NEFC - 6.11.2010

Splitz United 0 - 7 North Elmham

North Elmham travelled to local rivals Splitz United and inflicted Splitz's first home defeat of the season, coming away with a convincing 7-0 victory. Elmham dominated from the off and should have gone ahead in the first minute, but Aaron fletcher blazed over when put through.
Elmham continued with attack after attack and after 15 minutes the break through came when Chris Myhill drilled home from the edge of the area for his second goal of the season. 5 minutes later Richard Mallet tucked away a loose ball to make it 2-0.
Chris Fuller then marked his first game back from injury with a simple tap in from 5 yards  out. Elmham showed no signs of slowing and the majority of the first period took place in the Splitz half. C. Fuller then provided an early contender for goal of the season with an excellent scissor kick from 15 yards that sailed into the top corner of the net for his second of the game.
Richard Mallet then got his second of the game and Elmham's fifth after he bundled in at the far post following a good flick from Chris Riseborough. Aaron Fletcher then completed a superb team move to make it 6-0 on the stroke of half time.

Ten minutes into the second half the 7th goal came, a powerful header from Craig Powley direct from a corner. Elmham sensed the game was won and slowed the tempo of the game down, perhaps looking ahead to an important game next week against Wendling. Chances were still being created, notably Steven Osbourne had a good effort saved by the Splitz keeper, one of a number of good stops he made througout the game, and only the post came between R. Mallet and his hat-trick.
Splitz offered very little attacking threat, undoubtedly due to the absence of their top goal scorer, and as a result Nathan Clarke had a very quiet afternoon in the Elmham goal. It is quite ironic that Elmham scored so heavily despite the fact that they were also missing their top goal scorer. This does, however, highlight the fact that Elmham have the luxury of expecting goals from all of over the pitch and do not place too much over reliance on any one player.
A special thank you goes out to Elmham's excellent supporters who turned out in great numbers as usual to support their team. It is greatly appreciated.
Elmham will now look to progress to the next round of the Ben Smith Memorial Cup when they face Wendling at Elmham next weekend. KO 2 pm.

North Elmham Reserves 1 -3 Shropham United Reserves

North Elmham's make-shift side fell to a very cruel 3-1 home defeat against Shropham United Reserves in Division 4.

With both sides struggling for players, and trying to adjust to a sprinkling of new faces, the opening 45 minutes were a disjointed and scrappy affair in wet and windy conditions. Both sides enjoyed decent spells of possession, but goal-scoring opportunities were few and far between. Shropham, however, opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time with an excellent free kick into the bottom corner which left the stand-in 'keeper with no chance.

After a rousing half-time team talk from Craig 'Roy' Gentle, North Elmham came out of the traps with more urgency and, despite riding their luck when a Shropham shot hit the bar, grabbed a deserved equalised mid-way through the second half with a high-class goal. Ben Butler, picking up possession in midfield, lofted a beautifully weighted ball over the Shropham defence for Liam White to run onto; advancing into the penalty area, he beat the visiting goalkeeper with a powerful near-post strike.

However, the equaliser made the home side sloppy and the visitors resurgent. With around 20 minutes to go, a shot from a tight angle found its way into the home side's net giving Shropham a 2-1 lead. Despite sustained pressure from the home side, a second equaliser could not be found, and they were caught with a sucker punch five minutes from time. A lofted free kick into the box found a completely unmarked Shropham midfielder who finished well to put the game beyond the home side's reach. The final score was 3-1 to Shropham - credit to both sides for making the best of limited resources, and North Elmham Reserves will be hoping to do better next week, away to Rampant Horse.

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