Downham through to play-off final while Ghosts bow out

Downham Town secured their place in the Thurlow Nunn Premier Division play-off final today while Fakenham bowed out at the semi-final stage.Dale Stokes’ side, who finished the season third in the table, were 3-0 winners against fourth-place Ely City at the Memorial Field, while league runners-up Fakenham Town suffered a narrow 1-0 loss to fifth-place Walsham le Willows at the Daly Group Stadium.The reward for Downham is a home final against Walsham le Willows on Sunday, May 4.It was a dominant display from Downham, who deserved to progress against the Robins.Despite carving out several opportunities in the first 45 minutes, Downham only had one goal to show for their efforts.The hosts had been forced into an early change in the opening minutes after Dylan Kirk limped off in the opening few minutes to be replaced by Lagshan Sivakumar.Sivakumar’s first involvement was to see a fine effort saved before Dylan Edge followed up to score from a few yards out. Charlie Royle made it 2-0 in the opening quarter of the second half before Sivakumar wrapped up the scoring with a brilliant finish. At the Daly Group Stadium in the other semi-final, a tight affair saw Walsham le Willows go through.The only goal of the tie came in the second half through Reon Huckvale.It was heartbreaking for the Ghosts, who lost out on the title to Brantham Athletic on goal difference earlier in the week.Downham Town: McAnally, Miller, Gould, M. Castellan, Bird, N. Castellan, Royle, White, Edge, McQuaid, Kirk. Subs: Smith, Watts-Sturrock, Visocanskis, Sivakumar, Murkin.