Eastern Counties League Division One
Memorial Playing Field, Downham Market
Admission: £5.00
Programme: Included with admission
Attendance: 120
After my game at Whitton United yesterday evening, there was only one option available this evening, and so I slowly made the trip westwards into Norfolk during today, taking in a decent walk in Thetford Forest en route, for this game.
The Memorial Playing Field is about a 20 minute walk northwards from Downham Market town centre, with a reasonable car park on site, from which visitors walk between the adjoining cricket field and pavilion (shared between the football and cricket clubs), and past hot food and ice cream vans, before reaching the entrance of the football ground in one corner. Admission is paid at a window of a dark green container unit. Given that the length closest to the entrance backs immediately onto the cricket square, this length has temporary see through metal fencing along it, and is inaccessible inside the ground, although plenty watched from outside. The other length has three covered areas, one straddling the half way line offering bench seating, with two virtually identical stands are placed with side, providing covered standing. Large, overhanging trees provide a pleasantly rural feel to this length, as does the view across the cricket field when looking opposite. There is just hard standing behind both ends, and floodlit tennis courts provide the background behind the end closest to the entrance. A decent 28 page programme, produced by Barnes Print, was offered free with admission, giving everything required to preview the game, including a couple of welcome messages.
Both clubs would haven been particularly disappointed with the decision to null and void last season, with both well placed to claim one of the four promotion places available. Downham Town were in third place, following 18 wins and five draws from 29 league games, while Fakenham Town were in fifth place, following 18 wins and two draws from 28. And both clubs kicked off this season with a win on Saturday, Downham winning 0-1 at Haverhill Borough whilst Fakenham won 0-2 at Debenham LC.
On a sunny evening that became noticeably cooler than yesterday evening, Fakenham mostly dominated the first half, and took the lead in the fourth minute, Jack Robinson threading the ball through to Ashley Jarvis, who lashed the ball across the keeper and into the net. On 31 minutes, a Downham player struck the ball from outside the area, spotting the keeper slightly out of position, abut his shot came back off the bar, but within a minute, the visitors doubled their lead, Robinson curling a beautiful shot into the top right corner. Fakenham saw the half put quite comfortably to retain their two goal lead at the break.
After Fakenham were denied what looked like a clear penalty on 53 minutes, Downham halved the deficit on 61 minutes, when a ball was pulled back from the byline and deflected into his own net by a defender. Downham were looking well in the game now, more threatening than in the first half, but the game was taken away from them with two goals in quick succession - first, on 69 minutes, Robinson struck the ball powerfully in off the post with the keeper out of position, shortly after his pass out to a defender was intercepted, and then within a minute, Jarvis taking possession of the ball wide, before dribbling to a more central position and striking the ball into the net, via a defender's hand on the line. To Downham's credit, they didn't let their heads drop and competed well to keep the scoreline respectable, and after having a shot fizz just over the bar on 78 minutes, they pulled a goal back on 88 minutes with the goal of the night through substitute Charlie Butt, who went on a run, beating a couple of defenders, before unleashing a terrific shot into the top left corner.
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