Soham Crash Out Of CIC

Wisbech Town 3

Soham Town Rangers 2

SOHAM Town Rangers were sent crashing out of the Cambridgeshire Invitation Cup on Tuesday night at the hands of rivals Wisbech Town.

An inspired second-half performance from the home side saw them steal ahead of the Greens and Ian Benjamin's side never recovered as the worsening conditions and some rugged defending quashed any hope of a comeback.

Disappointed boss Benjamin told the Ely Standard: "We should have had the game done and dusted in the first 15 minutes but we wasted a lot of chances and then let Wisbech back into the game.

"In the second-half I though we were poor and the game was lost in the first 15-20 minutes when they scored two quick goals and we had a man sent off.

"At 3-1 down with 10-man and the win in our faces it was always going to be a very hard task."

The deadlock was broken after 42 minutes as Mark Jimson reacted quickest to a loose ball to fire past Ian Pledger in the home goal. Despite the setback, Soham rallied and were level just minutes later as Scott Carter fired home.

After the break however, Soham struggled to raise their game and Wisbech took full advantage by stealing into the lead just three minutes in, former Greens' striker Darren Jimson nodding home unmarked at the near post.

Matters soon worsened for the Greens when centre-back Thomas Liberatore was shown a red card for a foul on another former Soham player Billy Smith. Robbie Harris stepped up to dispatch the resulting spot kick to put the Fenman into a strong position.

The home side had several chances to finish the game in the ensuing minutes but it Soham who had the last say as Carter popped up again to score in the 90th minute. A brief period of panic ensued as Benjamin's men poured forward in search of an equaliser but it wasn't to be.