Diss area notes

DISS U18 travelled to Thetford and lost 3-0 in their second match inside five days. Defeat to second-from-bottom Thetford U18s is likely to mean that the Tangerines finish bottom of the table this season. It has been a season of much to learn for the team and the lesson from this match was that chances have to be taken when they are created. The match was certainly closer than the score would suggest. Thetford were awarded a penalty for a trip. Michael Rouse dived to make a fine save from the kick taken by Jordan Fisher. However, soon after Fisher did open the scoring when he moved on to a long ball through the middle to shoot home. Diss created two openings to equalise in quick succession. Ross Shaen-Carter, on his return to the club after deciding to start this season at Dereham, broke through and shot wide as keeper Jamie Barlow came out to narrow the angle. Then Jake McDowall picked up a loose ball outside the penalty area and his shot had Barlow beaten but smashed against the bar. Thetford increased their lead in the first minute of the second half when a long ball over the Diss defence allowed Tymal Mills to run and shoot in. Diss should have pulled a goal back when they were encamped in the Thetford penalty area and numerous chances were created as crosses came in from all angles with shots lacking power and being cleared from Shaen-Carter, Amar Cohodar and Ronnie Heffer. Thetford cleared the ball away and broke to make it 3-0 through Danny Foster.

Mark Abbott and Jon Jacob have taken over as the management team for Diss U18 for the 2009/10 season. They will continue to play in the Central Division again this season.

HEMPNALL U13 GIRLS travelled to Rickinghall and returned with a 5-1 win. Despite the long break, Hempnall began the new year with a terrific win which makes them joint second in the league table. In a well-balanced game Hempnall battled forwards strongly, with some good connecting play between Lucy, Taylor and Katie in midfield, looking for Holly up front. A penalty broke the deadlock, blasted home by Taylor, her first of four awesome goals. A 3-0 lead in the first half was diminished within a minute of the second half kick-off following a moment of indecision and switching off by Hempnall. Alana and Beth rode the storm at the back as Rickinghall tried time and again to close the gap. Lily in goal blocked shot after shot before Hempnall re-asserted their dominance when a blast from Katie S found the corner of the net. In the last two minutes the return of a substituted Taylor saw her put away her fourth goal to make the score 5-1. An excellent squad performance.

DISS TOWN U10 TIGERS played Bulldogs. This match followed the day after an encouraging performance in a friendly when Town held Attleborough to a 2-2 draw. However this first leg Trophy quarter-final meeting was a tougher challenge as Bulldogs proved to be strong opposition. Diss were slow off the mark and Bulldogs scored several early goals, giving Town an uphill challenge. However the Tigers battled hard with Samuel Seymour-Blackburn and Georgia Laurie defending well. Diss were eventually rewarded for their efforts with a well-deserved goal for Matt Neal. Town put on more pressure towards the end of the match with strong play from Isaac Holliday, Callum Woods and Billy Hines troubling Bulldogs defence. Final score Bulldogs 12, Diss Town U10 Tigers 1.

DISS U8 lost to Old Catton 1-0 but can be pleased with this performance against a team who had scored seven goals past them earlier in the season. Kyle Bullingham was MoM for Diss with an impressive performance in goal which included a superb diving penalty save in the second half along with solid defensive performances by George Hawes and Harry Holmes. Only an unstoppable strike by Catton in the first half was the difference between the two sides. Nathan Channell, Ryan Davidson and Aidan Browne were all hard working in midfield for Diss and a fine pass late on from Aidan set up Henry Ready who was unlucky not to equalise.

DISS TOWN U9 had an away day at Firside. Game one against the hosts saw a vast improvement on performances before Christmas and a small squad meant extra work for all. Kieran Allen and Alex Chittock were simply blinding in defence against a very physical side with superb help from midfielders Dane Potter and Connor Blake when required. Diss went a goal down, however this spurred them on and after going close several times Firside snatched a second which was very harsh as in the build-up the ball had clearly gone out of play. Final score Firside 2, Diss 0.

DISS TOWN U9 had their second game against local rivals Scole and again it was a cracking team display with Charlie Bowen and Cameron Rossell running themselves into the ground on a heavy pitch. Although Scole took an early lead again the young Diss lads dug in and moment of the match was without doubt a fantastic penalty save from keeper Owen Thompson-Browne as the spot-kick headed for the top corner. Jack Burrows and Ryan Hook gave fresh legs and although there were a couple of half-chances Scole took the two chances they had to win a great game. Final score Scole 3, Diss 0.

EYE SAINTS U13 started the new year with a hard-earned 6-3 home win against Witnesham Wasps. Eye opened the scoring with a well-struck shot from Joe Hooton following good play from Reuben Martindale. Eye scored with a close range tap in from Ryan Newton. Just before half-time Witnesham pulled one back, past stand-in keeper Tom Hargrave. During an exciting second half both teams had chances but it was Eye who scored through Levi Harris. Witnesham scored again to come back into the game but almost immediately Ash Harris restored Eye's two-goal advantage. A further two goals in two minutes from Levi and Ash Harris, and a further goal from Wasps, sealed a win for high-flying Saints. MoM: Toby Bell-Tye for his excellent defensive work.

HARLESTON U13 were away to Ormesby and it was plain to see in the first half that the boys hadn't played since December 6. Even against an under- strength Ormesby the boys struggled to go in at the break 1-0 up with a goal from G Collins. Harleston did start to find their form near the end of the first half and continued to do so straight from the kick-off in the second half with A Burlton scoring in 30 seconds and L Flatt grabbing another two minutes later. With the passing becoming ever more fluent J Lewis netted a great individual goal and as Ormesby lads began to tire W Coleman took full advantage of his pace bagging the next three goals for his hat-trick. G Collins slotted home the eighth goal late on for his brace and also picked up man of the match for a great midfield display. Final score 8-0 to Harleston.

HARLESTON U14 started the new year with their first win of the season against a resilient 10-man Hempnall team, 5-2. Harleston started off the brighter team and when Kieran Allum put them one up with a shot from the edge of the box, it was richly deserved. Minutes later good work from Remarl Nelson down the left forced a good save from the keeper, only for the rebound to roll to Harvey Hodd, who slotted the ball home. For 20 minutes either side of half-time Harleston went to sleep, and conceded a penalty and scored an own goal to bring Hempnall back into the game. The game was in the balance until the last 15 minutes, when Harleston scored three more. Dan Knox was put was put through by Hodd to score, then Hodd got his second of the game, and Declan Povey scored from 25 yards in the bottom corner. MoM: Kieran Allum.

HEMPNALL U12 travelled to Lowestoft to play Kirkley and Pakefield A in the quarter-final of the League Cup. Hempnall played Harry Barratt up front with Ben Allen switching back to his favoured right wing position. On the left flank Callum Maloney was putting in some telling crosses and it was no surprise when Hempnall took the lead. After good work between Callum and Ben the ball was fed through to Dan Babington who beat two defenders and then calmly slotted the ball past the keeper. Harry Gibson fired in a shot from 30 yards that just cleared the bar and then Callum linked up with Oli Newson for Harry Barratt to fire in Hempnall's second from close range. It was against the run of play that K&P scored a well-taken goal on 35 minutes. Back came Hempnall with Dan crashing a 25-shot against the bar. In the second half Hempnall had to sustain early pressure without troubling the keeper and then took control of the game again. Following a series of corners Rhys Vertigans forced the ball home to make it 3-1 and Callum Maloney sealed Hempnall's passage into the semi-final with a tremendous shot from 30 yards that gave the keeper no chance. Ethan Humphrey, Sam Fisher, Rhys Vertigans and Connor Garrod remained solid at the back and it was only the last five minutes that keeper Joel Brooks had to make two superb saves to keep the home team at bay. This was a tremendous team display, cementing the fine work of the previous week. Final score Kirkley and Pakefield A 1, Hempnall U12 4.

HEMPNALL U14 travelled to Harleston for this local derby with only 10 men, and although they were not victorious, gave a sterling display of football. In the first half Harleston went 2-0 up before Hempnall were awarded a penalty after a foul on Ciaran which Max netted to make it 2-1 at half-time. In the second half Hempnall won a corner which was taken and scored by Tom to take the scores level. Harleston then turned on the pressure and although Alex in goal was superb along with Bulldog, Olly, Lee and Max in defence they could not prevent Harleston scoring another three goals. Ciaran, James, Tom and Jamie in midfield battled for the whole game, as did an injured Billy up front. This was a flattering scoreline to Harleton, with all the Hempnall boys showing true grit and determination, and should be proud of themselves. They were a credit to themselves and manager Tim.

LONG STRATTON U10 gave another impressive performance in a 7-0 win at home to Kirkley and Pakefield D. A J Bemrose strike put Stratton 1-0 up early on, a score line which remained the same until half-time. Not that Kirkley didn't have chances, they just came up against an inspired defensive pairing of K Cleverly and H Grimsley. The second half turned out to be mainly one way traffic, with J Bemrose adding two for his hat-trick, W Gosling scoring two within a minute and Z Sawyer bagging a brace. GLS MoM: H Grimsley.

LONG STRATTON U13 lost 6-0 to top- of-the-table Acle. Some fine defending by George Bettridge and George Larter for Stratton in what was a tough game against a very accomplished side. The Stratton Glass and Windows MoM was keeper Andy Bellingham for a string of superb saves. Thanks to Rob Eastaff for stepping in to referee at short notice.

SCOLE U11 hosted Sprowston and lost 5-2. This was Scole's first match of 2010. Scole started well with the game fairly evenly matched. Ten minutes in though due to an unfortunate defensive error Sprowston were allowed to score their first of four goals in the first half. Scole pressurised and pulled a goal back with a great shot from Ben Williamson. Scole dominated the second half with good work down the left, which eventually paid off with a great goal from Cameron Mcghee. Late on in the game William Bacon produced some good saves. MoM: Oliver Lawton for good defensive cover.

SCOLE LADS U12 beat Wymondham 10-0. Scole did themselves proud for the first match of 2010 with some great passing and ball control. Keen to take control of the match they were soon 1-0 up, the first of Thomas Heath's hat-trick. Wymondham struggled to keep possession and failed to stop Scole's relentless push forward. Scole were 4-0 at half-time. Scole's defence was kept busy but most of the play was in Wymondham's half. Scole finished with a 10-0 win. Other goal scorers were Jake Wootton 1, Gregor Shipperlee 2, Jake Logan 1, Jack Payne 2, Nathan Constance 1.

SCOLE U13 beat St Andrews 7-0. Charlie Deakin scored the first after rounding the keeper, Oscar Marshall slid in to score the second, Jake Snowling then scored a penalty after Oscar was brought down. Max Turner went on a solo run to score number four, Nathan Locke ran through onto Aiden Shaen Carter's pass to score the fifth, Jake scored another penalty after Joe Read was brought down to make it 6-0 at half-time. In the second half the only goal was scored by Joe Read tapping the ball in from a yard. MoM: Laurence Breeze for his excellent work rate throughout the match.