Thurston 29 Fakenham 32 - London Counties 3EC
Last weekend Fakenham travelled to Thurston knowing that they had to improve on the previous week's performance if they were to get any positive result from their second game on the road in the current run of 4
Things started well for Fakenham when they received the opening kick-off, the resulting phases and an excellent run put Murray Tindall through the centre of the home sides defence to score under the posts with only 1 minute on the clock, Lloyd Marshall converted giving the visitors a 0-7 lead.
This early score stunned both the Thurston crowd and players but Fakenham were wrong to think the rest of the game would go all their way as Thurston lifted their game and drove Fakenham deep into their own 22 to score a try of their own but it was unconverted leaving the score 5-7.
The game flowed back and forth with each team having periods of control, but it was Fakenham who scored next with an unconverted try from Ashley Stewart to stretch the lead for the visitors 5-12.
Thurston raised their game once again and attacking forcefully scored an unconverted try to close the gap and make the visitor's rethink their approach 10-12.
Soon after Fakenham were awarded a penalty and with the wind in a favourable
Crusaders 14 v Fakenham 10 – London 3 Eastern Counties
The last Saturday in September saw Fakenham travel to Crusaders for their London 3 fixture. The game was preceded by the first Crusaders lunch of the season, an excellent affair that was a lot more memorable than the game unfortunately.
Both sides seemed to have the same problem with unsettled sides for various reasons and it soon showed. Crusaders were dominant right from the kick off and looking dangerous in the loose although the first few minutes showed that lack of discipline and basic errors would play an important part in the game for both sides.
8 minutes into the game Crusaders gained from their early pressure on Fakenham and were awarded a relatively easy penalty to give them the lead, however the kick was errant and the score stayed level. A red card for Fakenham's Jack Powell-Thorne for an apparent unsafe tackle should have given even more impetus to Crusaders but after a few more minutes of back and forth it was actually Fakenham who were given a penalty which they duly took, Tom Bane-Young making use of an in off the
Fakenham 26 Thetford 10 - London 3 Eastern Counties
After last week's loss, Fakenham were hoping for a slightly better performance from this mid table Eastern Counties London 3 game. The match was played in driving rain from the start, conditions that generally provide unpredictability throughout.
Fakenham went ahead after only 2 minutes when Lloyd Marshal, who again kicked superbly all game, nudged a penalty into the corner, 5 meters out from the Thetford line. The lineout was taken by Adam Lingwood who popped it off the top to veteran scrum half Paul Richardson. His pass missed out 3 players and hit Tom Bane-Young, at pace, who broke through the defensive line and passed to Murray Tindal to score. The try was converted by Lloyd Marshal.
For the next 30 minutes Fakenham put Thetford under constant pressure but could not trouble the score board. On three occasions Fakenham were held up over the line with Rory Singleton, Rob Ward and Ashley Stewart all coming close. The Thetford defence was something to be applauded, helped by some white line fever from the home team.
Thetford eventually cleared their line with a long kick, resulting in a penalty under the Fakenham posts. Bravely, considering this was the first time they had been in the Fakenham 20m area, they
Fakenham 29 v West Norfolk 41 - London 3 EC29
More photographs are available by visiting Mike Wyatt's site
Having started the season a couple of weeks ago with a win against Ipswich YM, Fakenham, Fakenham through a combination of holiday, injuries and stag nights were unable to put out their full regular 1st team for this match against West Norfolk.
The game started brightly for Fakenham and, after five minutes of fairly solid possession, Lloyd Marshal was awarded a penalty for a late tackle, which he converted. West came back very quickly and pressed on the home teams line resulting in another penalty to level the scores after just 10 minutes. The stalemate was broken soon after as West went ahead after a lovely timed pass that saw the number 8, Williamson, dash 20 meters to score under the posts for a converted try.
Fakenham puled themselves together and forced their way with some good running into the West half and soon the scores were level again when Murray Tindal, after a dropped pass by West, hacked through, and, as he tried to gather the bouncing ball, was tackled resulting in a penalty try beig awarded to Fakenham.