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Local football round-up

Wicken Amateurs 5

Soham United Reserves 0

THIS highly anticipated local derby saw the home side come away with an impressive victory against a Soham United side who were undone by the pace and link-up play of the Amateurs forwards.

On a pitch cutting up due to heavy rain the day before, both sides struggled to put any flowing moves together in the opening stages, but Wicken could have been two up when David Holmes’ pace saw him beat the United off-side trap twice.

On both occasions however, he was thwarted by smart saves from the Soham stopper when one-on-one.

Soham very nearly made Wicken pay for their wastefulness in front of goal when a header from a United corner was cleared off the line by Ben Corbett. Amateurs finally took the lead when Steven Kessack latched onto a Richard Murfitt flick and powered through a hesitant Soham back line to slot into the bottom corner.

The goal appeared to give Wicken the push they needed to move up a gear and, after having a goal chalked off for offside, David Holmes doubled Wicken’s lead. The goal couldn’t have come from a simpler move, Holmes running onto a Murfitt header after a poor Soham goal kick and nonchalantly finishing for 2-0.

This growing partnership between Wicken’s front two led to the Amateurs third shortly after. An Ashley Woodroffe free-kick from the right flank headed on by Murfitt for Holmes to claim his second goal with a poachers finish at the back post. A few tempers flared throughout the half but the teams went in with the home side three goals to the good.

After the break Soham came out with more determination but lacked the cutting edge in the final third needed to for them to get back into the game. The scoring and providing partnership of Murfitt and David Holmes was reversed for the Wicken fourth. Impressive debutant Leon Kirk delivered an inch-perfect flighted delivery to the back post for the run of Holmes. The Wicken front man should have netted his hat-trick with his close range header; instead he skewed his effort into the path of on-rushing strike partner Murfitt to notch his third in two games.

Immediately substituted, Murfitt’s replacement Billy Moormon claimed his first goal of the season with a classy close range lob after skilfully manoeuvring his way past two tiring Soham defenders. To their credit Soham did create further half chances, coming closest with a Craig Allen header narrowly going over the bar from a corner, but Wicken’s back line defended resolutely, helping the impressive keeper Matt Barber to gain his first clean sheet of the season.

Wicken’s man-of-the-match went to Leon Kirk who looked confident and assured throughout, at the heart of the Wicken defence in the first half and then was equally adept when pushed into midfield for the second period.

Kershaw Senior A

SOHAM Town Rangers Reserves got their new year off to a bang with a fine 4-2 victory at Milton.

Nacer Abouthshem weighed in with his fifth and sixth goals in just five games and the prolific Steve Bugg notched one to keep his goal-a-game ratio going.

Shaun Hogg’s first of the season wrapped-up an impressive win for the Greens’ Reserves that saw them leapfrog their hosts into fifth position.

Neighbours Soham United started 2011 in the same vein as they ended 2010: with another setback against fourth-placed Hemingfords United by a calamitous 5-2 at George Lambton Fields in Newmarket.

Every goal conceded was a mistake according to seething boss Andy Parker, even though United could have scored plenty of goals at the other end but failed to convert the majority of their chances. It started badly as Hemingford scored the first goal of the afternoon, but then Soham made a recovery as Dan Symonds struck with a good goal to equal the scores at half-time.

Lee Moll then put United in the lead with a fantastic diving header but the wheels came off for Soham shortly after as mistakes, fortuitous deflections and comical moments contributed to the visiting side’s winning margin.

Div 1B

AN horrific injury to pass master Gary Goodjohn after just 10 minutes soured the three points claimed by Haddenham Rovers at home to lowly Cottenham United Reserves.

Rovers’ boss Andy Markwell believes that Goodjohn badly injured his ankle and everybody that knows Gary wishes him a speedy recovery. His team-mates did him proud though, as there were goals for Bruno Hermenegildo and Marcin Skowyrski the latter being a particularly well-worked goal. United managed to pull a goal back but could not find an equaliser.

Div 2B

SUTTON United battled hard at home to high-flyers Chatteris Town Reserves but eventually went down 4-2.

Matthew Keys scored both of United’s goals but despite showing spirit as Jamie Edmonds and Billy-Joe Tillard both collected yellow cards; this was never going to be enough as Town claimed the win.

Div 3B

THIS section saw the result of the day as second-from-bottom Fordham entertained top of the league Isleham United and beat them 4-2 in a well-contested match.

In spite of a super start to the match from the visitors it was Fordham who struck first as Jonny Blecher slipped in Sean Brighty to net. This was swiftly followed by a captain’s effort from Mark Oliver that doubled the home side’s lead. United though were not going to lie down and grabbed a goal before the half-time break to leave the scoreline at 2-1 to Fordham. Speed merchant Clive Boucheron then darted down the wing in the second half and his cross was met by his strike partner Grant Pearson. Isleham again came back to make it 3-2 before that man Boucheron showed his pace to score his side’s fourth and secure an unlikely victory.

The surprise result of the day happened when seventh-placed Ely Crusaders travelled to Hemingfords United A and had only a James Collins goal to show in a 3-1 defeat to the league’s second-from-bottom-placed outfit.

In this division’s weekly local derby, Mepal Sports were held to a 2-2 draw by the lower-placed Stretham Hotspurs. A win would have taken Sports to third so this was a disappointing result for them.

John Ablett Cup

IN the third round of this trophy, Little Downham Swifts had to trip into Suffolk to play Division 3A side Glemsford and Cavendish United and they probably wished they had stayed at home as they were despatched 4-0 and dumped out of this season’s competition.

Div 5C

THE bottom of the table clash saw Little Downham Swifts Reserves take on Isleham United Reserves at home and it produced a rare point for both sides this season in a 1-1 draw.

John Povrey was Swifts’ goal-scorer with a 20-yard screamer as Downham dominated but could not follow up on their solitary effort.

Sutton United Reserves probably feared the worst as they went to top of the table Willingham Wolves in their first game of 2011, and if they did they were proved very right as the top dogs easily overcame them by seven goals without reply.

Witchford ’96 Reserves edged a dramatic seven-goal thriller themselves but this time the goals were shared between both sides as they welcomed St Ives Rangers Reserves to their home patch. This narrow 4-2 victory sees them move into second position in the league and that was achieved thanks to two more goals for Sam Ashman, another for on-fire Ali MacDonald.

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