Pub on the Shrubs Great Yarmouth & District League

With two weeks of the season left, the Division Two championship has been smashed wide open as leaders Haven Bridge United went down to a first league defeat at home to MK United Reserves 4-1.

The home side could have been faulted for having one eye on tonight’s Norfolk Primary Cup final at Dereham but this defeat has left the title wide open as Caister Roma are now just three points behind with a game in hand after they defeated neighbours Caister United A 8-1 at Allendale.

And to add to the drama after Wednesday’s postponement between the sides the date has been set for next Saturday when the two will clash at Allendale for the championship. The teams could be all square at time of going to Press as Caister Roma were set to play South Yarmouth.

Last week saw the semi-finals of the Percy Nockolds Trophy at the Magdalen.

The final went according to division status as two First Division clubs progressed at the expense of Second Division opponents.

Bohemians took a quick three-goal lead in their semi-final and held this until, with five minutes to go, South Yarmouth scored a consolation.

Bohemians were paired with Albion in the final after they faced a tough-looking MK United Reserves. However Ryan Johnson and Jason Rowe caused problems all evening for their opponents and they eased through 3-0.

Saturday also saw one game in the group stage of the Invitational Cup as South Yarmouth came back from 3-1 down to win 4-3 at Filby and Runham.

As a result South Yarmouth will face Prostar Windows tomorrow while MK United will face Filby and Runham in their semi-final.

Clubs are reminded ref’s fees are split 50/50. The final will be next Saturday also on the Magdalen.

The league was forced to postpone the league cup final on Friday night at the referee’s request due to a waterlogged pitch. A new date and venue will hopefully have been set by now and the committee is working flat out to ensure this goes ahead.

Tonight the league is honoured and proud to travel to Dereham as one of our member clubs Haven Bridge United aim to lift the prestigious Norfolk Primary Cup against West Winch from the Norfolk West Norfolk League Division One.

Hopefully the club and league will have plenty of support to help the club lift the county cup. Tonight’s final at Aldiss Park is 7.30pm kick- off.

Great Yarmouth and District Football League is accepting further applications for next season. If you are a new club, current club or a youth club coming out of youth football or just a group of mates who would like competitive Saturday afternoon league football can contact the league secretary Ryan Starkey on 01493 602345 or 07788 592529 or simply email ryan.starkey@sky.com for an application form or simply more information. Clubs can be from either Norfolk or Suffolk and clubs can be affiliated to either county football association.

The league offers league football plus a minimum two league cup competitions whilst your county football association will also run a county cup competition.

Ryan Starkey.