Harleston and Scole receive promotion green light
There was cause for celebration at Harleston Town and Scole United late last week with the confirmation that their respective promotions had been confirmed.
Having being crowned Almary Green Anglian Combination Premier Division champions, Harleston learned last Friday that their application to move up into the Thurlow Nunn League First Division North had been accepted.
It means that the club is preparing to embark on a first ever campaign at Step 6, which will include derbies with the likes of Diss Town and Debenham LC.
Manager Adam Gusterson said: “We needed to go up as a club to achieve the long-term objectives we have.
“It was really important for everyone concerned so when the news came through it was a relief.
“We still need some extra help off the pitch, but it is still an exciting time for the club.”
Gusterson also revealed that he expected the majority of last term’s double-winning squad to stay on board.
New faces are also likely to follow, but the boss is not planning to make wholesale changes.
“We need a bigger squad, that is clear,” he added.
“I want to give the lads that got us there a chance and I am more than confident they are good enough.
“But we need more numbers and a couple of players that will give us some good balance.
“We like to play football, but we brought in some players last year to help us mix it up and that is what we are looking for again.”
Scole, meanwhile, will occupy one of the spaces vacated by Harleston after they finished third in Division One.
The 2017/18 campaign provided some much-needed relief for Scole, who were relegated from the Premier Division two years ago and then only stayed up by a point the following season.
A promotion challenge was not on the agenda, but under manager Jon Abbott the side excelled, sealing their place back in the Premier Division in the process.
Chairman Christiaan Partridge said of the unexpected triumph: “We had been having issues with results and discipline before Jon and Lewis (Plowman) came in.
“The aim was just to make ourselves a top-half team but they really exceeded expectations.
“We are up against a lot of clubs in the area but Jon and Lewis managed to bring in some really good players. The main target next year will be to stay up.”
