Tuesday 9th September 2025 ko 19:45

Anglian Combination Premier Division

SHERINGHAM 0

SPROWSTON 2 (Rose 3 Bowen 58)

Att c50

Entry £5

With work placing me in Norfolk, well Wymondham to be exact I knew that once my working day was done, I’d have plenty of footballing options in the area. I was surprised to find that in terms of new ticks, it was only two, and one of those shocked me.

The two were Earsham and Sheringham, both in the Anglian Combination and I did have to check that the Sheringham tie wasn’t a reserve game. I knew they’d finished rock bottom of the Eastern Counties Premier the previous season, but hadn’t realised they’d by-passed Division One North and returned to the Anglian Combination. Once I’d worked that out it was an easy decision where to go, when you’re already in the area go to the furthest place from home.

I had enough time to explore the seaside-town of Sheringham a little, on another day I’ll go on the North Norfolk Steam Railway that runs from close to the ground to Holt. Perhaps inevitably I picked a sit-down chippy for pre-match eats, fish and chips always tastes better close to the sea. And given my experiences on the recent West Lancs Hop it was obvious how much better this part of East Anglia has coped with British people’s changing holiday habits than Blackpool had.

I made my way over to Weybourne Road- the Shannocks’ (a term for a resident of Sheringham) ground is tucked away adjacent to the cricket ground (borrowing their clubhouse and changing rooms) and behind the local leisure centre. The ground is well appointed, as perhaps you’d expect from a club with recent Eastern Counties League history but almost straightaway I felt a sense of unease.

Not in a nasty way, it was just that very few people were doing a lot of jobs, or too many balls were being juggled by too few people. I went to the referee for the line-ups; I didn’t want to add to anyone’s workload. That sense of a struggling club was heightened when the teams came out, Sheringham looked young. For the most part they looked like a development side and thinking about it, maybe that’s what they were, did the Eastern Counties League team fold with the development side becoming the first eleven?

Who knows, what I saw was a more experienced Sprowston side do enough to take the win against a side that cried out for a couple of old hands to help the young guns. And yet on October 15th when Sheringham anncounced they were folding their Anglian Combination side, I was shocked, but not massively surprised. The club cited lack of funds so hopefully this time out will allow those who care about football in Sheringham to revive the Shannocks’ fortunes.