MARLBOROUGH BOUNCE BACK TO CLOSE GAP ON LEADERS

After last week’s Carrow Rd disappointment, Marlborough bounced back to winning ways with two goals from Jason Armes as they beat Silver Fox 2-0 to move up into second spot in the Premier division. Acle Rangers are on the same points after twice coming from behind to draw 3-3 in an excellent game against Wymondham Rangers. Dog House kept their treble dreams alive with a 3-0 victory at home to Poringland, whilst there was a good 2-0 win for Norman Wanderers at AFC Wanderers a result that moves them off the bottom of the table. A Joe Swatman goal and a Nicky May hat trick were not enough to give Norwich Busmen three points as they were held to a 4-4 draw by Costessey Sports.

Congratulations to Reepham Town who now look forward to Premier division football next season. Their 1-0 win at Hellesdon Athletic made sure that they took the 1A title. Jimmy Ross, Marc Dobson, Mark Critten and Adam Claxton all scored as Hainford YCOB beat Aslacton 4-1 and Vale Longo put in one of their best performances of the season to guarantee them 1A football next season. Steve Churchill scored twice and Jatinder Dhaliwal the other from a well worked free kick as they beat Horsford SC 3-1. Eaton FC gave themselves some breathing space with a strong second half performance as they recorded a 3-1 (Chris Sandle, Nick Belgrave and Paul Dodimead) win at home to Fiveways. Aylsham Sunday are almost there. A 4-1 home win over Sprowston Rovers means that a point from their final game will see them take the 1B title. Second placed St Faiths lost 4-2 at Catton for whom Jordan Scotter, Ben Welham, Lee Barnes and Lee Cosgrove scored, whilst Prince of Denmark won 3-1 at Sprowston Wanderers.

In 2A, Upton completed their season with a 3-1 home win over The Stores, whilst DCS Rapid ended their season by beating River Garden 3-0, goals being scored by John Orr, John Davis and Brett Kingsbury. In 2B Rose Tavern’s 4-0 (Ramin Fakour-Zaker 2, Richard Metcalf and Michael Robinson) win over Ribs Rovers means that a point in their final game will see them lift the 2B trophy. That final game however is against the only team that can catch them, Bayer FC. Bayer suffered a 2-0 defeat at Spixworth who leapfrogged them into second place but Bayer still have five games to play. Simon Curtis scored two penalties as Poringland Res beat The Gordon 4-2. Danny Webster and David Gilfillan were also on target, with Craig Sewell and Tom Parsley replying for the visitors, whilst Wymondham Res and Taverham Utd shared the points in a 1-1 draw. Acle Rangers Res returned from Hethersett Athletic with a 4-1 win.

In 3A, James Field, Craig Hunt and Sam Littleboy all scored for Mad Moose as they beat Caseys Cosmos 3-1, whilst Sporting Longdale finished their season by hammering Heartsease Casuals, scoring fifteen without reply thanks to goals by Jamie Platten 5, Nick Clark 4, Lloyd Nobbs 3, James Thomson 2 and Ryan Roberts.  In 3B Freethorpe had a comfortable 5-0 home win over ten man Moles Rest.

In 4A, champions Riverside Rovers ended the season on a high as they came from two down to beat Caseys Cosmos Res 5-2. Temples Property beat Constable Crusaders by the odd goal of five and Hockering Res scored four when beating DEF FC. It’s still very interesting at the top of 4B. One Love Utd moved back to the top of the table after a 6-0 (Iffy Gray 2,Osiris Gomes, Armando Bofuki, Nelson Dhlami, Nuno Da Crus) win over Spixworth Res. With one game left, they are a point above Briston Wanderers who were inactive this week and still have two games left. Salhouse Rovers will be hoping the top two slip up somewhere along the line. After a 5-1 (Neil Woolner 2, Kel Haywood 2, and a rare Philip Fordham goal) they are three points behind Briston with two games to play.

As the season nears its end, the games lost due to the bad winter weather have caused Fixture Secretary Bernie Hardiman severe problems as some teams, especially in the Premier division are way behind with fixtures. It is good to note however that quite a few of these teams have agreed to play midweek fixtures where necessary and the League is grateful for their co-operation. Bernie always tries to accommodate clubs wherever he can when they require a week off, so it’s nice to see most clubs return the favor when asked.