North Walsham Town welcomed Ridgeons League opposition in the form of Dereham Town for a Norfolk Senior Cup tie and, despite a spirited display, bowed out of the competition by the odd goal in three.

North Walsham Town welcomed Ridgeons League opposition in the form of Dereham Town for a Norfolk Senior Cup tie and, despite a spirited display, bowed out of the competition by the odd goal in three.

Prior to the encounter, the Town side prepared for the game in their new warm-up tops provided by Adecco.

The Town line-up had 4 changes from the pitiful showing against Mattishall the previous week. A slight tinkering of tactics saw Davison become part of a midfield three, whilst Davies replaced top goalscorer Clarke, Dunlop resumed left back duties with Palmer unavailable and Muir made his first start since returning to the club. The bench saw Wilton back for his first game in 8 weeks and he was joined by Clarke, Doggett & Bunton.

In front of a healthy crowd, both sides started nervously as they adapted to the conditions and the playing surface, but Town's commitment was there for all to see. Davies and Hinton were looking dangerous on the wings with Fitzgerald making it difficult for the Magpies' defence. One early attack saw Fitzgerald force himself into space but his snapshot screwed narrowly wide.

Walsham took a deserved lead after 15mins. A long throw in from Hanby was met by joint player/manager Matthew Lown and his header bounced out of reach of Higgs to nestle in the bottom corner. Soon after Davies broke clear, but the chance evaporated as his first touch took the ball just out of his reach and was claimed by Higgs.

At the other end, Terrington & Howell were instrumental in Dereham's fightback as they began producing quality wing play to keep the Town backline busy. They won a series of corners but these proved fruitless as Town stood firm.

However, on 30mins Dereham equalised. Terrington's first cross was blocked by Lown, but his second attempt floated to the far post where Barrett leapt high to nod over Munday in the Angels' goal.

Half time saw Town's management ask for 'more of the same' as The Angels began to believe that a giant killing was on.

Dereham started the 2nd half strongly and pinned Walsham in their half and the pivotal moment of the game occurred in the 52nd minute. A goalmouth scramble led to a shot being illegally blocked on the line by Lown. The referee was on hand to award a penalty and dismiss Lown for his actions. The resulting penalty was well saved by Munday to keep the scores level.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, Town then had a glorious chance to regain the lead. Davies found himself in space as he faced the keeper, but he dithered and as he attempted to round Higgs, his effort was blocked.

Town made tactical adjustments as they tried to contain their more illustrious opponents who began to dictate the tempo of the game and only some valiant defending and a series of fine saves prevented Dereham taking the lead.

Dereham moved ahead on 71mins. A deep corner was powerfully headed home giving Munday no chance.

Town introduced Wilton, Clarke & Doggett in an attempt to salvage something from the game, but just couldn't find that piece of magic to unlock the Magpies' defence. They did have the ball in the net on 80mins, but Hinton was ruled to have just crept into an offside position before he turned and fired home.

The final moments of the game was end to end as Town threw everything at Dereham whilst Munday continued to keep the Magpies at bay, but it wasn't to be and at the final whistle, The Angels had to console themselves with the fact that they had pushed a side 28 places above them to the limit.

Joint manager Chase was proud of the team's efforts and it is hoped that this level of performance and commitment can be taken into the tricky games that The Angels face in December.

The Reserves travelled over to Fakenham Town Reserves and returned with another three points following a 3-1 (Reeves, N.Bunton, R.Clarke). This preserved their lofty position in the division.

The Sunday side produced a stirring comeback in their 3-3 (Tindall, OG) draw at Hellesdon Athletic as they grabbed two goals in the final three minutes to claim a point.