Thamesmead Town slipped to their biggest defeat of the season in freezing conditions that on the coldest day of the campaign so far as East Anglia was battered by an Arctic blast.

After being blown away at Sudbury in midweek, the Mead crashed to defeat courtesy of a mis hit shot; a goal blown in directly from a corner and a late penalty as the form that has taken the club down the FA Trophy trail sadly went missing in the League again!

Boss Terry Spillane handed new signing Lee Prescott a debut in midfield and a reshuffle saw Lewis Dark and Ibrahim Kargbo drop into the back line at the expense of Farai Hallam and Michael Aziaya – both of whom dropped to the subs bench – whilst Tommy Spillane made his first start in over three months, meaning Jay Porter moved to left midfield.

All in all though it was a desperately disappointing afternoon for the Mead which in a way summed up the visitors afternoon. Home defender Swatman mis-hit shot which bobbled through to Logan who screwed his shot but got enough on the ball to bobble it past Andy Walker and in off the right post!

Logan then almost turned provider as a cross was blown into the path of Borrer who blazed high over despite being free and unmarked at the far post. Sadly the Mead didn’t heed the warning and just before half time went further behind to arguably the season’s strangest goal. Blake-Tracy took a corner from the right with the wind at its coldest and strongest across the pitch into his face. As the corner came into the near post, the ball “died” and somehow found a way between the defender on the post and keeper alike before squirming over the line to double the home side’s lead.

The Mead almost got back into the game just before half time with an equally bizarre chance. Spillane drilled a long free kick into the Dereham box which almost deceived Viner in the home goal. But at the last minute, the keeper (who was dressed in a bright orange shirt and a white woollen hat) managed to claw the ball over the bar. And from the resulting corner Jack Barry powered in a header which the home side somehow scrambled off the line!

Sadly the visitors couldn’t build on these chances and the home side should have been out of sight on 55 minutes when Butcher missed an open goal as the ball found him at the back post only for the Dereham man to hit the side netting with the goal at his mercy!

The Mead huffed and puffed going forward but the closest they got was after Theo Fairweather Johnson got on the end of a Kargbo through ball only to drill the ball across the face of goal.

Dereham then sealed the three points with a third goal of the afternoon after Walker brought down a Dereham striker in the box and Tuttle stepped up to send the keeper the wrong way.

The Mead were even denied a late consolation as sub Aaron Jeffrey managed to squirm through and race clear only to be denied brilliantly by Viner’s block and even when Richard Butler followed up, his chance too was blocked.

A frustrating end to a miserable day on the Road for the Mead…

THAMESMEAD – Walker, Prescott, Spillane (Butler), Dark, Barry, Porter, Thompson (Jeffrey), Kargbo, Vines, Duncan (Hallam), Fairweather-Johnson

Sub – Aziaya