A bright autumnal day with high cloud and a brisk chill breeze greeted the players and supporters at Shoemakers Lane in Swaffham yesterday afternoon. The pitch had a pronounced slope from end to end and had undulating slopes in all directions but the surface was well covered by grass and played well. Debenham were without the services of lee Bloom through work commitments, and Colin Gedney and  George Johnson were unable to travel so manager Dale Vince played physiotherapist Michael Beaton at left back and Nathan Vincent at right full back with Captain Ed Cussons and Tom Hardwick in the central defensive roles. Ben Bowler and Nathan Smith retained their places in the team leaving Marc Wake on the bench with Jack Seccombe and Dale Vince. Kevin Barker played in midfield despite an uncomfortable knee .
Debenham kicked off playing down the slope and with the wind swirling in all directions it was neither help not hindrance to either team. It didn’t take the Hornets long to press the home defence when James Heathcote collected the ball direct from Sam’s goal kick in the second minute and he ran past his defender as if he wasn’t there and had a shot at goal that Dean Mayes in the Pedlars’ goal blocked.
Swaffham did look dangerous when they attacked and it took a couple of well timed tackles from stand in full back Michael Beaton to prevent them from making progress into the penalty area but Debenham were looking very strong each time that they attacked and good work from Tom Hardwick found James Heathcote on the left side and his pass inside was cleared away under pressure. In the eighth minute James Heathcote ran at the home defence again and his shot lifted just over the bar but the signs were good that he might just get a hat full of goals today but not before Swaffham had done their best to upset those plans as on 10 minutes the ball was played through the midfield area where Debenham players seemed to disappear leaving ALEX VINCENT to take the ball on and plant a neat shot past Sam Chilvers in the Hornets goal to give the home team the lead. This prompted the home team to apply a bit of pressure as they pressed forward but after a rough tackle from Nathan Vincent broke up a move the ball was played up to James Heathcote again and he set off at his electric pace and was brought down just outside the left edge of the home penalty area. Lee Woolmore was cautioned for the tackle and Nathan Vincent also went into the book for his earlier challenge. So on 12 minutes of the match the players lined up for the free kick which LIAM BEVIS sent over the defensive wall and inside the left post leaving Dean Mayes groping at thin air as the ball hit the back of the net to make the scores level at one goal apiece.
Swaffham had an opportunity to increase their score on 16 minutes when Joe Jackson got the ball past Sam Chilvers into the six yard area but a flying header from Nathan Vincent cleared the danger.
Debenham now exerted their control on the game as the ball was played forward and a host of opportunities to score were passed over as James Heathcote in particular found himself in good scoring positions on numerous occasions but Dean Mayes was equal to everything he was presented with and kept the ball out and a number of shots at goal were wide of the mark. Ed Cussons’ shot was kept out by a full length dive by the keeper and a number of corner kicks failed to increase the score and in the 29th minute Swaffham had an excellent chance in front of goal but Joe Jackson tried for a spectacular bicycle kick that went embarrassingly wrong when a trap and shot might have produced dividends. Debenham continued to apply pressure with Liam Bevis in control of the midfield play and Nathan Vincent making surging runs to the right hand side but no more goals were scored despite numerous shooting opportunities and lots of crosses and free kicks that just begged for someone to knock them into the goal. We all hoped that dominating the game for long periods would not have the same outcome as last week!

Half Time                   Swaffham Town FC    1                 Deben ham LC FC    1
                                 Vincent   10                                   Bevis   12

Ed Cussons and Michael Beaton made important early interceptions as The Pedlars started the second half hoping to catch their visitors cold and after 49 minutes their efforts nearly brought reward as Alex Vincent sent in a shot across the goal that struck the far post and bounced away.
A minute later however Debenham should have scored when nice play from Nathan Smith released James Heathcote who ran into the penalty area and played a ball across the six yard box leaving Liam Bevis with a clear sight of goal but his shot was not strong and the keeper made an excellent save beating the ball away. This marked the start of another period of pressure by Debenham with James Heathcote prominent on the left side as he tore into the defensive line and seemed able to dribble his way through at will.
We all breathed a bit easier after 61 minutes when Ed Cussons interchanged passes with James Heathcote before sending the ball across the six yard box and there was LIAM SMITH pouncing to knock the ball into the net past the despairing dive of  Dean Mayes in the Swaffham goal. Swaffham responded with an attack that was thwarted by good defensive work by Michael Beaton and Kevin Barker and a good save from Sam Chilvers who dived to smother the ball and from his fly-kick clearance the ball went straight up to JAMES HEATHCOTE who ran clear into the penalty area and after his first shot was blocked he managed to send his second into the corner of the net. So after 69 minute Debenham had a 3- 1 lead and looked comfortable as Swaffham seemed to run out of steam and attacking ideas as Jack Seccombe and Marc Wake replaced the tiring Michael Beaton and Liam Smith. Swaffham did get into the Hornets’ penalty area but in truth Sam Chilvers dealt comfortably with everything that came his way and the Debenham forwards still pressed for more goals at the other end. The 80th minute saw a bizarre incident when James Heathcote ran past  a defender and lost his footing as he fell to the ground but got to his feet and went to carry on playing before the referee decided that his dive was a deliberate attempt to earn a penalty kick and cautioned James despite his protestations that he had not appealed! Manager Dale Vince joined the fray and shortly after on 82 minutes Marc Wake’s chipped effort just cleared the bar but as time was running out a free kick for Debenham was headed on by Nathan Vincent to James Heathcote who was upended by a clumsy challenge and referee George Laflin pointed to the spot. MARC WAKE stepped up to plant the ball firmly wide of Dean Mayes who went to the wrong side of the goal to make the score 4 - 1 to the visitors.
Dale Vince had us all excited as he used his experience to engineer himself a sight of goal but he lifted shot over the bar to bring an eventful and rewarding game to a conclusion.
The Hornets’ management and players will be glad to get back to winning ways again and earn three more valuable points after a patched up team with only two recognised defenders outplayed Swaffham for long periods and really should have scored a hat full of goals.

Full Time                     Swaffham Town FC    1                 Deben ham LC FC    4
                                  Vincent   10                                   Bevis   12
                                                                                       L.Smith   61
                                                                                       Heathcote   69
                                                                                       Wake   90 (pen)

Referee                       Mr G Laflin   Assistant Referees     Mr M Foster    Mr M Marks
   
Attendance                 52