Fakenham claim bragging rights against West Norfolk

Fakenham produced their best performance of the season as they toppled high-flying West Norfolk 34-22 at the Stringer Ground.West Norfolk topped the Counties 2 Eastern Counties standings, having only lost one game all season, heading into the derby after winning the reverse fixture 48-5 at the end of September.It promised to be a tough game and Fakenham knew they needed to put in a performance after last week’s struggles.The home side started well, with open-side flanker Joe Airey getting a rare score to kick things off after only seven minutes.Fly-half Lloyd Marshall was then successful with his conversion.Five minutes later number eight Murray Tindal doubled the try tally, with Marshall once more adding the extras.Fakenham kept pushing; a Marshall penalty and another converted Tindal try extended their lead to 24-0. However, West Norfolk hit back immediately. Two tries, with one conversion, in the final 10 minutes before the break meant they cut the deficit in half, so Fakenham led 24-12 at half-time.The league leaders kept up that momentum at the start of the second period, kicking a penalty within a few minutes of the restart. They then got their third try of the game just five minutes later, with the successful conversion bringing them within two points at 24-22.Fakenham arrested the flow of points with a penalty of their own 15 minutes later courtesy of Marshall. Shortly thereafter the home side secured the try bonus point and some breathing space through second-row Pat Casey.Marshall slotted the conversion and Fakenham were more than one score ahead. There were no more scores in the final 10 minutes as the two teams cancelled each other out. As such, the final whistle came with the score 34-22.This was a brilliant result for Fakenham, putting in a much-improved performance on last week and again showed what they are capable of when they’re on song. They showed great resilience in the face of a West Norfolk comeback to pull back ahead and see the game out.The Barsham Brewery Man of the Match went to flanker Joe Airey, who performed his usual demolition in defence and lineouts but added a try to top it off this time.On Saturday, Fakenham host March Bears at the Stringer Ground while West Norfolk entertain Mistley at Gatehouse Lane.