FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round
Mundford Road, Thetford
Admission: £6.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 137
And so finally, after five and a half months, this evening saw the return of competitive non-league football. And not just any old game, but this season would kick off with the magic of the FA Cup. As I had booked this week off work, and wanting to christen the arrival of the new season by visiting some new grounds, I decided to go on a mini road trip, booking a one night stay in Thetford Travelodge for a reasonable £30, as an ideal base to take in this game.
Mundford Road is about a 20 minute walk from Thetford town centre, and entrance is gained through a breeze block turnstile block in one corner of the ground, after using handgel from a dispenser, reading spectator “good practice” from a noticeboard, and giving name and contact telephone number for track and trace purposes. All of the spectator facilities are located along the length closest to the turnstile, starting with the clubhouse, which is bright and spacious inside with the necessary one-way system in force, and a tea bar hatch serving hot food located to the front. The standout feature of the ground is the long and pleasantly old fashioned stand, located just beyond the half way line and containing 4 rows of wooden bench tops to sit on, with some plastic seats attached to the back row. There is just hard standing behind both goals, and the remaining length is out of bounds. Metal fencing provides the perimeter fencing on these three sides, separating the football ground from a cricket field and other playing fields. Sadly printed programmes are less and less to be taken for granted these days, with Covid-19 concerns being yet another reason that discourages some clubs from continuing to produce them, but happily one was produced for this game, containing 28 pages of material providing some interesting articles to read and was as informative as it could be for the first game of the season.
This game would be between two clubs of similar standing in their parallel Step 5 divisions. Thetford Town were in 16th place in the Eastern Counties League Premier Division when last season was abandoned, following nine wins and two draws from their 30 league games, while Wellingborough Town were in 12th place in the United Counties League Premier Division.
On a fairly mild evening with clear skies which made for a beautiful sunset in one direction and a bright full moon rising in the other, this was a very entertaining game to watch, with plenty of chances being created during the first half in particular, the slight majority going to the home side, although it was certainly a game that could have gone either way. Just after the half way mark in the first half, Thetford saw three goalbound shots blocked, whilst Wellingborough’s Tony Logongo saw a lovely curling shot from outside the area come back off the bar. But surprisingly, it remained goalless at the break, with all to play for in a game that would be decided on the night, with penalties required if 90 minutes could not settle the tie.
The visitors came out on the front foot after the break, but the game became rather scrappy with not so much of the free flowing football of the first half. But on the hour mark, Thetford managed to find a breakthrough, Max Melanson crossed the ball in the left, and Michael Campbell softly headed the ball just past the keeper’s reach into the top left corner. And on 63 minutes, Thetford made it two, when the ball was pulled back by Liam Hemming for Melanson to run onto and he powerfully struck the ball first time into the bottom left corner. That seemed to knock the stuffing out of Wellingborough, and despite some huff and puff, they never really looked likely to get back into the game, and couldn't put the finishing touch on a couple of half chances that did come their way.
And so it was Thetford Town who deservedly progressed to the next round, where they face a very winnable looking home tie against Potton United of the parallel Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division. Scheduled for 12th September, Thetford, like all participating clubs, will be hoping and praying that their run is not scuppered by a positive Covid-19 test by any of their players, after three clubs were compelled to forfeit their Extra Preliminary Round ties this week due to positive tests (Redhill, Walsham-le-Willows, and most painfully of all, Burton Park Wanderers, whose game was the one chosen by the BBC to stream live).
Mundford Road, Thetford
Admission: £6.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 137
And so finally, after five and a half months, this evening saw the return of competitive non-league football. And not just any old game, but this season would kick off with the magic of the FA Cup. As I had booked this week off work, and wanting to christen the arrival of the new season by visiting some new grounds, I decided to go on a mini road trip, booking a one night stay in Thetford Travelodge for a reasonable £30, as an ideal base to take in this game.
Mundford Road is about a 20 minute walk from Thetford town centre, and entrance is gained through a breeze block turnstile block in one corner of the ground, after using handgel from a dispenser, reading spectator “good practice” from a noticeboard, and giving name and contact telephone number for track and trace purposes. All of the spectator facilities are located along the length closest to the turnstile, starting with the clubhouse, which is bright and spacious inside with the necessary one-way system in force, and a tea bar hatch serving hot food located to the front. The standout feature of the ground is the long and pleasantly old fashioned stand, located just beyond the half way line and containing 4 rows of wooden bench tops to sit on, with some plastic seats attached to the back row. There is just hard standing behind both goals, and the remaining length is out of bounds. Metal fencing provides the perimeter fencing on these three sides, separating the football ground from a cricket field and other playing fields. Sadly printed programmes are less and less to be taken for granted these days, with Covid-19 concerns being yet another reason that discourages some clubs from continuing to produce them, but happily one was produced for this game, containing 28 pages of material providing some interesting articles to read and was as informative as it could be for the first game of the season.
The visitors came out on the front foot after the break, but the game became rather scrappy with not so much of the free flowing football of the first half. But on the hour mark, Thetford managed to find a breakthrough, Max Melanson crossed the ball in the left, and Michael Campbell softly headed the ball just past the keeper’s reach into the top left corner. And on 63 minutes, Thetford made it two, when the ball was pulled back by Liam Hemming for Melanson to run onto and he powerfully struck the ball first time into the bottom left corner. That seemed to knock the stuffing out of Wellingborough, and despite some huff and puff, they never really looked likely to get back into the game, and couldn't put the finishing touch on a couple of half chances that did come their way.
And so it was Thetford Town who deservedly progressed to the next round, where they face a very winnable looking home tie against Potton United of the parallel Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division. Scheduled for 12th September, Thetford, like all participating clubs, will be hoping and praying that their run is not scuppered by a positive Covid-19 test by any of their players, after three clubs were compelled to forfeit their Extra Preliminary Round ties this week due to positive tests (Redhill, Walsham-le-Willows, and most painfully of all, Burton Park Wanderers, whose game was the one chosen by the BBC to stream live).
The game against Potton United would indeed take place, but Thetford would lose the game 0-2 to bow out of the competition at the Preliminary Round stage.
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