Earsham moved to top spot in Division Four after a hard-fought 3-0 victory against promotion rivals Hingham.

With a number of players unavailable, manager Dave Reeder was again forced into a reshuffle. Captain Tom Ramsay shifted to right back, with Justin Doughty partnering Kev Riches in the centre of defence with Matt Goodfellow returning to left back, all in front of goalkeeper Adam Honeywood.

The game started with both teams struggling to settle on the bumpy surface along with the strong cross wind and it led to the opening period of the game being non eventful as both teams cancelled out each other.

It wasn’t until the 30th minute that Earsham took the lead. Hepburn took a deep free kick into the penalty area and as a group of players and the keeper jumped for the ball, a Hingham player inadvertently headed into his own net. Earsham were unlucky not to double their lead before half time when Seamon’s volley was blocked on the line.

Earsham did double the lead halfway through the second half in fortunate circumstances. Hepburn swung in a high cross from the left which got caught in the wind and completely wrong-footed the visiting goalkeeper and found its way into the goal.

Honeywood had to be alert to keep his clean sheet intact, when a Hingham forward found space in the penalty area, and as he looked to have lobbed the keeper, he was able to tip the ball over the bar.

Hingham were then reduced to 10 men as their frustration grew, when after a tackle with Perrin, their player was deemed to have over-reacted and was shown a straight red card.

With a numerical advantage, Earsham were able to exploit the extra space and ensure that they dictated the remaining period of the match.

Things went from bad to worse for the visitors when they were reduced to nine men with 10 minutes remaining when their player picked up a second booking and from the resulting free kick, Girling headed into the top corner from Ramsay’s delivery to make it 3-0.

Earsham were able to see out the rest of the match and seal another impressive victory that ensures they maintain their push for promotion.

This weekend Earsham host third-placed Costessey Sports in another important fixture, with a 2.30pm kick off.