Thetford/Watton area notes

BRANDON LASSES U9 faced a long trip to Lowestoft for their first-ever fixture and ran out 10-2 winners over Swanton Herons with Shannon Richardson scoring seven, Ameris Tyynismaa two and Jess Morleyah one. Faye Rumsey and Brianna Mcfedries kept things tight at the back and Jess Morley, Shannon Richardson in midfield and Emily Flack up front all competed well. They came close early on with Emily playing a first-time ball to Shannon who shot just wide. Shannon then went on a goal spree, scoring four times. Ameris Tyynismaa put the ball through for captain Jess Morley to fire home for a deserved goal. The lively Kiara Bly came into defence, doing a terrific job alongside Faye. The home side pulled a goal back from the spot but Lasses responded with two more goals from Shannon. Ameris was rewarded with Brandon's eighth, she then had a shot blocked with Shannon following up for her seventh. Herons pulled a goal back but Ameris finished the scoring with a good break and finish. This was a very pleasing display from a team that had not played a previous competitive match, all working for each other. The parents are extremely proud.

Brandon are keen to add to this squad anyone interested in joining contact Roger Field on 01842 813077/07769944451 or email rfield@brandonladsandlasses.co.uk, school years 3 and 4. School year 2 girls are also training with this squad on Friday evening 5.30 to 6.30pm.

BRANDON LASSES U11 travelled to Lowestoft for a game against Waveney Girls. It started well with both teams playing good football and creating chances but Waveney broke forward and scored. Brandon's heads didn't drop with Leah Zawiasa, Millie Bales, Georgia Dargan and Jessie Whybrow splitting the defence open, it was only going to be a matter of time before Brandon scored. Brandon equalised with Millie Bales running at the home defence who parted for her to score. Waveney went 2-1 up. Suzy Duggan and Ruby Robertson were stopping everything in defence. Millie, Jessie, Leah and Georgia were attacking in waves and pressure finally told when Millie netted her second. Georgia Dargan then had a run and beat the home defence, bundling the ball over the line. The second half started with Katie Amacker making a couple of smart saves before Waveney levelled. Brandon continued to push with Jessie Whybrow hitting a good shot on the run, which was saved well, with the rebound falling to Leah Zawiasa who had her shot cleared off the line. Waveney then scored again, then Brandon gave a needless penalty away. Millie shot just wide before Waveney went on to score again. A very good all-round team display by all. Katie Page and Abbie Craigen deserve mention for their part. Final score: Waveney Girls 6, Brandon Lasses 3. PoM: Leah Zawiasa.

BRANDON LASSES U12 travelled to Witnesham to face the Wasps in the Knock-out Cup. Both teams entertained in a very good competitive match. The home side put the Lasses under early pressure and were rewarded with a goal. The Lasses kept competing but were limited to long-range efforts but in the second half Brandon put Witnesham under much more pressure. This paid off with Brianna Jamgochian finishing with a well-struck shot. Full-time 1-1. The game went to penalties and stand-in keeper Chloe Killingworth continued from her superb display in the game by pulling off some lovely penalty stops to see the Lasses through, Amy Skipp and Chloe Slater converting theirs. Very good second half.

BRANDON U15 progressed to the semi-final of the League Cup with a 6-1 win over Little Oakley. Tash Rutter scored the first with a fine shot. Kayleigh Nolan made it 2-0 shortly before half-time. Oakley made it 2-1 on the stroke of half-time. Lasses upped their game for the second half and an own goal and another from Nolan gave Brandon 4-1 lead. Nolan got her third before Harriet Mills finished the scoring. Rachel Lynch had a super game in defence. PoM: Kayleigh Nolan.

HARLING U12 beat Costessey 2-1. For the second week running Harling won in dramatic style with the last kick of the game. Callum Olpin set up Daniel Mobbs for the opener, a clever chip, to give Harling the lead at the break. Keeper Jamie Woodcock earned his MoM award with some tremendous saves before finally being beaten late on by a deflected free-kick. However Harling continued to press and three minutes into injury time the keeper failed to hold Luke Holland's cross and Jack Rodwell was on hand to crash home the winner.

LAKENHEATH U12 went into the game against Bulldogs after a disappointing result last week against them in the cup. To add to their woes Danny Gibson the goalie injured his wrist in the warm-up, so Shay Thomson took charge in goal. Lakenheath started positively taking the game to Bulldogs and challenged every ball. Both Ben Nolan and Sam Buckley came close to scoring, but the keeper was in good form. The game was tight with both teams battling and creating chances, Shay Thomson diving at the feet of the Bulldogs striker. Lakenheath were rewarded after a fine taken goal from Ben Nolan put them ahead. Lakenheath continued to push towards the Bulldogs goal, and Kieron Danbrowsky added the second with a shot from inside the box. The second half started the same as the first with Lakenheath continuing to press and close down Bulldogs. Lakenheath were rewarded with a goal from Jamie Allsop whose shot looped over the keeper. Final score: Lakenheath Leopards U12 3, Bulldogs 0. MoM: Karl Watson; manager's MoM: Daniel Johansen.

MUNDFORD U14 played Thorpe, at home, in the third round of the Norfolk Minor Cup, and conceded their first defeat of the season. Mundford started the better team, and within a few minutes were 1-0 up, when a ball from Sam Bunten was knocked in by Rob Butler. Thorpe soon equalised and scored again from a corner. Thanks to great keeping from Mundford's Adam Whybrow, the score remained 2-1 to Thorpe. In the second half, Thorpe continued to pressure Mundford, and eventually Mundford conceded their third goal. Bunten crossed a ball to Tom Wells, who made it 3-2. Despite further attacks, Mundford were unable to net. Good play in defence from Ben Peacock.

MUNDFORD U11 hosted Wymondham in the cup quarter-finals. Some really excellent passing and moving proved too much for a battling away side. Ryan Harvey and Michael Corbyn were dangerous throughout, feasting on the chances created by Jack Pinner, Sam Long, Joe Zipfell, Roberto Alves and John Pearce. Whilst Todd Hutcherson and George Hammond at the back enabled Ben Wells a fairly quiet game in goal but Luke DeMeyer and Dean Scott both produced excellent full back displays in what was probably the team's best performance of the season. 15-0 to Mundford. Scorers: Ryan Harvey (5), Michael Corbyn (5), Joe Zipfell, John Pearce, Jack Pinner, own goal, Todd Hutcherson. MoM: Ryan Harvey.

SWAFFHAM U15 beat Docking 8-0 in the Mid Norfolk League. Scorers: Jack Hooton (3), Jordan Humm (2), Josh Colman (2), Brad Davies (1). It had been 4-0 at half-time.

SWAFFHAM U15 beat Feltwell 4-3. Swaffham took the lead through Jack Hooton after end-on-end play. Swaffham broke through and a second through Josh Colman came before half-time. Jack Hort made it 2-1, putting pressure on Swaffham who came back with a Grant Newman penalty. After Colman was brought down in the box an own goal off Mcbride made it 4-1. Feltwell stepped up a gear, netting two in three minutes through Zak Scarf and Hort his second making it a tense finish for both teams.

THETFORD U12 entertained Rocklands and came away with a 5-3 win. Town soon found themselves 1-0 up with a good strike from Daniel. Soon after Daniel added his second with Spencer scoring from close range to make it 3-0. Town could have added more in a one-sided first half but some good goalkeeping kept the score down. The second half started with Town on the back foot and Rocklands scored inside the first minute of the second half. This spurred on Rocklands and they quickly added a second. The Town defence battled hard to keep their noses in front. Rocklands nearly equalised after a great strike by Town's Andrew crashed against his own post and rebounded to safety. Town added a fourth with Daniel completing his hat-trick before Rocklands scored again to make it 4-3. The hard-working Taylor settled the game with a fine strike for 5-3. Rocklands MoM: Daniel. Town MoM: Luke.

WEETING U10 suffered their second defeat of the season with this hard-fought and unlucky 3-1 defeat to Cringlford. The game was very tight until the last minute when C Sheppard pulled off a brilliant save but was not rewarded for his effort as the ball ran to an on coming forward to give the visitors the lead. The home team then pushed forward but were caught on a quick breakaway. The match was a credit to any U10 league with both team playing excellent passing football. The visitors were first to strike when a fine corner was header home. Weeting then fought their way back with some fine wing play by MoM J Peach and J Peeling and levelled after a fine passing move ended with N Ward feeding J Peeling who then found R Hunter to round the keeper and score. The match looked like it was heading for a draw until that final minute - a bit unjust after a fine effort. PoD: C Sheppard.

BRANDON LADS U9 visited local rivals Lakenheath and won 8-0. Lakenheath looked dangerous on the break with their quick striker Harrison. Callam Horn (captain) played a beautiful ball through for Jake Vincent to latch onto and open the scoring. Cameron Francis was unlucky not to score with a good shot but the excellent Lakenheath keeper kept him out. Lakenheath continued to look dangerous on the break but Ben Long, Callam Horn and Stephen Clarke were keeping things tight. Jake Vincent scored from a Tyler Churchill corner to take it to 2-0. Dawson Davison (debut) was unlucky with his shot saved. Jake managed to make it 3-0 from a deflected goal crossed by Dawson Davison and then an excellent pass by Tyler Churchill put Jake through to move the score to 4-0. Brandon were awarded a penalty for a hand-ball but Jake's shot just missed. But he netted after an individual run soon after. Will Bales made a couple of excellent interceptions. Dawson finished an excellent move by Jake to coolly lob the keeper. Late on the Brandon defenders were exceptional. Ben Long and Callam Horn both put in MoM displays with Tyler Churchill, Cameron Francis, Stephen Clarke and Dawson Davison all working extremely hard in the middle and up front. Jake managed to bag two more goals, the second from an excellent cross by Callam Horn which Jake headed in. MoM: Jake Vincent.

BRANDON LADS U11 hosted Stow Falcons, their toughest test of the season - and won 1-0. The game was a good midfield battle from kick off and a game of few chances in front of goal. Brandon were unlucky not to score several times but found the Stow keeper in good form. In the second half the whole team raised their game and went in front from a great long-distance effort from Liam Aspin. Brandon kept going to the end and thoroughly deserved a hard-fought win.

BRANDON LADS U12 drew 3-3 with Morley. Before the start of this match both teams took part in a well observed minutes applause in recognition of Brandon coach Martin Chappell who died recently. Brandon were slow to start and the few chances that they created in the first half were dealt with easily with the Morley defence, some poor defending led to Morley taking the lead and the same player increased Morley's lead when again he outpaced the defenders. The second half saw Brandon having a great deal of the possession and they found themselves camped in the Morley half, this pressure paid off when Reece Goetsch finally found the net. But Morley took a two-goal lead again when Kyle once more used his ligthning pace and scored Morley's third. Kyle Pearson got Brandon back into the game when he scored Brandon's second to set up a thrilling final few minutes. Alex Briston picked up the ball deep in his own half, a neat ball inside found Bobby Smith who carried the ball on and then found Kier Leech who played a fantastic through ball that beat the Morley defenders and found Reece Goetsch who took the ball round the keeper to score.

BRANDON U13 lost to table toppers Bury Town B 6-0. It was a difficult Sunday morning, after the recent sad loss of team coach Martin Chappell. Brandon knew they were in for a hard game but started well led by captain Sam Chappell, who showed all the great battling and passion for football that Martin would have been proud of. Bury took the lead midway through the first half, but it was Brandon who were unsettling Bury with determination by all. Brandon's defence of Power, Stevenson, Allen, Norton and Scott held tight and with great goalkeeping from Jack Field Brandon looked solid, however Bury managed to grab another goal. In the second half Brandon looked to create chances with Burt, Chappell, Hills, Bogle and Rampley all working hard in midfield to find the opening for Kemp who worked non-stop up front. But Bury were dangerous on the counter attack and soon found the Brandon goal four more times. This was still a good Brandon performance and with Kostecki and Slaughter both coming on and playing well, things can only get better. MoM: Jack Field - outstanding.

BRANDON LADS U15 beat Stow A 3-1. Charlie Gritty slotted home after good work from Boo Vaccaro. The defence of Cobbold, Welham and Sanders kept the Stow attack to limited chances but Will Farthing kept the team in front with a fine save. Just before half-time Brandon were awarded a penalty which Boo scored. In the second half Stow pulled a goal back but Brandon finished the stronger and Charlie Gritty scored a great goal for a well-deseved win.

BRANDON LADS U16 lost to Whitton Sports Centre 3-0.

BULLDOGS U9 hosted Mundford in a very important league match, Mundford played a very good quick passing game but Luke and Pedro were stifling any attacks and Lewis and Rhys playing well on the counter but at the end of the quarter both defence had played so well there had been no real chances. Luke was making superb tackles and Jayden controlling the midfield very confidently. Kieran went on a mazy run but was denied. John was forced off with injury so Jayden took the gloves and put in a confident display. Rhys took a shot and as the keeper spilled Lewis reacted first to slide in and give Bulldogs a vital lead. A strike from Luke from the edge of the box almost broke a post. But Pedro, Luke and Josh were powerful and strong in tackling. Lewis was forced into a marvellous last-ditch tackle and then Jayden had to claw a corner from under his bar. But Luke fizzed in a superb corner and Kieran managed to flick the ball over the line to give Bulldogs a 2-0 lead. Lewis played Rhys through beautifully and Rhys lifted the ball over the oncoming keeper to seal a massive win for Bulldogs. MoM: Luke, a real captain's performance.

THETFORD INDIES U10 (SUFFOLK) turned in a much improved display against a strong Tuddenham side. A far more solid defensive performance from Lewis Sayers, Luke Nicholas and Joe Kingsbury, helped by some outstanding saves from Harry McIntosh, saw only one goal conceded by half-time. A second goal for Tuddenham early in the second half saw Indies respond by producing some attacking football. Ryan Fox, Taylor Vickers and Charlie McGill worked hard as a unit to create a number of chances before finally pulling a goal back. Taylor pressured a Tuddenham player to win possession and quickly moved the ball to Ryan, who advanced before feeding in Charlie who beat his marker and finished well. Indies pushed forward to get the equaliser. Tuddenham exploited the space and Indies have Harry McIntosh to thank for a string of excellent saves; however two late goals made it 4-1.

THETFORD INDIES U13 travelled to Thurston and came away 3-2 winners. After some sustained pressure from Thurston Indies took the lead deservedly. Indies started controlling the game with Ty Whitby, Jordan Foster and Tom Mason dominating the midfield. Harry White then got brought down on the edge of the box which Charlie Reed expertly executed to level. Indies took the lead from the best move of the match when Ty Whitby played a first-time pass to Callum Crabb who struck his shot with venom forcing the keeper to tumble it straight to Tom Mason who tapped home. In the second half Shey Spears sent Charlie Reed away down the right who scored with a delightful chip. Indies then sat back on their lead and it proved costly when a free-kick was awarded to Thurston on the edge of the box which their captain hit into the top corner. In the last ten minutes only some last-ditch defending from Callum Crabb, Alex Mac, Charlie Hutt and Luke Chappell stopped Thurston from scoring and Indies held on for all three points. MoM: Ty Whitby.

THETFORD INDIES U10 are looking for new players to join their team. They train 10am Saturdays at Thetford Rugby and play on Sundays. Click on http://www.freewebs.com/indiesfc/ or call Katrina on 01842 815604.