Report by Colin Rogers and Terry Francis

Harwich made a whirlwind start to the match and in the first 5 minutes twice came close to scoring. First Pegasus goalkeeper Sam Felgate did well to save Joe Knight's shot and a minute later the former Shrimper made a point-blank stop from Jack Wood's fierce drive.
Pegasus came back and Shrimpers keeper Brad Cook made a good save with his feet and then the visitors had a shot that went narrowly past the post.
There was a good crowd of more than 200 present to watch this floodlit local derby and the fans were on their toes again when Harwich won a corner and from Alfie Canning's kick, Dan Keeble's powerful header was cleared off the line.
With 40 minutes gone Harwich scored a peach of a goal when a loose ball was picked up by Alfie Smith who played in Luke Mayhew and last season's leading scorer powered home an unstoppable left-foot rocket.
Just before half time Stanway Pegasus were reduced to 10 men with a straight red card sending off.

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Pegasus came out for the second half determined to overcome this setback and in the 63rd minute won a free kick form which Harry Willoughby's effort struck the crossbar and was cleared to safety.
Harwich could not find the cohesion which they had shown in the first 45 minutes and with Pegasus passing the ball well, it became a battle for the Shrimpers to retain their lead.
There was a scare for Harwich when a neat move saw Willoughby head the ball into the net but the assistant referee had his flag raised for offside.
With 14 minutes remaining, Pegasus were further reduced to 9 men with a player receiving his second yellow card.
A Pegasus victory would have seen the teams on level points and so at the final whistle there was jubilation for Harwich and their supporters at this result.
These are still early days but at this stage the Shrimpers' main rivals of the top of Division One North are Whitton United, who are 3 points behind with a game in hand, and Haverhill Rovers, 5 points in arrears but with 2 games in hand. Both of these clubs have been in Step 5 football in recent years.
Harwich team: Brad Cook, Alfie Eldridge, Jack Wood, Dan Keeble, Reece Harte, Alfie Smith, Liam White, Alfie Canning, Luke Mayhew, Idreess Namisi and Joe Knight. Substitutes: Bradley James, Ewan Livingston and Greg Rodger.

Harwich and Parkeston

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