Cheshunt 1 Soham Town Rangers 2

SOHAM booked their place in the first round of the Ryman League Cup courtesy of a narrow win at Cheshunt on Tuesday night.

An exquisite 30-yard chip from Ryan Auger and another Robbie Mason strike cancelled out an early goal for the home side and lifted the mood for Greens fans after a poor start to their league campaign.

The Greens will now go on to host former Ridgeon’s League side Lowestoft Town in the first round of the cup at Julius Martin Lane on October 16.

It was a nightmare start for the Greens on the night as Leon Archer rounded Dan Bircham to make it 1-0 with just eight minutes on the clock.

Play ebbed and flowed in the ensuing minutes before Auger showed superb awareness to lob over the home goalkeeper from some 30 yards.

Mason had again been lively up front and his efforts were rewarded in the minutes before half-time when he finished an excellent passing move to put the Greens in front.

A red card for the hosts in the second half saw Soham take charge of possession thanks to their extra man and they played out the remainder of the match in relative comfort.

The win follows Saturday’s disappointment in the league as Steve Fallon’s men went down to table-toppers Waltham Abbey.

Despite contesting admirably throughout against the league’s form side, lapses in defence at key times cost the Greens dearly as they had only a Robbie Mason goal to show for their efforts.

The defeat leaves them rooted to the bottom of the Ryman Division One North, the only team in the league yet to score a point.

Though they came into the match with six points and almost 20 places between them, there was little to chose between the sides in the early stages as midfielders Scott Carter and Neil Andrews created shooting chances and Ross Paterson had an effort narrowly off target.

Despite some good play however, it was the visitors who opened the scoring just shy of the 30-minute mark as Ayrton Coley mopped up from close range.

Undeterred, Soham continued to create chances, with Mason and Paterson both going close and their persistence was finally rewarded in injury time when the increasingly prolific Mason fired low past the keeper from Buster Harradine’s cross.

Much to the dismay of the watching fans however, the Greens lost concentration in defence and conceded just two minutes later to restore their advantage.

The visitors made sure of the win with less than five minutes left as Loren Maxwell nodded home a floated free-kick.