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A.F.C. Sudbury welcomed Soham Town Rangers to the Wardale Williams Stadium just a fortnight after the reverse league fixture at Julius Martin Lane.

Soham kicked off the game on a still, late summer’s evening just about ideal for football. An early corner for the visitors saw Ben Sawyer whip a dangerous corner through the nerve centre of the Sudbury penalty area where Robbie Nightingale eventually took possession of the loose ball and fired high into the night sky beyond Ollie Bowles’ Sudbury goal.

Jordan Blackwell responded with the home side’s opening effort, sending a low shot wide of the left hand upright from distance. Sudbury, patient in possession and with some neat passing and movement, won a fifth minute corner from the right which Ross Bailey delivered for a rising Luke Calendar to head over the visitor’s crossbar. Jack Newman showed well along the left wing with his cross gathered with comfort by Harry Reynolds in the Soham goal.

Despite a run of league defeats, Soham proved a tough and battling unit and James Baker had to put in a fine tackle to stop Ben Sawyer as the Soham striker surged forward at pace. Sudbury’s patient build up play and Soham’s dogged defence called to some fast breaking looked to be headed for deadlock with no side able to craft an opening of note in the early minutes.

Sam Clarke sent a speculative effort over the crossbar on eleven minutes before a strong run by Ryan Henshaw saw his cross easily taken by a well-positioned Reynolds. Liam Wales sent a superb ball for Jordan Blackwell to chase in the left hand corner of the penalty area with Reynolds sharp off his line to gather as Blackwell closed in. Although Sudbury were taking the lion’s share of possession, Soham were proving a resolute and well-drilled side, occasionally mounting promising forays of their own. On one such attack Ryan Henshaw rose to send the ball clear with a powerful header, but mis-placed passes were the order of the day in the first twenty minutes as the game struggled to find its flow.

The deadlock was finally broken on thirty four minutes. Sudbury managed to work the ball into the heart of the Soham defence where Craig Parker had enough time and space to finish excellently past a hapless Reynolds. Four minutes later and Ben Sawyer’s fine right wing run saw an equally adept cross lashed across the home area where Ollie Bowles tipped the ball to safety at full-stretch with an athletic save. The loose ball fell to Kojo Ofori-Gyasi whose speculative long-range shot was high over the crossbar.

Soham continued to press and a fortieth minute free-kick on the right of the Sudbury penalty area saw Dale Archer’s delivery pushed clear by a busy Bowles once again. But it was to be the home side who were to go into the break with a clear advantage. Just a minute from the break Liam Wales found Craig Parker whose control was impeccable and the finish likewise.

Half-Time;-AFC Sudbury 2 Soham Town Rangers 0

Soham started the half well with Ben Robinson on hand for A.F.C. Sudbury to block an early shot at the expense of a corner. The delivery was palmed away by Ollie Bowles before he gathered the loose ball.

It took, however, just three minutes for Sudbury to take an even more decisive step towards the three points and it was a peach of a goal. Liam Wales ‘ surging right wing run squared the ball for Jordan Blackwell, run timed to perfection, to fire past Reynolds.

Soham, not a side who look destined to struggle this season, responded with some heart and fight, only Ryan Henshaw’s brilliant tackle stopping Sawyer on forty-nine minutes. On fifty-seven minutes the visitors’ gained a lifeline. Ben Sawyer’s right-wing corner was partially cleared to Wayne Goddard whose sweetly struck half-volley gave Ollie Bowles no chance in the home goal.

A quality run by Ryan Henshaw, whose pass found Liam Wales, then saw the ball threaded forward for Ben Robinson’s forward charge, but Reynolds was smart off his line to gather. Robinson then found Wales with a precision pass on the hour, the ball running to Craig Parker whose shot was blocked. At the other end of the park, Robbie Nightingale almost closed the deficit further, only to see a combination of Ryan Henshaw and Ollie Bowles somehow keep the ball from crossing the line.

This was the warning that the home side seemed to heed. Craig Parker surged through the middle to complete his hat-trick with a brilliant finish past Reynolds on sixty-seven minutes to finally put the visitors’ brave resistance to bed. Luke Callander’s surging run saw him rattle a driven shot off the post as Sudbury began to boss possession. On seventy minutes Craig Parker’s great night was ended, to warm applause, as he left the fray to be replaced by Wayne Blackman.

On seventy-six minutes Sudbury added a fifth goal when Callander’s ball into the penalty area was driven home by Jordan Blackwell. Callander then played a neat one-two with Blackwell only to see his shot cannon from the crossbar and away to safety. Callander then sent Jack Newman away and his excellent run saw him sending another fierce shot into the side-netting.

With ten minutes remaining, the busy Ross Bailey and Jack Newman, always effective in the home defence, were replaced by Robbie Martin and Ollie Canfer respectively. Two minutes later and Luke Stanley received a fine ball and finished excellently past Ollie Bowles to give Soham some further reward for their night’s industry. There was time for another surging run by Ben Sawyer to be curtailed by James Baker before time was called on a highly entertaining and flowing match which sees A.F.C. Sudbury on the summit of the Ryman League Division One North table with, well, quite a distance left to run!

Att 172

Richard Whiting