RIDGEONS LEAGUE FIRST DIVISION Thetford Town 0 Ely City 2 ELY captain Andy Chatters marked his return from suspension with two goals to keep The Robins fine run going. Things are looking rosy for City as the festive period approaches, they lie just six

RIDGEONS LEAGUE

FIRST DIVISION

Thetford Town 0 Ely City 2

ELY captain Andy Chatters marked his return from suspension with two goals to keep The Robins fine run going.

Things are looking rosy for City as the festive period approaches, they lie just six points adrift of top side Debenham, with two games in hand.

Ely looked laboured in the first half with the home side looking the more likely to open the scoring. But with both teams looking solid at the back, there were no clear-cut chances created before the break.

Ely took the game to Thetford in the second half and looked a completely different team.

Chatters, who missed the last game after collecting five yellow cards, grabbed his first goal 17 minutes into the second half when, after a good cross from James Reeves on the right, he arrived in the penalty area, controlled well with his first touch and then powered a half-volley into the bottom corner.

Ely dominated the game from then on and Simon Warren and Martin Westcott both went close to increasing their lead before Chatters capped a fine performance with his second goal, 16 minutes from the end. In a near carbon copy of his first, the Ely midfielder ran into the penalty area unmarked, brought down Tony Speed's cross and this time scuffed his shot under the goalkeeper to score.

Ely manager Dennis Lightning then moved his team to a 4-5-1 formation, replacing Chatters and striker Westcott with midfielders Steve Tuck and Darren Newman, and this allowed City to comfortably play out time.

Lightning said: "We were going through the motions a bit in the first half, so I asked for a big response at half-time and, as usual, they delivered. We've got loads of football coming up now, starting with a real tough away game at Hadleigh, so we're going to have to keep playing well."

# Ely visit Hadleigh United on Saturday (3pm) and are at home against Godmanchester Rovers on Boxing Day, which kicks off at 11am.