SOHAM Town Rangers search for a win has stretched into its seventh game after they lost to a clinical Waltham side on Tuesday night.

Soham Town Rangers 1

Waltham Abbey 3

Sloppy errors in the first half were to blame for the visitors racing into a two-goal lead but the Greens will consider themselves unlucky not to have salvaged at least a point after a spirited second half fight back.

The defeat saw Andy Furnell’s men slip to 17th in the Ryman League Division One North, with a trip to Harlow Town to come on Saturday.

Though Soham enjoyed plenty of the ball in the opening forays, it was Waltham who looked the more dangerous as they used their pace down he wings to launch counter-attacking raids.

The Greens’ defence was pressed into action just five minutes into the match as Martin Bromwich was called on to clear off the goal line after a low cross was directed goalwards.

The opening goal came after just 12 minutes as David Cobb was dispossessed in midfield and the ball slotted through the heart of an exposed defensive line, leaving the striker the task of rounding Dan Bircham to score.

It was almost a carbon copy for the second goal as Cobb lost the ball in midfield, allowing Waltham to thread a ball through the home defence for the striker to run on and double the score inside 20 minutes.

There were half-chances for Rogan McGeorge and Matt Robinson in the ensuring minutes and Michael Simpson nodded wide from five yards after latching on to a back post flick on.

At the other end, Waltham saw a header bounce off a defender and on to the bar before Soham seized a life-line by pulling a goal back.

Dan Cotton’s 45th minute free-kick was met by the head of new signing Will Fordham, who powered the ball into the back of the visitors’ net.

The opening exchanges of the second half were a largely placid affair but, as the half progressed, the urgency in Soham’s play increased. The key moment of the half came with 20 minutes to go as substitute Denny Escorcio picked up the ball on the edge of the box and fed McGeorge on the right, only for the defensive midfielder to see his rifled shot cannon down off the bar and on to the line before spraying away from goal.

The Greens’ frustration was compounded when Richard Gammon’s follow up header was tipped over the bar by the Waltham keeper.

Cobb saw a rifled shot slip just wide of the post in the dying minutes and Soham continued to pile on the pressure but it all proved in vein as Waltham broke at pace and made it 3-1 in injury time to seal the win.