Hethersett Athletic

Hethersett somehow grabbed a draw from the jaws of defeat on Sunday as they clawed themselves back from 2-0 down to take a valuable point with two goals in the last four minutes of an exciting encounter at Britannia Barracks.

Bearing in mind the comeback, this will be seen as a point gained rather than two dropped with Athletic now needing 10 points from four games to be sure of winning the Norwich Sunday League Premier Division title.

With nearest rivals Marlborough wining 3-0, this draw meant that Athletic drop down to second place in what has turned into a two horse race for the title. Hethersett are level on points with Marlborough but have a vastly inferior goal difference, but a game in hand.

The two clubs clash at Easton College on 22^nd April in what could be a title decider. Before that Hethersett have a difficult game at Poringland this Sunday. Poringland have nothing to play for but have recorded some very good results over the past few weeks.

Hethersett’s other two matches in the run-in are home games against Delaneys and Acle – both on dates still to be set.

It looks as if the title race will go right to the wire with the leadership changing hands on an almost weekly basis.

On Sunday Athletic found themselves two down against a gritty and determined Quebec team with Danny Self also missing a penalty. Quebec scored once in each half to really put the pressure on Athletic.

Once again Hethersett squandered chances and looked like paying for this when they somehow conjured up a spectacular comeback with Mark Appleton pulling a goal back from the penalty spot with four minutes to go and then Dean Fitzgerald equalising with what turned out to be the last kick of the match.

“We knew in our last five games that we could afford two draws. We have now used one of those up and so can’t afford any more slip ups,” said club chairman Peter Steward.

Hethersett Athletic Reserves look odds on to be relegated from Division 2B after going down to Drayton 3-0 in their vital home bottom of the table clash on Sunday. With just one game remaining they are three points behind Saxlingham and Drayton but with a vastly inferior goal difference. They finish their fixtures with a home game against Saxlingham on Sunday knowing that only a cricket score would save them.

Hethersett A wrapped up their season with a 2-2 draw at home to Felmingham with both their goals coming from Paul Martin who has hit 20 for the season. It was a disappointing end to the season for the A side who went seven games without a win and consequently will end up in sixth place after being in contention for promotion for some time.

Hethersett Ladies had a hang over from a very busy season when they travelled to Chelmsford and went down 3-0 in their final league game of the season. The side shuffled their pack with a number of players playing in unaccustomed positions, but it was still a highly disappointing result.

It was only their second league defeat of the campaign. The team have had a splendid season, however, winning the Eastern Region Women’s League Division One East by nine points. This Sunday the team start a round robin tournament with a visit to Barchester United (2 p.m).

Hethersett Athletic Under-9B team beat Watton Rangers 3-1 in the quarter-finals of their league plate competition. Sam Rix hit two and the other came from Lewis Baxter.

This week the club’s Under-16s visit Sprowston, the Under-14s visit Blofield and the Under-11s play Firside at Fairway Middle School.