THE New Year started with four of the top six in the Notleys League first division all picking up wins.Leaders Hearts of Oak beat Kirkley & Pakefield A 3-1 to remain seven points clear, a defeat that sees Kirkley slip two places to fifth.

THE New Year started with four of the top six in the first division all picking up wins.

Leaders Hearts of Oak beat Kirkley & Pakefield A 3-1 to remain seven points clear, a defeat that sees Kirkley slip two places to fifth.

Norton Athletic remain in second after narrowly beating Spexhall 2-1 while Pot Black are up to third following their 4-1 victory at Blundeston Magpies who seem to have lost their way after a promising start to the season.

FC Hearts are now fourth after comfortably beating Caxton Reserves 7-2 while the biggest winners of the day were Wrentham who thumped Oxford Arms 7-0 to move into sixth place.

The second division saw the top three in Primary cup action and as such the congestion in third place mounted up as Bungay Town A, Pakefield Re-United and Hopton White Hart all join third placed Norton on 22 points following their wins.

Bungay A defeated LIFC 3-0, Pakefield Re-United beat Waveney Gunners 2-0 and Hopton White Hart came back from Oxford Arms Reserves with a 4-1 win. Crusaders also won 4-1 at Ellingham and sit seventh, just a further point back.

The final match in the division saw a thriller as Oulton Broad & Notley's Reserves beat Corton A 4-3, which included a hat-trick for Steve Rigby and as such they are eighth.

The third division saw Suffolk Punch move to within a point of the leaders as they beat Earsham 4-1 while Harleston Town Reserves move to within three points following their 5-1 victory against Blundeston Magpies Reserves.

Kirkley & Pakefield B lost a seven-goal thriller to White Horse Seltic Reserves while Marquis of Lorne and Lake Lothing shared the points following their 1-1 draw. They sit eighth and ninth respectively.

Spexhall Reserves won their local derby with Westhall 4-1 and climb to fourth place while Waveney A beat Factory Arms 7-2 and climb to sixth place.

In the Norfolk Primary Cup there was disappointment for Gt Yarmouth Town Hall who lost 3-1 to Docking Rangers. By all accounts Town Hall missed many chances and were beaten by an average side.

Norton Athletic Reserves kept the League's flag flying though as they needed extra time to beat previously unbeaten Barney United, eventually winning through 3-2.

In the Suffolk Primary Cup only one of the four sides progressed and that was Ole Frank, who beat Clare Town 4-3.

Waveney Reserves were surprisingly heavily beaten 8-2 at Albion Mills, White Horse Seltic slipped out 2-1 against Stanton and the Salvation Army were 3-0 winners at Tudor.

This week the KO Cup takes centre stage with all ties being played to a finish.