Ryman League
Premier Division
Harrow Borough 2 Leiston 0
The visitors were punished for their wastefulness in front of goal as two goals in the final nineteen minutes from Lewis Driver condemned Steve Ball’s side to a third league defeat and first away from home.
The Blues included Colchester United loanee Nnamdi Nwachuku in their starting line up and made a positive start, dominating possession. Time and again the visitors got into telling positions but had no end product to their approach play.
For an hour it was all Leiston but their inability to turn possession and chances into goals proved costly. The home side changed things around, pushing Driver into an advanced position and within minutes had the lead, Driver heading home unmarked at a corner on 71 minutes.
Leiston were stunned and failed to respond seeing an effort crash against Danny Gay’s post, before Driver grabbed his and Harrow’s second three minutes from time to seal the win.
Metropolitan Police 4 Bury Town 1
Bury’s search for that elusive victory on the road continued on Saturday as they slumped to a disappointing 4-1 defeat at Metropolitan Police.
Following on from Tuesday’s excellent victory over Billericay Town, Ben Chenery’s men got off to a dream start as Connor Hall gave them a seventh-minute lead.
But a 20-minute capitulation, in which Bury conceded three goals, ultimately sealed the Blues’ fate.
Charlie Collins, Joseph Ricardo and Michael Charles all scored for Met Police in the 22nd, 35th, and 42nd minutes, before Charles added his second, and his side’s fourth, in the 55th to kill the game off in a disappointing result for Bury once more on the road.
Ryman North Division AFC Sudbury 2 Thurrock 6
AFC Sudbury slumped to a heavy home defeat at the hands of third-placed Thurrock who overcame conceding inside the first 30 seconds when Kris Newby slotted home after visiting keeper Andy Walker fumbled the ball.
The visitors levelled five minutes later with Ross Wall scoring after a breakaway, and they took the lead after 28 minutes when Charlie Stimpson received the ball on the edge of the area and lobbed over Alex Archer.
Only a fine save by Archer denied Thurock extending their lead early in the second half. But it was not long before Thurrock scored a third when Brad Warner fired home an angled shot on the turn. Thurrock were looking dangerous every time they attacked and they went 4-1 up when Wall netted his second with a crisp shot on the turn. Sudbury reduced the deficit after 66 minutes when Newby crossed from the right and Correy Davidson headed home a league debut goal at the far post.
Any hopes of a home comeback were ended two minutes later when Thurrock restored their three-goal advantage after Warner was found unmarked in front of goal to fire home his second of the game.
Thurrock sealed a comfortable victory with a sixth goal after 71 minutes when Mark Onyemah curled in a shot from the left on a very bad day for Sudbury.
Needham Market 3 Cray Wanderers 0
A hat-trick from red hot striker Sam Newson, which also saw him score his 100th goal for the Marketmen, ultimately sealed this routine win to keep Mark Morsley’s men flying high at the top of the Ryman North Division table.
Newson has been in unplayable form of late after recording seven goals in his last three games, all of which Needham have won.
A brace at Cambridge City in the 4-2 FA Cup victory, as well as another brace in league action in the 3-1 triumph over Soham Town Rangers, and Saturday’s match-winning hat-trick ultimately means that he has won his side six points as well as FA Cup progression.
In front of a healthy attendance of 279, Newson struck in the 14th, 39th, and 90th to sink a Cray side, with the striker being presented with the man-of-the-match accolade as well as a certificate to mark him hitting the century mark.
Conference North Hyde 5 Lowestoft Town 1
Lowestoft Town slipped to their heaviest defeat of the season so far in their new environment with a 5-1 stuffing away to Hyde.
The Trawlerboys, who had the returning Jake Reed on the bench following his sudden re-signing from AFC Sudbury on Thursday evening, actually took the lead through Erkan Okay after 11 minutes before falling to a disappointing defeat.
The hosts turned the scoreline on its head before half-time with goals from Almond and Blakeman, before adding three further goals in the second half courtesy of Brizell, Bentham, and Brizell again, to cap a fine win for Hyde and a miserable day for Lowestoft.
Thurlow Nunn League
Premier Division Walsham le Willows3 Fakenham Town1
Walsham went into this fixture with newly-promoted Fakenham badly in need of a win, and did just so with an excellent performance.
Fakenham had the first chance of the game but Lee Pacey saved well. The hosts then got on top and both Bolton and Chris McLaughlin went close, before they went ahead halfway through the half when Dan Easlea’s cross was headed home by Andrew Wood.
Fakenham equalised when Harris headed home following a flick on from a long-throw, before Walsham reinstated their lead right on half time when Pacey”s clearance found McLaughlin who fired home.
In the second half, Walsham continued to dominate and Cobbold headed home the third goal following a corner. The hosts nearly scored a fourth when the returning Jack Brame set up Wood who could only hit the side netting.
Felixstowe & WaltonP Hadleigh UnitedP
The pick of the ‘Groundhoppers Day’ matches resulted in a massive disappointment for everyone involved at the Goldstar Ground on Friday evening.
With a crowd approaching up to 250, and groundhoppers from as far as Nottingham travelling for the occasion, a huge batch of fog descended onto the pitch 10 minutes before kick-off.
Referee Alexander Guy, after some discussion with the respective club officials and captains, called the game off moments before the scheduled kick-off.
First Division Leiston Reserves0 Haverhill Borough0
Haverhill Borough boss Ben Cowling was left ruing his sides lack of cutting edge as they dominated the majority of possession and yet failed to score against a determined Leiston Reserves side on Saturday.
In a tight first half, Leiston were the first to trouble the opposition goalkeeper when Ryan Noy controlled the ball on his knee and then fired his volley just over, while Borough went mightily close when Owen Longley’s cross from the right was mishandled by Ben Vincent in the Leiston goal, with the effort deflecting onto both post and crossbar before being cleared away.
Longley’s pace continued to cause problems for the Leiston defence in the second half, as he broke through and forced Vincent into a good save only four minutes after the break. Ryan Weaver then escaped the Leiston back four following a long clearance from defence, but Vincent was out to block.
Farrant, Harry Hall, and Ryan Weaver also went narrowly close to breaking the deadlock but either were off target or found Vincent in the way, leaving Cowling a frustrated man on the sidelines.
Long Melford1 Swaffham Town4
Swaffham Town were the deserved and comfortable winners in this rain-soaked encounter at Long Melford.
The visitors signalled their intentions after only eight minutes when they broke quickly, forcing a corner from which Mark Allibone headed home unmarked.
Melford fought back and equalised after 23 minutes when a quickly-taken free-kick by Sam Bayliss put Jamie Giffiths in on goal, who made no mistake from close-range.
With the rain pouring down, Swaffham took full advantage and they restored the lead after 64 minutes when the unfortunate Steve Adams sliced into his own net. Melford forced five corners in a row where Griffiths had two efforts cleared off the line to no avail as Luke Read extended Swaffham’s lead with a fine header shortly afterwards.
The misery was compounded for Melford two minutes before the end, when another defensive error resulted in George Hutton heading home to secure a valuable victory for Swaffham.
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