With the temperature hovering just above freezing, Wroxham were caught cold from a sloppy piece of defending to fall behind in the opening five minutes. They gave a away a free-kick which ought to have been cleared but landed at the far post where a Hempnall player climbed high to squeeze a header just inside the post to give the bottom side the lead.
Wroxham responded by gaining a corner and from the cross Gavin Lemmon’s header crashed against the bar before being cleared.
The visitors continued to press and after good work by Matt Doyle they gained another corner. This time Lemmon’s shot was blocked on the line.
A third corner came when Aaron Sanders’ shot took a deflection. Again Hempnall managed to clear as the visitor’s piled on the pressure.
They were rewarded on 15 minutes with a good combination between Swatman and Cook who set up “Colonel” Sanders who made no mistake with a fine right foot drive from 12 yards.
At that stage it seemed Wroxham would start to take full control but Hempnall showed a fighting spirit to contain them and Danny Quantrell in goal made some good saves.
He was almost beaten on 40 minutes when he palmed away a shot from Sanders but the follow-up from Chris Sutton was also blocked.
Wroxham were again out of luck on 42 minutes when Doyle crossed for Cook whose shot hit the post.
HT Hempnall 1 Wroxham 1
Wroxham got some reward for their efforts by taking the lead on 55 mins when Cook turned to set up Doyle who picked his spot just inside the post.
It looked then as if Wroxham might increase their lead when Sutton played a lovely pass for Cook to run on but his shot was parried away by Quantrelll for a corner. The cross to the far post found Lemmon whose low header again hit the post.
Hempnall did not give up though and the Wroxham defence looked a little shaky. They duly equalised on 60 mins when after winning a corner, Ryan Haynes in swinger from the right sailed into the far corner although it may have been assisted by a Wroxham head.
Wroxham then struggled to maintain their momentum as the home side’s spirits were lifted and Haynes should have given them the lead again when his header came off the bar.
The visitors gradually took charge again as Jack Smith’s curler almost found the net and then the same player missed from 3 yards.
With time running out and into injury time, Wroxham finally wrapped up the game when Sanders was tripped in the area and referee Cullum Walchester who had earlier upset the Yachtsmens’ bench with some of his decisions was this time decisive and awarded a penalty. Gavin Lemmon’s spot kick hit the inside of the post and crept in the net.
The 3-2 win, the same as in the home game at Trafford Park, should have been more emphatic but the three points were in the bag.