Norfolk’s league season began with a spirited display against the reigning English county golf champions, Leicestershire & Rutland.

Norfolk lost out 3.5-8.5 at Cosby Golf Club but joint-managers Simon Clark and Carl Green took plenty of positives from their team’s performance.

Sully Goddard and Tom Beasley starred in the morning foursomes, claiming a fine 1-up on the final green.

In the game behind them, Clark and Green also dovetailed well before suffering a slender defeat.

The hosts led 3-1 at lunch, but Norfolk staged a strong response in the opening singles ties.

Debutant Danny Loveday and talented young gun Sean Rafferty stormed to convincing wins. Meanwhile, Beasley built on his foursomes success to collect a half-point from his head-to-head.

But Leicestershire and Rutland proved dominant in the bottom half of the singles games and eventually powered to outright victory.

Green said: “They’re the English champions, so it was a baptism of fire but we’ve got to take these challenges on and there were a lot of strong performances out there. In a lot of the games, the result just went the wrong way on the last couple of holes.

“We’ll reflect on everything, take positives but also look at what we can strengthen – the areas where we just need to bring the levels upwards a little. It’s looking at where we can save that one shot or two and turn narrow defeats into victories.”

It was a similar story for Norfolk 2nds against their Leicestershire and Rutland counterparts at Bawburgh Golf Club.

A side blending experience with promising juniors trailed narrowly 1.5-2.5 at lunch and ultimately went down 4.5-7.5. But the top-line score does not tell the whole tale.

Two singles clashes were lost on the 18th green and a morning foursomes tie ended up all-square when it could quite easily have gone Norfolk’s way.

Norfolk County Golf Union vice-president Chris Lamb said: “It was a shame we just lost the really tight games in the afternoon. But overall it was a really good effort from the lads.”

Josh Chamberlin won both of his matches and George Morris picked up a singles victory to go alongside a half-point gained in the morning foursomes.

There was also a landmark success for teenager Jake Gunby. The 16-year-old claimed his first singles win for a Norfolk men’s team.

Norfolk are in action again this coming weekend (May 16-17) when they contest the Eastern Counties Foursomes at Seacroft Golf in Lincolnshire.

Anglian League result

Norfolk 1st team 3.5 Leicestershire & Rutland 8.5 (Played at Cosby Golf Club)

Foursomes (Norfolk players named first)

Sully Goddard and Tom Beasley won 1-up v Richard Wale and Thomas Roberts 

Simon Clark and Carl Green lost 1-down v Will Plant and Liam Plant

Danny Loveday and Jonny Spinks lost 2&1 to Ethan Bell and James Gamble

Callum Rana and Sean Rafferty lost 2&1 to Luke Burrows and John Fairbrother

Singles

Goddard lost 3&2 to W Plant

Loveday won 3&2 v Burrows

Beasley A/S v Roberts

Rafferty won 4/2 v L Plant

Clark lost 1-down v Bell

Green lost 3&2 to Fairbrother

Spinks lost 3&2 to Gamble

Rana lost 5&4 to Wale

Norfolk 2nd team 4.5 Leicestershire & Rutland 7.5 (Played at Bawburgh Golf Club)

Foursomes (Norfolk players named first)

George Morris and Liam Caffyn A/S v Ben Ridgeway and Ross Murgatroyd

Theo Pudney and James Tipling lost 2-down v Josh Hayes and Ryan Genner

Warwick Calasse and Jake Gunby lost 2&1 v Spencer Sheffield and Jay Sheridan

Josh Chamberlin and Harry Bradfield won 1-up v Toby Osborne and Sam Orton

Singles

Morris won 4/2 v Ridgeway

Tipling lost 1-down v Murgatroyd

Pudney lost 3&2 to Hayes

Caffyn lost 4/3 v Genner

Gunby won 2/1 v Sheridan

Calsse lost 1-down to Osborne

Chamberlin won 5&4 v Orton

Bradfield lost 4&3 v Sheffield