Swifts stun Downham Town in Norfolk Senior Cup

Castle Acre Swifts pulled off the biggest result in the club’s history as they knocked out holders Downham Town in the Norfolk Senior Cup last night.The Anglian Combination Division One minnows defeated their Thurlow Nunn Premier Division hosts 2-1 at the Memorial Field for the biggest shock of the second-round ties.Swifts boss Lucian Hodkinson said, “I’m super proud of the lads. They stuck to the game plan and fought tirelessly for 90 minutes.”As a club, we have achieved great things over the years but to beat an in-form quality side like Downham at their home ground is the biggest scalp of the club’s history.”Downham boss Dale Stokes was dignified in defeat, saying: “First off, we have to congratulate Castle Acre on the win and a brilliant moment for them.”They’ve come with a game plan and frustrated the life out of us, so they deserve huge plaudits for that.”It takes a lot of dedication and commitment to sit and defend your box for 90 minutes and ask a team to come and break you down. We could have been there for another 24 hours and not scored again. “We had two great chances inside five minutes that we should have scored from. At that point, I thought to myself is it going to be one of those nights. “We’ve then hit the woodwork four or five times, missed a couple of sitters and the keepers made a handful of very impressive saves.”It just wasn’t meant to be no matter how much we probed. It was pretty much attack versus defence and they caught us twice on the break and nearly did it again at the end.”It’s bitterly disappointing to exit and the goals we conceded were completely unacceptable and the players have been told. “We’ve been superb recently as a defensive unit and they’ve rightly received praise for it, so they need to take it on the chin when it’s the opposite of that.”We need to sort it out for Saturday and all the best to Castle Acre for the rest of the season.” Swifts were forced to defend for long periods of the tie but were clinical when their chances arrived.Dek Ramsden and Daniel King, set up by Korben Willis and Luke Goble respectively, scored for Swifts while Valter De Rocha replied for Downham Town. The home side, who hit the woodwork four times, continued to dominate for long periods of the game and Swifts were indebted to goalkeeper Bradley McCormack for some brilliant saves between the posts.King now has seven goals in as many games for Swifts, who currently sit seventh in the Division One standings.The defeat ended Downham Town’s eight-match unbeaten sequence.Formed in 1972, Swifts are the only club to win four successive Division One titles in the Central South Norfolk League between 2012 and 2016. The club joined the Anglian Combination a year later, winning four promotions in the space of six seasons.But last night’s brilliant win eclipses everything the club has achieved in its short history with 55 places separating the two clubs in terms of league positions.Their reward is a trip to Norwich United in the Third Round.