Harleston Town stretch their lead at the top of the Thurlow Nunn League First Division North with a one-goal derby win at Diss Town

Talk of winning the title and back-to-back promotions may be a tad premature, but if Harleston Town are to be celebrating come the season’s conclusion, outings like the one on Saturday will be looked back upon as having been crucial.

So far in their first ever campaign at Step 6, Adam Gusterson’s men have swept aside pretty much all that has been put before them.

They have not lost since the opening day, and on eight occasions in the league have scored three or more goals in a game.

However, in their first ever league meeting with neighbouring Diss Town, they had to show a different side to their game to secure what turned out to be a battling 1-0 victory.

The hosting Tangerines – badly out of form heading into the contest with just one win from eight in all competitions – asked questions of their high-flying opposition.

There was the odd moment of uncertainty, particularly during the first half when Diss struck the crossbar, but Harleston dug deep and produced the game’s only real standout moment to rack up a 10th straight win and open up an eight-point lead at the summit.

Winning when you are not at your best is often a quality attributed to champions, and while the season may still be very much in its infancy, Gusterson believes his men laid down a marker at Brewers Green Lane.

“It is a massive win and a nice feeling for us to come here and win in that way,” he said.

“We know we have not played well and we never really got going, but it was good to see us roll up our sleeves and deal with the pressure they threw at us.

“We have been scoring lots of goals and pulling teams apart, so we know we can do that.

“But when it is not happening for us offensively, to be able to defend like that and protect what we have is really pleasing and it shows a different side to our game for sure.

“We have come a long way in a short space of time.

“We are proud as a club to have come here as favourites to win the game, which is a testament to where we are at. We have not played well, but have still won the game and that shows our quality.

“We did not come into the league expecting to be where we are after this many games. You have to deal with that and realign your targets as it comes.

“We have just got to keep doing what we are doing. We do not need to get too excited or look too far ahead.”

Harleston goalkeeper Brandon Ling had to endure a couple of nervy minutes inside the opening 10 minutes, both of which he managed to survive.

There was just four minutes on the clock when he scuffed a clearance straight at Nuno Nogueira, only to get back between his posts in time to deny the Diss midfielder, before a Sam Last free-kick from wide on the right was unconvincingly turned against the crossbar.

After that the visitors started to gain more of a foothold on proceedings, although Jake Hayhoe in the Diss goal remained largely a spectator.

That changed, though, in the 37th minute when Harleston took the lead with their first meaningful effort on target.

Scott Roberts’ left-wing corner was cleared at the near post, with the ball eventually being picked up by Nathan Page.

He duly dropped a shoulder to leave two Diss defenders trailing in his wake, while the perfectly-weighted pass to set Sam Borrer free down the left-hand side of the box was equally impressive.

Borrer could have gone for goal himself, but he instead cut it back for captain Jake Imrie to calmly sweep the ball home.

Harleston’s Connor Delaney shot over following a swift counter-attack soon after, while two minutes into the second half Hayhoe shows good reflexes to keep out Roberts’ top corner-bound attempt from 25 yards out.

Playmaker Roberts was unlucky on that occasion, but he should have done better in the 54th minute when put in the clear by Lawrence Cheese, only to curl off target.

And all the time that there remained one goal between the sides, Diss still had some encouragement.

But, while they had plenty of ball in and around the Harleston area, they rarely called Ling into action.

They came closest to equalising two minutes from time when skipper Ricky Cornish rose highest at the back post, with his header smartly stopped by the visiting custodian.

Diss: Hayhoe, Manteigas, Last, Pain, Cornish, Nogueira, Neves, Vincent, Leitao, Holder (Payne 77), Betson

Harleston: Ling, Russell, Imrie, Borrer (Green 60), Roe, Shadrack, Page, Delaney (Baker 80), Cheese, Roberts, Stone

Express Man of the Match – Nathan Page: Started off the game’s one major piece of quality

Attendance: 281

* The table toppers return to action tomorrow at home against King’s Lynn Town Reserves (3pm).