Norfolk F.A. Senior Cup
1st Round
Tuesday 15th December 2020
Kick Off 19.45 Actual 19.47
Mundford 4 Blofield United 1, attendance 128
30’ 1-0 (pen)
44’ 2-0
49’ 3-0
78’ 4-0
81’ 4-1
@ The Glebe
St. Leonards Street
Mundford
IP26 5DW
No Admission or Programme.
It has been quite a wait for me to finally see a match under floodlights at Mundford. They have played plenty of midweek matches in that time, but always in August, April and May, when they can play without using them. I know from reading about other groundhoppers visits here, that the floodlight pylons were in place back in 2013, but that the bulbs were still to be added. The lights were obviously working some time after that, but I was living abroad by then, and as far as I can tell, they haven’t played a first team match under lights since November 2016, (might be the only one?) which was three months before I returned to the U.K.
This is actually my fourth attempt in planning to visit. The first time saw the game called off the day before, due to problems with the floodlights, eventually being played at the end of the season.. The second was versus Dereham Town, in the same competition as tonight, where the game was again postponed a day or two before being played. It was then rearranged and the tie was reversed and played at Dereham. The third was last month, when tonight’s match was originally scheduled for 3rd November, just before the second Covid-19 lockdown was due to start, but was then postponed due to concerns over people’s safety due to the pandemic. Tonight was the night I finally got here.
Both clubs are in the Anglian Combination League Premier Division. Mundford are currently in ninth place, whilst Blofield United are fourteenth. As expected, it was a pretty even match, at least during the first half. A penalty opened the scoring for the hosts, before a second was prodded in from close range to give them a 2-0 lead at halftime. I’m not sure if it was due to Covid-19 restrictions, or the fact that the changing rooms are 100 yards from the pitch, but everyone stayed on the pitch for the interval, which meant a turnaround of just eight minutes.
The next goal was going to be so important and when it went the way of Mundford, within five minutes of the restart, it was game over. They totally dominated the second half, but only managed to add a fourth goal with twelve minutes left, with a shot into the bottom corner of the net from just outside the 18 yard box. The visitors rounded off the scoring with an angled shot that seemed to deceive the ‘keeper as it found its way into the top corner.
Mundford now face a trip to Anglian Combination League Division 1 side Easton in the next round. They play in a 3G cage, which is floodlit, so hopefully it will be scheduled as a midweek fixture.
