Stowmarket Town take another step closer to Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division title with emphatic Thetford Town win

Another emphatic win. Another three points. Another step closer to making history. The Stowmarket Town juggernaut showed no signs of finishing line-itis on Saturday.

Rick Andrews’ promotion and title-chasing side were in a ruthless mood at Mundford Road, scoring six times before half-time to put the game out of sight of their hosts Thetford Town.

Christy Finch completed his hat-trick in the final minutes of the second half, the only goal after the break, as Stow hit seven for the second game running, and for the fourth time this season.

That Stow passed the 100-goal mark for all competitions in 2019/20, during Saturday’s one-sided victory, without needing to bring on their leading goalscorer Josh Mayhew, shows the strength in-depth at Greens Meadow.

As the Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division season enters its final three months, Stow remain unbeaten with 19 wins and four draws, 13 points clear at the top, and well on course to an historic promotion, propelling the club into Step 4, and the BetVictor Isthmian League North Division, for the first time.

“We’re another week closer,” Stow manager Andrews said. “Stanway lost again and have lost some form of late, so I don’t see them chasing us now.

“The main one I see challenging us is Wroxham. They can close the gap to us to seven points if they win their games in hand.

“Newmarket and Norwich United can get to 10 points behind, but they’ve all got to play each other.

“We’ve still got to play Wroxham twice in the league, and Newmarket and Norwich again, but I would much rather be in the position we’re in right now. I think by the end of February we’ll have a much clearer picture. To be fair, as well as we’re doing, we could only end up being seven points ahead, so it shows you that it’s a strong league this year.”

Saturday’s win at Thetford saw Stow stretch their unbeaten run in the Premier Division to 27 games, a streak which would pass the 300-day mark should Andrews’ men avoid defeat at home to Godmanchester Rovers tomorrow (3pm).

Wisbech Town hold the league record, a 37-game run in the mid-1980s, and if Stow were to break that record it would leave them with four games left to negotiate to complete the whole league campaign without tasting a defeat.

Chelmsford City Reserves, in 1947/48, are the only side to have gone an entire season in the Thurlow Nunn League’s top flight unbeaten. Stow’s new-found position is a far cry from Andrews’ early days at Greens Meadow, in the bottom two of the First Division in 2013.

“It’s been a long process,” the Stow boss said. “And as I’ve said many times in the past, we couldn’t just jump to where we were then to where we are now. You have to take small steps along the way, and when you do that it tends to bring more longevity.

“There’s been some ups and downs to get to this point, but we just need to keep going. We’ve got to keep pushing on and off the pitch.

“Hopefully the attendances can keep creeping up and we can continue to progress.”

Finch’s opener, after three minutes, set the tone for a ruthless first half for the Old Gold & Blacks at Mundford Road. Anton Clarke, captain for the day as Ollie Brown dropped to the bench, doubled Stow’s lead, netting his first goal in 413 days.

Robbie Sweeney brought up the century mark for the Old Gold & Blacks this season in style with a fine free kick, before two more Finch goals, sandwiched between goals for Sweeney and Joe Jefford, delivered Stow’s biggest away win since 2014.

But for Thetford, who have shipped 38 goals in their last nine games, player-manager Matt Morton could find positives from stubborn defending after the break.

“The second half was a lot better, and you could point to a number of reasons for that,” he said. “We defended better, especially around the 18-yard box in the second half, and we put bodies on the line.”

* Thetford have this week been boosted by the return of former striker Andrew Wood, ahead of hosting Ely City tomorrow (3pm).

The 32-year-old had most recently been at league rivals Stanway Rovers, where he scored six goals in 11 games, but last featured in September.

“He knows the league well,” Morton said. “He’s a proven goalscorer and he’s had a spell of a few months away with other commitments, but I don’t expect him to take long to start finding the net again.”