Late twist settles tight contest

A late score saw Fakenham beaten 29-26 at home to Mistley in Counties 2 Eastern Counties on Saturday.The sides cancelled each other out at the beginning of the game, with defences fronting up.Eventually, midway through the first period, Fakenham took the lead.A smart snipe from scrum-half Harry Richardson on the Mistley 22 saw him break round the side of the ruck and challenge the try line, before offloading to openside flanker Henry Hepworth-Smith, who had a simple run-in under the posts.Fly-half and captain Lloyd Marshall slotted the straightforward conversion.Defences continued to dominate in the first half and it was 15 minutes before another score, as Marshall nailed a penalty to extend the home side’s lead.The final score of the half went to the away side, as Mistley slotted a penalty of their own. Marshall hit another penalty to restore Fakenham’s 10-point lead at the start of the second half. But, a few minutes later, Mistley scored their first try, with the conversion taking them within three points at 13-10.Back came Fakenham, however, as the hosts scored their try.Good work from full-back Trent Soltz saw him return a clearing kick with gusto, taking him into the 22. The ball was recycled quickly to the left wing, where second row James Howell was waiting to dive in for a simple try after quick hands from Rob Ward.Marshall hit an impressive conversion from the left touchline to restore the 10-point advantage and, a short while later, added a penalty to make it 23-10. However, Mistley fired straight back with two converted tries from powerful forward runners to go a point in front.Marshall edged Fakenham back into the lead with an impressive penalty kick, with just over five minutes to go. Fakenham played sensibly to get into Mistley territory but a couple of penalties gave the away side an easy out and the chance to gain territory of their own. They made it count with another try from a big forward carry, although this time the conversion was unsuccessful.Mistley recovered the restart and confidently ran the clock down before kicking the ball dead, completing the double over Fakenham following a 43-32 success in November.Try-scorers Hepworth-Smith and Howell shared the Barsham Brewery man-of-the-match award.Fakenham, in sixth, travel to second-placed Ipswich YM this Saturday. West Norfolk ran out 43-5 winners at home to Mersea Island in the same division on Saturday.The leaders make the trip to Wymondham 2nds this weekend, having won 15 of their 18 league games to date.West Norfolk sit seven points above second-placed Ipswich YM, who have three games left to play while West Norfolk have two matches left.