Beccles Caxton got their season up and running on Saturday – a week after the club came close to folding.

A new-look team ended up losing the game 10-0, having done well to hold opponents Sprowston Athletic to 2-0 at the break, but it was a day when the result was of secondary importance.

Last week saw the club contact Chris McCullough of the Almary Green Anglian Combination with the news that they were struggling to field a side. Football at Caxton Meadow looked set to disappear, which would have been a massive loss for a club with history of league games against Norwich City in the early 1900s.

A whirlwind week saw the club take to social media in the search for new players. Support from local clubs and people, with further advertising from City legends Iwan Roberts and Darren Eadie as well as Sky Sports presenter Simon Thomas, saw the interest in the club snowball throughout the week. By the end of it first team manager Steve Hill had good number of players to call upon in Caxton’s fight for survival.

Whatever the result, Saturday was always going to be a momentous day in the club’s history as they look to celebrate 125 years of football next year. The game itself saw numerous new players grace Caxton Meadow for the first time.

Despite this being the first time the players had played together Caxton looked organised and played well against opponents who were playing Division One football only two seasons ago. Caxton went in at half-time 2-0 down with one of the goals being a penalty which was a huge achievement by the lads. With fitness and injuries playing a part Caxton went down 10-0 in the end despite some heroic last ditch tackling and some superb saves.

The result didn’t matter on a day where football history was made a fine club had stayed alive to fight another day. If you are local to Beccles and looking for a club then don’t hesitate to get in touch. Contact club secretary Karl Olley on 07891794429 or via email on becclescaxtonfc@googlemail.com.