Advent Calendar 2015: Day 1 Needham Market 1-6 Waltham Forest

Previously, we’ve taken a look at our top 25 appearance makers during the month of December. This year, we’re looking at our 25 highest scoring matches.

Today, we’re starting with matches where seven goals have been scored; of which there have been 30 in total.

We’re going to look at four of these in detail, before we move onto games where 8 goals were scored. The list will culminate on the 24th and 25th of December when we look at games where 11 goals were scored.

Needham Market 1-6 Waltham Forest, Ryman League Division 1 North, Tuesday 30 October 2012

A mid-week trip to Needham Market is like the proverbial “wet Tuesday night in Stoke. It’s a 140-mile round-trip from Forest’s then-home in Ilford to Needham Market, with the one-way journey taking a good hour and a half at the best of times.

Forest had won their two previous games to this, smashing Bowers & Pitsea 8-1 in the Essex Senior Cup, then beating Aveley 2-1 on the previous Saturday. Market had beaten Ilford and Ware both 6-1 in the run-up to this tie, but had lost 3-1 to Needham Market just three days before.

The Market website referred to this game as a “Halloween Horror”, as Forest’s forwards made the home defence look nervous every time they broke forward.

Market had finished fourth the previous season, losing 1-0 in the play-off final, and their team against Forest included established names such as Pip Boyland, Rhys Barber and Sam Newson. At the time of writing, Market’s starting 11 have a combined 924 appearances for their club.

Forest on the other hand, had teenagers Tom Vickers and Ben head at centre back, and were not exactly brimming with experience with a front three of Corey Whitely, Joel Palmer and Manu Dagher.

Forest took the lead on 9 minutes, Adrian Clifton beating Bowden with a long-range effort.

A own goal from Pip Boyland made it 2-0, before Nathan Clark pulled a goal back just a minute later on 25.

But then the flood-gates opened. Corey Whitely got a third for Forest on 40, before Joel Palmer added two on 49 and 57 minutes.

Manu Dagher completed the rout on 72, cutting in from the left hand-side to smash home at the near post.

This was Forest’s first away win of the season, while Market were still without a home victory.

Went on to better things:

Adrian Clifton stayed with Forest until March, before moving to East Thurrock United and then to play Conference South football with Maidenhead United. He’s now at Havant and Waterlooville.

Disappeared from view:

Ben Head was only a bit-part player for Forest at the start of the 2012-13 season. He was third in the defensive pecking order behind Tom Vickers and Matt Waldron, and despite making 13 starts for Forest, he left in January 2013.