Harleston Town looking to take control of the title race

Harleston Town have the chance to take control of the Anglian Combination Premier Division title race over the Christmas period.

Nicky Howell and Jon Abbott’s side have been in impressive form both prior to and after the lifting of the second national Covid lockdown.

Saturday’s 4-1 home win over Beccles Town took their goal tally to 22 in just four outings, while also moving them up to second in the process.

Ahead of tomorrow’s home clash with Norwich CEYMS (1.30pm), the gap to table-topping UEA stands at three points, with Harleston able to boast two games in hand.

One of those trump cards is set to be played on Boxing Day, at home against Mundford (12pm), followed by a trip to Dussindale & Hellesdon Rovers on Saturday, January 2 (1.30pm).

Joint-boss Howell said: “We’ve been really pleased, especially with the results after lockdown. Having four or five weeks off doesn’t help anyone but the lads have kept themselves fit.

“They were raring to go and we’ve managed to put up two really good wins.

“Because we’ve had one or two calls-off with Covid and the weather we are catching up and the Christmas period looks tricky.

“At the same time, if we come out of it with a good amount of points we’ll be in a really good position.”

Despite racking up big victories in recent weeks, Howell has still been slightly concerned by his side’s slow start to matches.

They have a habit of conceding the first goal, and he is keen for that to be rectified during the upcoming games.

“We’ve conceded some soft early goals and that is something we need to stamp out,” he added.

“I don’t really know what it is, whether it’s a case of we wait to see what they’ve got before we stamp ourselves on the game.

“Whatever it is we’ve got to start better because it will catch you out in the end, especially in the tough games we have coming up.”