Ely City claimed all three points in a dramatic seven-goal thriller at the Demcom Stadium, edging out Dereham Town 4-3 in a breathless encounter. An inspired Stephen Pereira, Sam Townshend twice and Charlie Root with the goals..

The Robins set a brisk tempo early on, pressing Dereham from the off. It took just nine minutes to break the deadlock when a lovely flicked pass unpicked the visitor's backline. Stephen Pereira timed his run to perfection, racing through onside before calmly slotting past the keeper.

Dereham responded well, testing Ben Newton in the 17th minute. A dangerous corner was met with a downward header, but the Ely stopper spread himself brilliantly to block. The visitors eventually drew level on the half-hour mark when Daghino latched onto a long punt and lofted his finish over an advancing Newton.

Sam Townshend though quickly restored Ely’s lead in the 38th minute. Chasing down a long ball from Pereira, Townshend beat the Dereham keeper to the bounce, punished his air kick clearance, and lobbed the ball into an empty net.

A frantic conclusion to the first half saw two goals deep in stoppage time. In the 45th minute, Dereham capitalized on uncharacteristic hesitation in the Robins’ defence, with Nantongwe poking home a loose cross after a defensive slip. Straight from the restart, however, Ely stormed back up field. The brilliant Pereira held off his defender with his back to goal and set up skipper Charlie Root, who drove a low strike past the keeper to send the hosts into the break with a 3-2 lead.

HT: Ely City 3 - 2 Dereham Town

The second half began just as wildly. Only two minutes after the restart, player-of-the-match Pereira carved open the visitor's defence once more, cutting down the right wing, inside the box to feed Townshend, who swept home his second of the afternoon and Ely’s fourth.

Despite displaying solid defensive composure through much of the second period, the only threat before - Alfie Rogers blocked superbly on his 6 yard box - the Robins faced a nerve-shredding finish. Dereham reduced the deficit to 4-3 in the 83rd minute when Simmons finished off a clever cutback. The visitors then came agonizingly close to equalising in the 89th minute, striking the upright with a ferocious direct free-kick that left Newton clutching at thin air beaten.

Ely held firm through the closing moments, with Dom Hunt and then Josh Collins heading away brilliantly from deep crosses to secure a hard-fought and less flattering victory than the score line suggested.

Ely City 4 - 3 Dereham Town

Team: Ben Newton, Charlie Sutcliffe, Philip Mendy, Alfie Rogers, Josh Collins, Dom Hunt, Alex Brown, Charlie Root (C), Stephen Pereira, Sam Townshend, Joe Tarpey.
Subs: Jevan Cook, Finley Logan, Jack Friend, Jacob Partridge, Tom Rigby.

Greene King POTM; Stephen Pereira