North Walsham club notes

North Walsham Town played host to struggling Mattishall on a damp & windswept Friday 13th at Greens Road and put in a horror show to deservedly lose 2-1.

Adam Bunton returned to the side with Doggett reverting to right back and Palmer slotting in at left back. Davies joined Godbold & Lester on the bench.

Town started very slowly and could count themselves very fortunate not be trailing by 3 goals within the opening 10 mins as a combination of reflex goalkeeping, last ditch defending & wasteful finishing kept the scores level.

On 15 mins, The Angels took an unlikely lead. Hinton's deep corner was headed back across goal by Lown where Lee Clarke prodded home.

Mattishall soon equalised when a cross from the right slipped through the grasp of Munday and dropped into the net. Walsham were second best all over the park and keeper Munday was continually called into action as he kept Town in the game.

With only minutes left in the half, Mattishall moved ahead. Munday made one fine save from a swift counter attack but was then adjudged to have impeded the striker on the resulting rebound. This decision seemed especially harsh considering that Munday actually deflected the ball over the bar and the appeals from the opposition were non-existent. The opportunity was not passed up as the penalty was powerfully driven past Munday.

It was hoped that, with the wind at their backs, the Angels would come out a galvanized outfit and get back into the game in the 2nd half. This proved not to be as Mattishall continued to look the more competent side and could've increased their lead on many occasions.

Town introduced Davies, Godbold & Lester in an attempt to salvage something from the game but their plans for a fightback were hampered with the dismissal of Clarke. He saw red as his frustration boiled over and he disputed a decision too vehemently to the officials' liking.

Despite the disadvantage in numbers, Town ended up playing 2 at the back as they finally showed some battling qualities and they came close to equalising but Bunton blazed high & wide from close range.

This was a truly dismal display by all involved and has certainly brought the squad back down to earth with a bump! A major reaction is hoped for at training and in the upcoming Senior Cup tie as a similar performance will see an embarrassing conclusion to the Angels' cup foray.

Thankfully, the Reserves & A Team were more successful this weekend. The Reserves made the long trip over to East Harling and emerged 3-1 winners, whilst Ross Ellis' charges grabbed an important 4-2 win over Gimingham. Both sides remained well placed in their respective decisions.