Delight for Magpies boss Henman as Dereham ‘win ugly’

Dereham Town boss Matt Henman believes fans saw a different side to his team as they battled to a 1-0 win over Waltham Abbey.

'We showed that we can win ugly and grind out results,' he said. 'The last three games, before today, we have played really well but only come away with a point. However, today we probably haven't played as well as we have in the last three games but have come away with a win instead of a draw, which is very pleasing.

'Today's win makes the last three draws valuable to us and backs up a string of really good performances with a deserved reward. There were times today when we had to adapt, but we did so really well and deserved our three points.'

Waltham started strongly and after weathering an early storm Dereham soon started to enjoy the majority of the early possession.

They were frustrated when Danny Beaumont's goal was ruled out for a foul on the keeper, but they eventually made their pressure tell on 57 minutes when Dan Morphew finished off Beaumont's low corner.

Dereham continued to press as they looked to seal three points, but the visitors remained a constant threat on the counter-attack. Despite good chances for both sides in the closing stages, the scoreline remained the same as Dereham held on to claim their first win of 2014.

Dereham: Powley, Willis, Hannant, Borrer, Howard, Morphew, Howell (Hawkins 55) Kay, Bussens (Bammant 63), Tuttle (Smith 77), Beaumont. Subs not used: Starling, Eastoe-Smith.

Waltham: Barnes, Attard, Barnes, Bedford, Wheeler, Daveney (Dencham 54), Pearman, Bruno, Coley (Peargram 54), Maxwell (Russell 54), Bristow. Subs not used: Sargent, Scott.

Referee: R Owen.

Attendance: 162.