Reffley Royals secured the Norfolk Junior Cup on Tuesday night, after a pulsating 2-1 victory over Harleston Town at Carrow Road.

Reffley, who were beaten finalists in last season’s Final, started nervously and fell behind on 15 minutes when Hadlee Wright burst clear of the Royals backline and slotted calmly past Kevin Cross.

Although Reffley threatened periodically in the first half, it wasn’t until after the break that they were able to break Harleston’s hold on the game.

The Royals were rewarded for their endeavour after 53 minutes, when Captain Tom Anderson fired a volley past David Shannon.

Five minutes later they took the lead, when Danny Jezeph pounced on some uncertain Harleston defending to clip the ball home.

Harleston pushed hard for an equaliser and almost forced extra time when Paul Bliss’ header came back off of the crossbar towards the end, but Reffley held on to avenge last year’s defeat at the hands of UEA and make it second time lucky.

Final Score: Harleston Town 1-2 Reffley Royals

Harleston Town: Shannon, Bliss, West, Pearce, London (Capt), Norman, Goodwin-Wright, Trudgill, Wright, Passey, Imrie. Subs: J Rogers, Bicker, Powell, R Rogers, Weatherley.

Reffley Royals: Cross, Maslin, Barr, Frary, Fountain, Wilson, Jezeph, Proctor, Blake, Palmer, Anderson (Capt). Subs: Chils, Parkes, Joyce, Black, Day.

Referee: Jason Chapman
Assistants: David Fairhurst and Andy Clark
4th Official: Peter Venables

Man of the Match: Marc Pearce (Harleston Town)

Attendance: 945

A gallery of images from the game will be available to view at Aaron Murrell Photography shortly.