Soham Town Rangers 1 Ware 4

SOHAM slipped closer to the relegation mire after a thumping defeat at the hands of fellow strugglers Ware on Saturday.

Despite having arguably the better of the possession and chances, Andy Furnell’s men lacked a decisive figure in attack and were punished time and again by Ware, who made every chance count.

Going into the match, Soham had a nine-point cushion over their relegation-threatened rivals but the defeat closed the gap to just six, with a testing game at mid-table Waltham Abbey to come on Tuesday.

Denny Escorcio had an excellent chance to open the scoring after just five minutes after Dan Cotton played him through in the box but the former March man dragged his shot wastefully wide under pressure.

Liam Foster opened the scoring for Ware against the run of play after eight minutes, the youngster controlling a long ball before rounding Dan Bircham and slotting home from close range.

Just two minutes later and Soham were level once more, Cotton charging down the wing before crossing for Escorcio, who teed up for Scott Carter to smash home from 10 yards.

The Greens continued to apply pressure after the equaliser but it was Ware who struck next, an attempted clearance cannoning off a Soham defender and into the path of Jones, who gleefully fired home.

An excellent double save from Ware’s Rhys Madden on the half-hour mark denied both Carter from range and Andy Furnell on the rebound.

Ware struck a decisive blow 13 minutes into the second half as a deep free-kick eluded the home defence and fell onto the head of Wesley Beckles, who casually nodded back across goal for Jones to apply the simplest of finishes.

David Cobb’s dizzying run and shot from 12 yards was superbly saved by Madden as Soham attempted to fight back but the final nail in their coffin was struck five minutes from time as Andy Coleman was caught on the ball and punished by Jones who romped home to score.