Downham dump Wroxham out of Norfolk Senior Cup

Downham Town are just 90 minutes away from a Carrow Road final after defying the odds to dump Wroxham out of the Norfolk Senior Cup last night.The Thurlow Nunn Premier Division side came from behind to triumph 2-1 against their Isthmian North hosts in the quarter-final clash at Trafford Park thanks to goals from Matty Blackford and Fletcher Toll.Blackford, returning from a long injury absence, cancelled out Shaun Taylor’s opener in the first half before the prolific Toll bagged the winner two minutes from time.Downham will now meet Watton in the semi-finals at the Football Development Centre next month.Joint boss Dale Stokes said: It was a brilliant performance. We knew the conditions would make it difficult and we chose a game plan that would give us the best chance in each half, and to be fair it worked perfectly. “The discipline first half was superb, they stuck to what was asked and worked so hard to stay in shape and limited Wroxham to probably two proper chances.”Although they’ve gone in 1-0 up we had the best opportunity which was saved. Going in at the break we knew we had a good chance to turn it around. “We switched up the game plan and once again the way they’ve approached it we couldn’t have asked for any more.”They did us proud. I’d say we controlled the majority of the second period and it was a matter of time before we scored. “I’m sure Wroxham will be disappointed with the manner of the goal and from there on it was pretty tense. Thankfully we grabbed the winner, Fletcher doing what he does best and sticking it away when one-on-one.”We then came under some pressure for the remaining minutes with several balls into the box but dealt with it and got the win that we deserved. “Craig (Dickson) and myself are delighted with the performance. It was a mature showing and every player has come out of that with huge credit.”The club is now fighting for silverware on three fronts this season. As well as being in with an outside chance of making the league play-offs, the club is already looking forward to the Thurlow Nunn League Challenge Cup final against Harlow on Monday, May 6.Last night’s win was made even more remarkable by the fact that Downham had to put square pegs into round holes. Stokes said: “When you take into account that we had five full-backs missing, it wasn’t ideal for a game like that. “You’ve then got Matthew Blackford starting his first game for us since his leg break in September.”We had Simon Bird only playing his second game since December and Matthew Prudence filling in at left-back for 90 minutes when he hasn’t played in six weeks.”They are the wins that mean just that little bit more when you know that the players have given everything and done a job out of position to do what’s best for the team.”We’ve now given ourselves another chance to get to a final and it’s nothing less than what those boys deserve after their efforts this season.”Next up for Downham is a trip to Harleston Town in the Thurlow Nunn Premier Division tomorrow before a derby trip to Heacham on Bank Holiday Monday.