Mildenhall Town hit local rivals Soham Town Rangers for five at The Riverside Stadium
Mildenhall Town picked up their first victory since last August with a thumping 5-1 home win at the expense of neighbouring Soham Town Rangers this evening.
While much was expected of these two Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division sides this term before a ball was kicked, neither has been able to scale those heights so far. Hosting Mildenhall went into the clash without a win in their last seven outings in all competitions while the visiting Greens – relegated from the league above last term – had lost four of their previous six fixtures.
And it looked very much like two sides out of form early on. To say the opening exchanges were a slow burner would be an understatement, but the game eventually showed signs of life in the 16th minute when Soham centre-back Jordan Gent volleyed Alfie Connor’s near-post corner against the upright.
And within 60 seconds the visitors made the breakthrough. Luke Brown was given plenty of space inside the Mildenhall area and he punished them with a composed finish into the bottom left hand corner.
Up the other end Mildenhall had offered very little as an attacking threat but that changed in the 23rd minute. Soham goalkeeper Harry Reynolds felt he was impeded as he tried to clear Tommy Robinson’s right-wing cross, but play continued and the alert Tanner Call was on hand to turn the ball in from close range.
It was a moment that seemed to spark Mildenhall into life. Within a minute Darryl Coakley’s daisy cutter from 20 yards out forced Reynolds to get down low and make a stop as the Soham defence started to look more and more vulnerable.
They were duly breached again in the 30th minute when an unmarked Taylor Hastings flicked Robinson’s right-flank corner towards the back post, where Josh Lee was on hand to power in his first goal since arriving from Haverhill Rovers earlier in the season.
Those defensive lapses only intensified in the second half when in the 56th minute Lee ghosted in to volley home Bugg’s delivery and make it 3-1.
In response Soham winger Joe Carden's low strike was kept out by Josh Pope, but any hopes of a comeback were extinguished in the 71st minute. A ball was fizzed into Call on the edge of the six yard box, yet he was still afforded the time to take a touch and pick his spot, which he did with ease.
Both managers then rung the changes before the scoring was completed five minutes from time as the lively Bugg tried his luck from the right-hand side of the box and found Reynolds to be in charitable mood as the ball squirmed through his grasp and nestled inside the far post.
The victory has moved Mildenhall above their visitors and into seventh place ahead of Saturday's home clash with league-leading Thetford Town. Soham, who have dropped down to ninth, will be on the road again at the weekend when they head to fifth-placed Norwich United.
Mildenhall: Pope, Smith, Hastings, Butcher, Coakley, Underwood, Steed, Robinson (Capel 84'), Lee, Call (Benyu 81'), Bugg (Hamer 85')
Soham: Reynolds, Connor, A Brown, King, Chaffey (Spencer 46'), Gent, Carden (Auger 82'), Kaye (Mattless 82'), L Brown, Sharman (Ward 65'), Watson
Suffolk News Man of the Match – Josh Lee (Mildenhall): It was an impressive performance from Mildenhall's front three but Lee pips it to this award. He actually was a little bit wasteful in good positions early on but soon bounced back. The two goals aside, it was a very lively display from the recent arrival from Haverhill Rovers, who tormented the Soham defence at times.
