Home wins for Fakenham Town and Downham Town as title race hots up

Fakenham Town and Downham Town both recorded home wins in the Thurlow Nunn Premier Division yesterday while a young Heacham side were beaten on the road.A goal in either half from Jake Watts and Luke Middleton saw Fakenham Town join Thetford Town at the summit following a 2-0 victory over Harleston Town.Jake Watts opened the scoring after 10 minutes with his 32nd goal of the campaign Watts after nicking the ball off a visiting centre half and slotting it past the goalkeeper.The Ghosts had to wait until two minutes after the restart to add their second as Watts cut the ball back for Middleton to find the back of the net.The win leaves Fakenham level with Thetford at the top with 51 points from their 26 games, although the Brecklanders have a better goal difference than Alex Walpole’s side.Fakenham are next back in action on Tuesday night when they travel to Ely City in the League Challenge Cup before a trip to Kirkley and Pakefield next Saturday.Downham Town remain right in the hunt for promotion after beating Yarmouth Town 2-0 at the Memorial Field. Debutant Charlie Royle scored one and made another for Dylan Edge as Downham registered their third successive win as both goals arrived in the first half. Dale Stokes’ side stay fifth in the league standings, three points behind both Thetford Town and Fakenham Town with a game in hand on both.Downham face a huge game next weekend when they travel to fourth-placed Brantham Athletic, who are right in the title mix with games in hand with all the sides around them in the table.Heacham had six under-18 players in their squad as they slipped to a 2-1 defeat away at Cornard United. Paul Hunt’s side led at the interval thanks to a goal from Andy Willmott before Cornard struck twice in the second half to take the three points.The Magpies are 15th in the table with 26 points from their 27 games and are without a fixture next weekend. In the First Division North, rock-bottom Swaffham Town suffered a 4-0 home reverse to AFC Sudbury Reserves.The Pedlars, who remain well adrift towards the bottom of the table with just 11 games to play, could have their relegation to the Anglian Combination confirmed by the end of this month unless they start picking up some much-needed wins.