Top v bottom looked a certain home banker - but how wrong can anyone be!

Top-of-the-table Watton also obviously thought the match was a foregone conclusion but were hit by a determined Yarmouth team that at last found the goals and defensive steel to gain a deserved result.

Lee Burtenshaw opened the scoring in only the 11th minute with a 25 yard blockbuster.

On 40 minutes, Will Lewis came up from defence to chest down a free kick and blast an unstoppable shot past the home keeper.

Then three minutes into the second half, Yarmouth scored an unbelievable third goal when Kevin Winkworth headed home from close range after the shell-shocked home keeper could only parry Mario David's initial shot.

Watton pulled one back in the 76th minute when Michael Larking dropped the ball and it was scrambled in.

"Everything went right for us at last," declared assistant manager John Mann. "We had to do without John Hardcastle and Lee Childs but Lee Burtenshaw returned and gave us a bit more balance. Everyone was tremendous; the spirit was first class and everyone played for each other!"

League, Sat. 20th March

The Reserves suffered another defeat in their bid to avoid relegation when they lost 1-3 at Mattishall in farcical conditions. On a bog like pitch and with a hurricane force wind blowing, the match turned out to be a lottery, with the ball spending more time off the pitch than it did on it.

The home side adapted better to the conditions in the early stages and took the lead from a corner in only the fourth minute. Three minutes later the Bloaters should have been on level terms, but Mario Davids somehow fired wide from only five yards out when he found himself with an open goal. The dangerous Bob Sapey increased the home team's lead when he capitalised on a defensive mistake by Will Lewis; then in the 24th minute Mattishall went 3-0 up when the ball was fired home from the edge of the area despite frantic appeals for offside by the Yarmouth players.

Mario Davids made amends for his earlier miss when he was fouled just as he was about to score. From the resulting penalty kick Davids gave the home goalkeeper no chance, but the Mattishall defender who was penalised was surprisingly not shown the red card. In the 38th minute Davids was crudely brought down in the penalty area by a mis-timed challenge, but the referee amazed both teams by not awarding a penalty despite being in a good position.

The second half continued to be much like the first as both teams found it difficult to keep control of the ball. Although Yarmouth played much better by adopting a shorter passing game they rarely troubled Steve Goulding in the Mattishall goal. In the end Mattishall held out to complete a league double over the Bloaters, but the real winner was the strong wind. Both teams deserve credit for the excellent sporting manner in which the game took place, but with numerous other matches being either cancelled or abandoned because of the conditions, it must be asked why did this match took place in such atrocious conditions. [JM]

Team: M. Larkin, D. Shanks, J. Harrison, W. Lewis, N. McKay, A. Mason, L. Burtonshaw, K. Winkworth, L. Childs, K. Gowing, M. Davids. Subs: J. Mann (unused), D. Rayner (used), D. Cooke (used)

Yarmouth Reserves gained a hard earned point from this match. In a fairly evenly contested encounter both of the goals came in the opening ten minutes as the match started off at a cracking pace. It was the visitors who took the lead with only 5 minutes gone on the clock when the ball was bundled home from close range after the Yarmouth defence had failed to clear a corner kick.

The Bloaters came back strongly and soon equalised thanks to a Kevin Winkworth goal. When Adam Mason set Dale Rayner free with an excellent pass he found himself with only the visiting goalkeeper to beat, but although he was denied by a fine block the ball fell kindly for Winkworth who rolled the ball into an unguarded net to level the scores.

For the remainder of the half the visitors just shaded the possession, but the Yarmouth defence well lead by Jodie Harrison gave little away.

In the second half Yarmouth were by far the better team but they found the Wymondham goalkeeper in inspired form as he pulled off a string of fine saves to keep the scores all square. In the end both teams had to settle for a point apiece, but it was the home team who where the most disappointed as they felt it was two points dropped rather than one gained after creating the majority of the goalscoring opportunities.

Despite picking up a valuable point the Bloaters dropped into the bottom two at the foot of the table, but if the same commitment and attitude can be shown in their remaining fixtures they will stand a good chance of avoiding relegation. [JM]

Team - Larkin, Palmer, Shanks, Harrison, Lewis, Childs, Dale Rayner, Gowing, Winkworth, George, Mason. Subs: Cole, Dawes, York n/u.

RESERVES 1-3 STALHAM TN

League, Sat. 6th March

The Reserves hopes of avoiding relegation suffered a major setback last Saturday when they lost 1-3 at home to Stalham Town. After an evenly contested opening period Yarmouth took the lead in the 18th minute when Daniel Cooke scored with a close range header after Adam Mason's expertly taken free kick had been touched on by Gareth Palmer. Despite going behind Stalham fought back strongly, and two goals in a ten-minute spell saw them come in at the interval with a 1-2 advantage. The second half continued very much like the first with the play very even with few chances being created at either end. Midway through the second half the visitors secured their victory with their third and final goal, when the ball was headed home from close range after the Bloaters defence had failed to clear a corner kick.

Once again the Bloaters downfall was their inability to defend set pieces as the visitors scored from both a corner and a free kick. Throughout the season the young Yarmouth team have conceded numerous goals from dead ball situations when they find themselves up against much taller and stronger opponents. The only bonus to come from a disappointing performance was that Michael Larkin returned in goal after his recent return to the club following his transfer from Dereham Town, while Kevin Winkworth had a good game in his first outing since 4th November. In the first half Winkworth caused the Stalham defence several problems with his probing runs and dangerous crosses down the left side, although in the second half he faded, but this was only expected after being out of action for such a long period. [JM]

League, Sat. 21st Feb.

Not for the first time this season Yarmouth Reserves suffered a narrow defeat after missing several second half goal scoring opportunities. In a match that was spoilt by an end to end gale force wind, both teams found it difficult to play neat football, therefore they had to revert to the long ball tactic.

In the first half Windows had the wind advantage and they nearly scored an early goal when a firm header from Bush was pushed onto the woodwork by Yarmouth goalkeeper John Mann before being cleared. After wasting a couple of goal scoring chances the visitors eventually took the lead in the 27th minute with a powerful freekick, and then increased their advantage ten minutes later with a well worked goal that saw the ball fired home from close range at the far post.

In the second half the Bloaters got on top as the gale force wind continued to dominate the proceedings. Paul Thompson came close to pulling a goal back for Yarmouth, but his header was acrobatically turned onto the woodwork by the fingertips of Ian Walker. The Reserves finally scored in the 63rd minute when a poor clearance from Walker fell at the feet of Nathan McKay who fired the ball straight back over the goalkeeper's head and into an unguarded net from fully 40 yards out.

The Bloaters continued to push players forward in a bid to get a deserved equaliser, but numerous goalscoring chances went begging. When they did breakthrough the Anglian Windows defence, they were foiled by the visiting linesman's flag to the frustration of both the home players and their supporters. In the end the visitors held out to gain a narrow victory which keeps things tight at the bottom of the table. [JM]

Team: J. Mann, D. Shanks, W. Lewis, G. Palmer, J. Dawes, J. Harrison, A. Mason (Captain), N. McKay, P. Thompson, D. Rayner, K. Gowing. Subs: (both used) L. York, I. Anjos

In an evenly contested encounter the Bloaters suffered another league defeat after conceding two goals in the second half. Both teams appeared to cancel each other out, but the deadlock was finally broken in the 67th minutes when a speculative long-range effort deceived home keeper Sean Cooper and ended up in the back of the net. Yarmouth pushed players forward in a bid to equalise, but were denied with a couple of excellent stops from visiting keeper Jonathan Scott. Jodie Harrison saw his shot superbly turned over the bar from a corner kick, while young defender Mark George's well struck freekick from the edge of the box was well saved, as the ball looked destined for the corner of the net. Horsford secured all three points twelve minutes from the full time whistle after the home defence got caught napping and the ball was fired home at the near post of Coopers goal. [JM]

Gt Yarmouth Reserves nose dive down the table continued on Saturday when they suffered a 1-4 defeat at Sprowston Wanderers. The Bloaters kicked off in driving rain and with a strong wind advantage, but for the first 20 minutes they struggled to find their rhythm as the ball seemed to spend more time out of play than it did in. Scott Woodcock went close for the Reserves with a well stuck effort from 20 yards, but although the rising shot beat the keeper, it unfortunately hit the woodwork.

In the 26th minute Yarmouth took the lead, when John Hardcastle scored with a fine shot that comfortably beat Iain Burrell in the Sprowston goal. Woodcock, Hardcastle, and Jimmy Dawes all went close to increasing Yarmouth's lead, but on the stroke of half time the home team levelled the scores with a breakaway goal. At the interval Yarmouth suffered a major blow when John Hardcastle had to be substituted due to a persistent hamstring problem and the Bloaters certainly missed the experienced midfield maestro in the second half.

The hosts took the lead with a comical goal after 57 minutes when Jodie Harrison's attempted clearance hit his own defender, Mark George, before lopping into the net past a stranded Elliot Pride. Once the home team took the lead the heads of some of the Yarmouth players appeared to drop and with the wind at their backs the home team took full advantage to score two more goals, to give themselves a comfortable victory.

In the 58th minute Adam Mason pulled a goal back for the hosts from the penalty spot, after Gareth Palmer was pushed in the back by a Holt defender. Twelve minutes later Yarmouth were awarded their second penalty of the match when Amercio Injaio was hauled down by the visiting keeper. To the amazement of both teams the keeper was controversially only shown the yellow card and then saved Mason's spot kick with an excellent stop.

Yarmouth continued to find themselves encamped in the visitors half, but some last ditch defending kept Holt's lead intact. In the dying minutes the home side pushed everyone forward, but the visitors held out to gain a flattering result.

All of the Yarmouth players deserve praise for producing a fine performance despite losing, but a special mention must be given to goalkeeper Steven Mann, who played at short notice and produced a competent performance between the sticks and defender Will Lewis, who produced probably his best display of the season. [JM]

Team: S. Mann, D. Shanks, J. Cruz, J. Hardcastle, W. Lewis, A. Mason (Captain), S. Hunt, N. McKay, M. Marshall, G. Palmer, A. Injaio, Subs: (All used) J. Dawes, D. Smith, D. Cooke.

The Reserves suffered their heaviest defeat of the season when they crashed 0-6 at top of the table Loddon United. With several experienced players unavailable, the Bloaters fielded a very young line-up which included seven players of the current youth squad. The home side who are riding on a crest of a wave after an impressive run of results ran out comfortable victors as they capitalised on some poor defending.

Yarmouth found themselves trailing 0-2 at the interval, but some clinical finishing by the hosts in the second half saw them score another four goals. Loddon must have thought Christmas had come early as they created numerous goal scoring opportunities especially in the last 20 minutes of the match with the visiting defence all at sea. On this form Loddon will surely be pushing for a promotion place at the end of the season, while the young Bloaters will certainly have a hard winter in front of them if they continue to produce performances as they did last Saturday.

Reserves Player of the Month for October, sponsored by Yarmouth Steel, has been awarded to utility player Gareth Palmer who has produced some encouraging performances and established himself in the starting line-up. Unfortunately, Palmer was taken ill at half time on Saturday and took no part in the second half, while recently signed Richard Smith, who was having a fine game, pulled a hamstring early in the second period and looks if he could be out of action for a few weeks. [JM]Team: P. Finch, R. Smith, W. Lewis, J. Dawes, J. Cole, L. York, N. McKay (Captain), J. Cruz, G. Palmer, S. Woodcock, A. Injaio. Subs: (All used) A. Jarrett, D. Smith, D. Cooke

BLOATERS 1 -0 FAKENHAM TOWN RESERVES

League, Sat. 25th Oct.

RESERVES 0-5 BRANDON TN

League, Sat. 18th Oct.

NORWICH UTD RES. 1-0 BLOATERS

Chell Trophy, Tues. 14th Oct.

WYMONDHAM TN 1-0 RESERVES

League, Sat. 11th Oct.

RESERVES 2-0 SPROWSTON WANDERERS

League, Sat. 4th Oct.

BLOATERS 0-5 MATTISHALL

BLOATERS 1 SPROWSTON ATHLETIC 4

BRANDON TOWN 4-2 BLOATERS