Wanderers took an early lead against Long Stratton in our rearranged fixture at Mulberry Park and the goal came via the same duo that produced the early opener against Wroxham on Saturday. Stratton had started the game well but hesitation from Bush allowed Guyton to pinch possession just outside the area. Guyts then quickly slipped the ball into Aulert who attempted to slide the ball underneath Quantrill but it was diverted by his boot into the path of Scott Woodgate and he applied a calm finish into the bottom corner to make it 0-1.

However, spirits were temporarily dampened as for the second time this week a goalkeeper had to come off injured and unfortunately for us, it was Tom Wright who had to withdraw following an injury sustained when taking a goal kick in the opening few minutes of the game. We hope it is just a niggle and we will soon see Tom back in that beautiful pink little number but thankfully we were fortunate enough to have an able replacement in the form of John Curtis to take over his goalkeeping duties. Eliot Altay was sent on to fill the void left in defence and in doing so, was making his 50th appearance for the club.

The break in play did not disturb our early tempo and we were awarded a penalty after a quarter of an hour when Charlie Aulert used his blistering pace to enter the area and knick the ball away before Skinner slid in and bundled Chaz to ground. Responsibility once again fell to Ben Thompson and although Quantrill guessed the right way, it was beyond his reach and into the bottom corner to double our lead. 0-2.

Mulbarton had another injury scare when Bland hit the deck after an aerial dual but fortunately he was able to continue. Stratton were then enjoying their best spell of the game but on the occasions they did manage to get a ball into the box it was gobbled up by Curtis who was commanding his area well.

Gibbons was as tenacious as ever in the middle of the park and was once again playing a pivotal role. The ball got sprayed out wide to Jack Simpson who got his head up and delivered a cross towards the penalty spot, Chaz was there to flick it onto Guyton and after setting himself with a neat first touch, Jack glided it past Quantrill to give us a commanding lead. 0-3

Long Stratton then had their best chance of the game when Daniels cut inside and fired just over from 12 yards. Down the other end Thompson thought he had his second of the game when he dinked the ball over Quantrill and helped it into the empty net but he was denied by a very tight offside call by the lino.

Half-Time | Long Stratton 0-3 Mulbarton Wanderers

Stratton came purposefully out of the blocks at the restart in search of a route back into the game. Page and Bemrose in particular were having more joy in the attacking third but this was leaving them more open at the back and they were punished by a wonderful move 10 minutes in when Thompson exchanged a cheeky one-two with Guyton before unleashing an unstoppable strike into the top corner. Few will argue that it was one of his finest goals in a Mulbarton shirt. 0-4

Drama followed when Stratton were awarded a penalty following a scramble in the area, Page did well to steer an effort towards goal which struck the arm of Brock. It looked to be going wide but the ref disagreed and brandished a red card to reduce Wanderers to 10 men. Bemrose was looking for the same corner as Thommo but was denied by a superb save from Curtis. Both players were then cautioned in the aftermath before play resumed.

The rest of the game was evenly contested with neither side able to trouble the goalkeepers until substitute Joel Potter raced down the left and found Thompson in the middle to complete his hat-trick with a smart finish into the bottom corner.

Full-Time | Long Stratton 0-5 Mulbarton Wanderers