A chilly Saturday night in King’s Lynn set the stage for the main event under the floodlights, and Loughts delivered a performance full of grit, control, and promise.

The drama started before pushback, with the Captain navigating a slightly roundabout travel itinerary, booking his train to Norwich rather than King’s Lynn.

Once the whistle blew, the team had to contend with a loud, rowdy home crowd. It was a baptism of fire in hostile territory, and valuable experience for youngster Brandon to take in ahead of heading off to university.

On the pitch, it was a tight, fiercely contested battle between two high-quality sides. Loughts dictated the tempo for large stretches, holding possession smartly and managing the game with real maturity right through to the third quarter. That patience finally paid off via a chaotic short corner routine that left almost everyone on the pitch baffled. Everyone except Tom Watson, who read the confusion quickest and buried the finish to give the visitors a deserved lead.

With the clock winding down, Loughts looked poised to take the points home, only for Pelican’s to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat with two late goals inside the final six minutes.

Despite the gut-punch ending, there were plenty of positives to take away:
- Freddie was in inspired form between the posts, pulling off a string of outrageous saves to keep Loughts in the contest.
- ⁠Ollie Hinton marked his return from injury with a commanding, composed shift in the middle of the park.
- ⁠Sam Riley enjoyed a standout debut, gliding past defenders with effortless pace and leaving seasoned opponents looking like they were running through wet cement.

It goes down as a narrow loss in the books, but it was a high-calibre performance. Loughts will take plenty of confidence into next week as they return to home turf looking to turn that momentum into three points.