Downham Town have the Edge as club wins promotion

Striker Dylan Edge was at the double as Downham Town were promoted to their highest-ever standing in non-league football on a historic afternoon for the club.Town will be playing at Step 4 of the non-league pyramid next season after a tight victory against Walsham le Willows in their Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division North play-off final on Sunday.Edge fired home the winning goal from the penalty spot in the second half after cancelling out Matthew Glover’s early opener in the opening quarter-of-an-hour at the Memorial Field.It was the club’s second promotion in three seasons.The hosts were forced into a late change before kick-off with Dylan Kirk failing a late fitness test and Lagshan Sivakumar taking his place in the home line-up.Walsham le Willows – semi-finals at Fakenham last weekend – made a bright start with Glover testing the reflexes of Duncan McAnally from long range in the opening few minutes.It was the visitors who opened the scoring after 11 minutes when Glover beat former Walsham goalkeeper McAnally with a rasping shot from 20 yards. Their lead lasted all of four minutes as Sivakumar crossed from the left and Edge levelled with a crisp finish on the edge of the box. Downham bossed the remainder of the half but were unable to take any of the chances that came their way.Defender Jake Miller skied a shot over from a corner, Edge saw another shot blocked while Eoin McQuaid scooped another golden opportunity over the woodwork.The home side were dealt a blow 10 minutes after the restart as the influential McQuaid – still feeling the effects of being struck in the face by the ball in the first half – was replaced by George Watts-Sturrock. Walsham le Willows missed a great chance to get their noses back in front just after the hour mark as George Bugg was denied by an alert McAnally, who saved well with his body.Downham didn’t offer so much of a threat after the interval, but with 17 minutes remaining, they were handed a lifeline from the penalty spot after Arthur Visocanskis had his legs clipped by Reece Lanchester in the penalty box and Edge tucked home the spot-kick. Walsham le Willows huffed and puffed in the final few minutes, but Downham Town deservedly held on as they comfortably saw out nine minutes of added-on time.Downham Town: McAnally, Miller, Reed (Gould 84), N. Castellan, Bird, M. Castellan, Sivakumar (Visocanskis 63), White, Edge (Murkin 84), McQuaid (Watts-Sturrock 55), Royle.Walsham le Willows: Dunne: Cooper, McKenzie-Vince, Collins (Hubbard 63), Lanchester, Moss, Chaplin, Glover, Garcia, Bugg, Twinn (Huckvale 76).