North Walsham Town 1, Dereham Town 2THE Angels bowed out of the Norfolk Senior Cup to Ridgeons Premier opposition despite a spirited display.Walsham prepared for the game in their new warm-up tops provided by Adecco.

North Walsham Town 1, Dereham Town 2

THE Angels bowed out of the Norfolk Senior Cup to Ridgeons Premier opposition despite a spirited display.

Walsham prepared for the game in their new warm-up tops provided by Adecco. They showed four changes after 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 scorer 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 eight weeks and he was joined by Clarke, Doggett and Bunton. In front of a healthy number of spectators, both sides started nervously as they adapted to the conditions and the playing surface, but the Angels' 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. Fitzgerald forced himself into space but his snapshot screwed narrowly wide.

Walsham took a deserved lead after 15 minutes. 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 and Howell were instrumental in Dereham's fight back as they began producing quality wing play. They won a series of corners but these proved fruitless as Town stood firm.

However, on 30 minutes 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 keeper Munday.

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

Dereham 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 awarded a penalty and dismissed Lown. The resulting penalty was well saved by Munday.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, Walsham 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.

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

But they moved ahead on 71 minutes. A deep corner was powerfully headed home, giving Munday no chance.

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

The final moments were end to end as Town threw everything at Dereham whilst Munday continued to keep the Magpies at bay. 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 won 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.