Taylor Makes Seven Heaven As Yachtsmen Show Class
On their competitive return to Trafford Park, Wroxham made sure that their fans went home happy as they hit seven past Thetford.
It was a beautiful evening on the Broads as Thetford Town made the short trip across Norfolk to take on the Yachtsmen, writes Darren Wiseman. The home team were looking to build on a winning start, whilst the visitors were buoyed by a decent point to get their campaign underway.
Wroxham lined up with Captain Ollie Sutton in goal, Wyatt Hill, Joe Keeley, Chris Skipper and Tom Huckerby in defence, ably shielded by Jordan King in Midfield. Harley Black, Ryan Miles, Joe Taylor, Ryan Curtis and Bradley Spooner looked to cause havoc in the Thetford defence. The Brecklanders got the game underway kicking toward the Kenny Cooke stand, containing the Blue Wave who greeted the whistle with a passable attempt at Sweet Caroline.
The opening was relatively cagey and it was the visitors who were able to craft the first opening. A good ball into the box saw former Yachtsman Ryan Fuller stretch to try and make contact, but to no avail. Wroxham hit back instantly, with a ball over the top exploiting their pacey attack finding Ryan Miles, but Gammon in the Thetford goal had rushed out to meet him. However, the ball dropped for Joe Taylor who composed and measured a shot, only to hit the covering defender and the chance was gone.
On 10 minutes the scoring was opened from the spot. Again the ball over the top found Miles who put the ball past his man but was shoulder blocked in the area. Mr Sandwell pointed straight to the spot and Joe Taylor drilled his effort into the bottom right corner to give the Yachtsmen the perfect start. You felt that Wroxham were up and running now, and within a couple of minutes of the restart Spooner's 25 yard effort was well held by Gammon, who you felt was in for a busy evening.
On 28 minutes Thetford stirred themselves and gave the home side a wake up call. A good break after a spell of Wroxham pressure was broken up, and the visitors rushed up the other end, a good ball finding Felgueiras rushing into the Wroxham 6-yard box. His effort was just wide of the post. This was all the warning the Yachtsmen required as they held possession for an extended period of time, camped in the Thetford half. Finally, a flicked pass found Ryan Curtis powering into the area and he found the net at the second time of asking following an initial parry from Gammon.
Wroxham were by now causing the visitors no end of defensive problems and it came as no surprise that they made it 3 just before the break. Thetford this time lost the ball in their own half, with the alert Miles swiftly playing in Taylor, who calmly slotted his second between the legs of Gammon.
The Brecklanders desperately needed to regroup at half time, and the two subs they made at the break testament to the fresh ideas and impetus their evening required. The Yachtsmen wanted more of the same, and they delivered it on 48 minutes. Attacking down the right the visitors were cut open again, and despite Gammon's best attempts to turn away the cross, Bradley Spooner was in the right place to fire home the 4th.
A cricket score now looked almost inevitable, and the home side delivered a fifth with the live wire Miles again latching onto a high through ball, losing his full back and pulling the ball back for an unfortunate Thetford defender to slide in and accurately place the ball in the net.
With goals flying in, Thetford showed great character to at least draw some consolation by scoring the sixth goal of the evening. The willing and skilful Joao Varela got to the byline and centred for Artur Visocanskis to net.
With the score at 5-1, Wroxham were able exert control for long periods of the second half, pulling their beleaguered visitors from one side of Trafford Park to the other. The sixth goal did not arrive until the 87th minute, Jamie Forshaw coming off the bench to finish a neat move with a calm finish. Thetford however quickly fired back, with Elliot Smith netting almost straight from the restart whilst Wroxham defenders looked at each other, wondering what happened.
The coupe de gras was delivered in stoppage time. Joe Taylor was driving towards the heart of the Thetford defence and tried to play in Miles, his pass was blocked but the ball came straight back to him. Taking a touch to compose himself, Taylor completed his hat-trick with a powerful shot low into the left corner of the net. 7 - 2 the final score, and the 186 in attendance would have a tough time arguing the score did not reflect the homes teams dominance.
Wroxham now travel to Mildenhall in the Extra Preliminary Round of the FA Cup with confidence from their first two league games.
Wroxham: Ollie Sutton, Wyatt Hill, Joe Keeley, Jordan King (Jamie Forshaw 83), Chris Skipper, Tom Huckerby, Ryan Miles, Harley Black, Joe Taylor, Ryan Curtis (Shaun Taylor), Brad Spooner (Conley Poynter). Subs: Conley Poynter, Simon Lappin, Shaun Taylor, Ray Urry, Jamie Forshaw.
Goals: Joe Taylor (9 (pen), 45+3, 90+1), Ryan Curtis (30), Brad Spooner (48), OG, Jamie Forshaw (83).
Thetford: Frank Gammon, Sam Bond, Andrew Cussack, Joshua Mann, Nathan Clarke, Jake Mann, Artur Visocanskis, Ross Bailey, Joao Varela, Bernardo Fulgueiras, Ryan Fuller. Subs: Elliot Smith, Maxwell Williams, Luke Bailey, Macauley Rodgers.
Ref: Jordan Sandwell. Assts: Nigel Howes, Alexander Melton.