A THRILLING second-half surge from Soham Town Rangers saw them score a crucial 3-2 victory over Barton Rovers. Down to 10 men and a goal behind early in the second-half, the Greens were staring at a damaging defeat only for an inspired team push midway th

A THRILLING second-half surge from Soham Town Rangers saw them score a crucial 3-2 victory over Barton Rovers.

Down to 10 men and a goal behind early in the second-half, the Greens were staring at a damaging defeat only for an inspired team push midway through the half that propelled them to victory.

The win moves Ian Benjamin's men up into 17th place in the Zameretto League Division One, giving them a four cushion on the bottom three teams.

Much of the game's early exchanges played out at a frantic pace with Michael Simpson and Dubi Ogbonna spurning good chances early on.

The deadlock was broken after just 12 minutes as veteran Soham keeper Ian Pledger was made to pay for a moment's indecision on the edge of his area. Opting to take a touch on a back pass when he should have smashed clear, Barton's Callum Donnelly pickpocket Pledger and had the simplest of tap-ins to open the scoring

The setback didn't hamper Soham for long however, as they went in search of an equaliser immediately, Richard Gammon going close from 12 yards.

It was Gammon again who was involved in Soham's equaliser after 36 minutes, as he raced through on goal only to be poleaxed by Rover's keeper Dan Allison 20 yards out.

A few nervous moments ensued for Allison as the referee summoned him to the sidelines, but he was saved by a covering defender and escaped with just a yellow card.

The pain wasn't over for Barton though, as Dubi Ogbonna stepped up to smash home the resulting freekick, slipping past the wall and low in the corner to bring the scores level.

After the break, Soham looked to turn their momentum into goals but were set back once more just five minutes in as captain Andy Coleman received his marching orders after hauling down an onrushing striker.

Boss Benjamin immediately affected a change to try and sure up the Green's defensively but the move backfired as Barton again took the lead, this time Joel Mason drilling home.

Despite being down to 10 men, Soham's resolve remained admirable and they drew level again on 62 minutes as a sizeable slice of luck saw Dubi Ogbonna's low cross turned into his own net by Glen Draper, though their wasn't a Greens player within 20 yards.

Where luck may have handed them their second goal, there was no doubting their third as Michael Simpson showed why he is so invaluable to the club with a sublime curled effort from 20 yards, eluding the keeper and sailing into the top corner.

After taking the lead, Soham slipped into full control and closed out the game in relative ease, although Scott Carter spurned an excellent opportunity to put the game beyond doubt, only to smash wide from 10 yards with the goal at his mercy.