Chatham Town 2 Soham Town Rangers 0

Ely Standard: Soham football v Chatham. Picture: Andy Burford.Soham football v Chatham. Picture: Andy Burford. (Image: Archant)

The Greens completed a miserable month with defeat at Chatham on Saturday.

Soham came into the game on the back of a morale-boosting 4-2 win over Cambridge City in the semi-final of the Cambs Invitation Cup but they failed to carry their momentum into the weekend’s league fixture and were comfortably beaten.

The defeat, Soham’s fifth league reverse in succession, has seen them plummet down to seventh place in the Ryman Division One North and out of the play-offs.

Chatham started the game on the front foot and chances for Austen Gacheru and Ade Yusuff tested the Soham rear guard.

The Green’s first chance of note came with a quarter-of-an-hour gone as Nick Wilderspin saw his effort from close range blocked before Enol Ordonez was called upon to turn away a shot from Yusuff.

In-form Buster Harradine, who netted all four goals for Soham in their mid-week tussle with Cambridge, brought a fine save from Chatham’s Jack Bradshaw.

But the game was turned on its head as the game approached the half-way point as Chatham took control. Taylor McDonagh gave the hosts the lead in the 25th minute with a shot from the edge of the area before the lead was double just shy of the half-four mark as Kieran McCann smashed low post Ordonez.

And McCann went close to deepening Soham’s woes in the dying moments of the first half, only to see his shot slip inches wide of the post.

Soham improved as the second half wore on but they failed to create enough to worry the home defence.

The lively Harradine saw a free-kick tipped over the bar and had another shot from distance saved by Bradshaw was never stretched as Chatham saw out the game.

Soham finished the game the stronger side, however despite creating chances were unable to pull any goals back as Gent rose to head over before Bradshaw tipped Harradine’s freekick over the angle of the goal.

Steve Fallon’s side will be desperate to stop the rot when they welcome struggling Barkingside to Julius Martin Lane on Saturday. Kick off is 3pm.