Bircham’s men through to the FA Vase Fourth Round with late comeback

Leighton Town beat Fakenham on Saturday to progress to the Fourth Round of the FA Vase. Under pressure following a somewhat surprising lead from the visitors, Town had to produce a big second half performance to secure victory in front of a jubilant 410 at Bell Close.
From the first whistle, Leighton intended to strike first. Just four minutes in, an Oran Jackson long drive flew over. 11 minutes saw a Reece Robins corner sail past the back post before the momentum shifted all of a sudden.
Five minutes later, the visitors went up the other end and made the most of lackadaisical defending to earn a penalty. Ashley Jarvis tucked it away emphatically, finding the bottom left corner with ease. After this, the Reds kept pushing for a goal and the travelling goalkeeper Tom Coombe should get a worthy mention. A number of saves in the first half were epitomised by his efforts just before the break. First, he somehow put Leon Lobjoit’s effort on to the bar before athletically flapping away the loose bouncing ball.
In the second period, it wasn’t lost on the hosts what they had to do. That said, Fakenham were also ready to put everything on the line for the win. 58 minutes saw them try to really batten down the hatches as first Coombe made a good block from a tricky Luke Pyman drive. From the resulting save, Reece Robins couldn’t keep it down.
Another Pyman surge was what got Town back in the game. On 68 minutes, he ran it to the byline on the right, luring out the keeper. Off balance, somehow he managed to prod it back across and Archie McClelland turned it home for his seventh goal in his last eight games.
In the final five, what had plagued Leighton in the first half, would be the saviour in the second – a penalty. Lewis Toomey went down after a tired Fakenham challenge. He then brushed himself down to smash home the winner, sending the clubhouse into raptures and Leighton into the hat for the Fourth Round. After exciting cup drama, Town can catch their breath with a two week break before Arlesey come to Bell Close.

LTFC XI: Comas; Towell, Cooper, Connolly (C), Jackson, Pyman, Robins, Spaul, Lobjoit, McClellland, Summerfield.
Subs: Toomey, Marsh, Beck, Farrelly, Harvey, Marsh-Brown, Dumbuya.

Report by Max Bradfield