Greens hold out for point after Liberatore sees red

Soham Town Rangers 1 Cheshunt 1

DEFENDER Tom Liberatore saw red as Soham held out for a draw against Cheshunt at Julius Martin Lane on Saturday.

The big centre-back received his marching orders less than 10 minutes into the second half following a second bookable offence, leaving his team-mates to battle gallantly for more than half-an-hour to secure a point against their Ryman League rivals.

The draw sees Soham remain in 14th place in the Ryman Division One North ahead of their trip to Grays Athletic at the weekend.

A lively opening 10 minutes from the home side saw chances for both Michael Simpson and Dubi Ogbonna before Cheshunt’s Michael Thomson rattled the bar with a strike from distance.

Soham took the lead after 26 minutes as Simpson squared for striker Matt Robinson to slot home from close range to bag his second in as many games.

Soham’s lead lasted only 10 minutes though, as the visitors were awarded a penalty after Liberatore was adjudged to have fouled Josh Hutchinson in the area, a foul that earned him a yellow card. Hutchinson dusted himself down to slot home the resulting penalty.

Matters worsened for the Greens early in the second half as Liberatore was sent off for a foul and the visitors quickly began to enjoy the lion’s share of the play.

An excellent performance from Andy Furnell’s men at the back ensured however, that no points were dropped as Cheshunt were held at bay.