Thetford Town 3 Woodbridge Town 6
Woodbridge Town found the perfect response to their 7-0 reverse at Norwich United in midweek, regaining their clinical touch in front of goal to celebrate a big 6-3 win at a windswept Thetford Town on Saturday.
The sides were level at 2-2 at half-time, before the Woodpeckers took the game by the scruff of the neck in the second period.
Nathan Read scored a hat-trick, while Ryan Keeble, Carlos Edwards and Jake Rudge were also on the scoresheet for the Suffolk side, with Tanner Call, Bradley Sandell and Jack Brame on target for the Brecklanders.
Thetford took the lead on seven minutes, thanks to a smart finish by striker Call. The Woodpeckers lost posession down their left, and Call stabbed home the ensuing cross from a central position.
Six minutes later and the Woodpeckers were level, via a fantastic finish by Read. Homing in on goal from the right, Read managed to lift a precision shot over keeper Jamie Humphrey and just under the bar, from an angle.
It continued to be an entertaining affair despite the windy conditions and heavy pitch, and it needed a combination of Humphrey and the woodwork to deny Woodbridge the lead on 26 minutes as Kelsey Trotter's thunderous volley was superbly tipped onto the bar by the keeper.
However, 10 minutes later and the Woodpeckers did get their noses in front. It was another wonder strike, Keeble's effort looping over a dazed Humphrey and dropping into the roof of the net, perhaps aided by the wind.
The visitors had chances to add to their lead. Read's shot was deflected wide, from Rudge's lay-off in the 37th minute, with Rudge's backward header from the ensuing corner flying narrowly over the bar.
Thetford thought they had equalised in the 40th minute, only for Call's toe-poked effort to be ruled out for offside, but the Norfolk hosts did equalise on the stroke of half-time. Call was the creator with a strong run through the middle, and he squared for an unmarked Sandell to drill home a low shot past Ben Maidens' right boot and into the net.
The match could have taken a different course, if Max Melanson's free-kick for the hosts, early in the second half, had found the net rather than ricochet off the inside of the post. As it was, Woodbridge made the most of this good luck by scoring three quick goals to take the three points.
Read put the Woodpeckers back in front, taking his time before lifting his shot over Humphrey from a narrow angle on 51 minutes.
And when home defender Luke Bailey chopped down Rudge in the box, up stepped Edwards to calmly sidefoot home the ensuing penalty for a 4-2 lead in the 55th minute.
Rudge deserved a goal, and he duly got in on 65 minutes, lashing home a shot-on-the-turn, before Brame bagged a consolation for the Brecklanders from an acute angle, 10 minutes later.
Read celebrated his third and Woodbridge's sixth in the last minute of injury-time, running onto Edwards' pass to beat Humphrey with a low shot across the face of goal.
Squads
THETFORD: Humphrey, Bond (sub Conroy, 70), Cusack, Campbell, Clarke (sub Morton, 66), L Bailey, Sandell, R Bailey, Call, Melanson, Brame (sub Eastwood, 82).
WOODBRIDGE: Maidens, Rea, Bowman, Trotter, Churchyard, Scopes, Read, Edwards, Keeble, Rudge, Sinclair (sub Leech, 82).
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here