted from the field with the arm of the HOME number 8 around his
shoulder. It all left a rather sour
taste. There is no doubt that the home
club regulars would be able to identify the agent provocateur.
When
Gorleston headed a good chance over the bar with a minute left, it summed up
their night. There was time for a sub
to belt in a fourth goal past the replacement keeper (defender Dan Goodrum)
in stoppage time. Final score 4-0
There was
plenty of whooping and hollering from the home dressing room as I left the
ground. That’s what it must mean when
you keep your place in the Premier League.
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Ground Pix
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I really wanted to avoid county stereotypes but this was the first thing I
noticed on arrival. Maybe the
placement next to the tea bar is a coincidence. To be fair, it must be a relevant advert in
these parts but I was really bemused even more by the cartoon image of the scientist on
the left.
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Match Pix
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Five Years of Modus Hopper Random
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A five-goal
thriller from exactly three years ago as London Tigers won at Holmer Green in
the Spartan South Midlands League.
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Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats
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This will properly
mess up my spreadsheet. No doubt that
the home side’s orange earns the win and the clean sheet. The original visiting keeper wore white and
conceded three of the goals before dismissal after 78 minutes. The replacement (one of the original outfielders)
wore blue and conceded one.
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What Next?
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Burgess Hill
Town v Hendon on Saturday for another step 3 tick. Watch @GrahamYapp on Twitter for details!
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