Diss Town 2, Dereham Town 0

Diss returned to action for the first time in four weeks and gained a vital three points as they won for the first time since Boxing Day with their best win of the season.

New signing Stuart Joplin made a tremendous impact on his return to the club, after his midweek transfer from Hadleigh United, as he used his experience to lead the line and score a crucial opening goal after goalkeeper Matty Webster had made a number of fine saves. Joplin proved to be a valuable aid to leading scorer James Pipe who hit a magnificent shot for the second goal in the second half. Defeats for Walsham-le-Willows and Wivenhoe improved the situation near to the relegation zone for The Tangerines.

Dereham dominated the first 20 minutes with Matty Webster forced to come out to meet Alex Fitzgerald and do enough to force the visiting forward to shoot wide. In the 12th minute Webster again came out, this time diving to block at the feet of Nicky Howell.

In the 25th minute a free kick was played into the danger area and Stuart Joplin, as he has done a number of times for several different teams, reacted quickly to hit a left foot shot past Shaun Marshall and inside the post. Five minutes later Stuart Garner hit a free kick which seemed to be heading in for a second goal but the ball hit the inside of the post and the underside of the bar before bouncing back into play. James Pipe seemed to benefit from the assistance and guidance of his new team-mate and raced away before sending a cross into the danger area which was headed just off target by Joplin.

The Magpies started the second half brightly with Sam Borrer shooting just high and Ollie Willis forcing Webster into a save. Diss made it 2-0 in the 73rd minute when Pipe scored his 11th goal of the season when he hit a magnificent shot from the edge of the area. It gave Marshall no chance as it flashed into the net.

Diss team: Matty Webster, Jason Cole, Stuart Garner, Aarron Taylor, Brendan Foley, Mark Shadrack, Joel Brien, Jamie Speller, Stuart Joplin, James Pipe, Michael Steward.

Diss subs: Danny Easlea (for Brien 89 mins), George Watts-Sturrock, Andy Moody (for Joplin 75 mins), Gareth Leggett and George Cole (for Pipe 88 mins).

Attendance: 144.

Dallas and Martin Accountancy Limited Man of the Match: Matty Webster – made crucial saves early in the game and once Diss had taken the lead again showed the top quality goalkeeping that has been a feature of his play all season.