Hethersett Athletic

Hethersett Athletic’s home league match against Prince of Denmark was called off on Sunday due to a waterlogged pitch. This week Hethersett visit Delaneys.

Hethersett Athletic Reserves eased their relegation worries with a fine 4-2 win at home to Drayton with Sean Eastman scoring another hat-trick – his third of the season. Eastman has scored 13 goals in six games since joining the club. The other goal came from Paul Martin who recently became only the second player in the club’s history to complete 300 league and cup matches. It was Martin’s 121^st goal for the club. Despite the victory the team stay second from bottom but they will hope to continue their improved form when they visit Thorpe Rovers in the League this Sunday.

Hethersett Athletic A visited Thorpe Marriott and came away with a creditable 1-1 draw with their goal coming from Tom Rainsford. They stay second from bottom but are now on the same number of points as Dancing Farmers in 10^th place. This week they are home to Hingham (Memorial Field 10.30 a.m)

Hethersett Athletic Ladies 5

Dagenham and Redbridge Ladies 0

Hethersett Ladies completed a hat-trick of wins over Dagenham and Redbridge as they progressed comfortably to the quarter-finals of the Eastern Region Women’s League Cup.

The previous week Hethersett struggled to beat Dagenham 2-1 in the league and it looked as if this match would go a similar way until a powerful second half display saw the home side score four times.

Once again Dagenham provided tough opposition in a first half in which Hethersett struggled to press home their advantage and it took a penalty just before half-time for them to open the scoring. For the second week running Nicola Bray was hauled down in the area and this time Sophie Fuller stepped up to convert the spot kick.

Hethersett put their first half jitters behind them after the break to fashion a comfortable victory with Nicola Stolworthy scoring twice and other goals coming from Emily Coates and top scorer Bray. There were no league matches played over the weekend, so Hethersett stay 10 points clear at the top of the Premier Division.

This week Hethersett Ladies are in cup action again when they visit Ipswich Town in the quarter-finals of the Norfolk and Suffolk Cup. Ipswich are in a higher league than Hethersett and will provide a stiff examination of just how far the Norfolk side have come over the past two seasons.

Hethersett Athletic Youth Section scored some notable victories at the weekend as the goals flowed. The Under-12s led the way with a 9-1 demolition of Firside with Will Foster scoring four to take his tally for the season to an amazing 34 goals from 13 matches. Their other goals came from Rathjen (2), Pfeiffer (2) and Tarrant. The Under-14s beat Taverham 6-2 with goals from Davies 2, Dalmay, Smith, A. Edwards and Ford and the Under-10A team beat Norwich United 4-0 in the League Cup with goals from Denny 2, Baxter and an own goal. There were plenty of goals in the Under-13s game at Hellesdon with an incredible match ending in a 5-5 draw. Joshua Wilcox scored a hat-trick and other goals came from David Cooper and Jacob Williams. It was a fine performance from the team who lost 13-1 to Hellesdon earlier in the season. The Under-16s hammered Sprowston 5-1 with two goals from Dyson and one each from Dalmay, Gray and Ryan O’Sullivan. There were plenty of goals in the Under-15s match at Dereham, but Hethersett were on the wrong side of a 5-3 scoreline. Their goals came from Bird, Wigger and Crowe. The Under-11s went down 5-1 at Dereham (Read), the Under-9s lost 6-0 to Thorpe but then recorded their first victory by beating Hillside 2-1 with goals from White and Jones. The Under-10B team’s game at Wymondham ws postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. This week the Under-16s visit Taverham, the Under-15s are home to Old Catton (Memorial Playing Field 10.30), the Under-14s visit St Andrew’s, the Under-13s are home to Attleborough (Old Hall School 10.30), the Under-11s are home to Firside (Old Hall School 2 p.m), the Under-10A side play Sprowston and Scole at Little Melton School and the Under-10B side have the second leg of their League Cup semi final at Rocklands.

Hethersett Athletic Under-15s travelled to Dereham for their first away fixture of the new year. Hethersett started well and were 1-0 up inside two minutes thanks to an excellent strike from Sam Bird. Hethesett extended their lead on four minutes when Darrell Wigger broke away and slotted home.. Dereham started to apply pressure, giving Harley Hamill in the Hethersett goal plenty of work to do and the visitors found themselves defending deep for long spells. Hethersett were demied a third when a header from a corner was disallowed after a linesman said the ball had failed to cross the line. Dereham continued to apply pressure and got their just rewards after half an hour and then scored twice more to make it 3-2 at half-time Both teams started the second half slowly with few chances being created. Hethersett broke down the wing with a long ball seeing James Youngs deliver a high ball across goal with Jamie Crowe meeting it at the far post to make the score 3-3. Dereham didn't give up and again started to apply pressure. With only 15 minutes left Dereham regained the lead and then scored a fifth five minutes from the end.

Hethersett Athletic Girls Under-12s went down 1-0 in a very close match at Red Rose. It was a tight game that saw plenty of quality football from both teams with chances created and missed. Defences were generally on top, however. Both teams upped their game in the second half and Red Rose scored the only goal of the game. Hethersett went close to equalising but the ball just wouldn’t go in the net. This week the team are home to Spixworth on Saturday (Easton College 10 a.m). Hethersett Athletic Girls Under-15s were without a game at the weekend. This Saturday they take on Norman Wanderers at Easton College (10 a.m).

The Wax Ricey campaign that saw Hethersett resident James Rice shave his head and have his body waxed has already raised over £800 for the East Anglia’s Children’s Hospice (EACH) charity.

“I am very grateful to everybody who has already donated. There is still time to collect more. Every penny will make a difference to the children,” James said this week.

Donations are still coming in and can be made via the Wax Ricey website at www.waxricey.co.uk over the next 30 days.