Football Soham Town Rangers 2 Maldon and Tiptree 0

Ely Standard: James McCabeJames McCabe (Image: Archant)

A BRACE from striker Chris Bryan helped 10-man Maldon wrap up a 2-0 win over Soham Town Rangers on Tuesday night.

Bryan hit a goal in either half to see the visitors, who played the majority of the match with 10 men, to the victory, which secures their place at the top of the Ryman Division One North.

Steve Fallon’s Soham meanwhile remain in seventh place in the league and now face a unenviable task of trying to overhaul the 10-point gap between themselves and fifth place Heybridge Swifts in their bid for a play-off spot.

Soham came into the match in high spirits after seeing off lowly Ilford 3-1 in Essex.

The Greens took the lead in the 12th minute as Matt Robinson, restored to the starting line-up in the absence of Robbie Mason, squared the ball for Luke Stanley to mop up from a few yards out.

Robinson then hit a post as Soham pressed while, at the other end, Dan Bircham produced an excellent save to keep out a powerful header.

Ilford started the second half on the front foot and drew level less than five minutes in as Daniel Crowie’s free-kick beat the wall and Bircham and nestled in the bottom corner.

Buster Harradine went close on two occasions from free-kicks before he was given the chance to put Soham back in front from the penalty spot, the Ilford captain given his marching orders for a foul on Michael Simpson.

Despite missing his last two efforts from the spot, Harradine confidently dispatched the penalty to put the visitors in front.

Fallon’s men were quickly in the ascendancy against the tiring 10 men of Ilford and the mounting pressure finally told as Simpson collected Robinson’s deft through ball to place wide of the advancing goalkeeper.