Newmarket Town battle back to earn derby victory over Soham Town Rangers
Newmarket Town recovered from being a goal down to beat Soham Town Rangers 2-1 this evening – and in the process recorded their first Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division victory of the season.
The visitors, who were also beaten in last week’s derby at home versus Ely City, raced out of the traps on a wet night at the Tristel Stadium and were good value for their one-goal advantage heading into the break.
However, after the restart they encountered a Newmarket side with much more purpose and desire, one that started to win individual battles all over the pitch and then when the chances came they were clinical.
Luke Brown set the tone for Soham’s fast start with just 36 seconds on clock with an instinctive turn and shot from the edge of the box that forced Newmarket goalkeeper Alex Archer into some very early action.
Winger Joe Carden then beat Archer in the fourth minute – only for his celebrations to be cut short by the offside flag – but the Greens finally scored one that counted with 14 minutes on the clock.
Luke Brown sprayed the ball out wide to the right and then rather than admiring his pass he moved into the box, where after the ball had broken loose he was on hand to fire into the bottom corner.
The same player worked Archer with a curling effort from 20 yards out in the 18th minute after Ed Watson had robbed Newmarket skipper Joe Robinson of possession, while up the other end the hosts started to show some signs of life with an Adden Tokley strike from distance that needed saving by Harry Reynolds before Isaac Maynard lifted his shot over after he had jinked inside Alfie Connor.
Both sides also posed a threat from set pieces before the half was out as Soham centre-back Jordan Gent was thwarted by Archer at full stretch before Newmarket defender Tom Williams saw his header cannon against the post.
It would not have been a surprise if there was some strong words in the Newmarket dressing room at the break – and they certainly paid off! Player-manager Michael Shinn and Williams both could not keep their headers on target at the start of the second half before Maynard flashed a dangerous shot across the face of the Soham goal in the 53rd minute.
The response from Soham was muted to say the least and there was no great surprise when the equaliser came in the 64th minute. James Chivers was first to meet Shinn's right-wing corner at the near post and while his initial attempt was blocked the right-back refused to give up and he eventually forced the ball over the line to restore parity.
Newmarket could – and arguably should – have been in front just two minutes later when an error in the Soham defence sent Ross Paterson clean through, but Reynolds was swift off his line and made the block.
But the Jockeys would not have to wait too long to complete the turnaround. In the 70th minute Lewis Whitehead stood up a cross from the left towards the back post, where winger Ben Robinson battled with Soham wing-back Kai Nicholls and the ball flew into the roof of the net.
Soham's joint managers Lloyd Groves and Matt Clements rung the changes – including the introduction of Sam Mulready and Ryan Auger – but it was Newmarket who continued to look the more threatening.
Chivers was denied his second goal of the game in the 79th minute when the referee ruled out his header for a foul, while it looked like substitute Matt Green was going to rubber stamp the victory a couple of minutes from time when presented with a tap in, only for Soham captain Connor to make a last-ditch challenge.
Newmarket: Archer, Chivers, Asensi, Tokley, Williams, J Robinson, B Robinson, Maynard (Green 83'), Paterson, Shinn, Whitehead
Soham: Reynolds, Chipps (Andrews 71'), Nicholls (Auger 80'), Connor (Lovell 88'), Mattless, Gent, A Brown, King, L Brown, Watson (Ward 61), Carden (Mulready 71')
Suffolk News Man of the Match – Isaac Maynard (Newmarket): The dual registration signing from Cambridge City made a decent impression on his debut. Covered plenty of ground, used the ball well and went close on a couple of occasions to getting his name on the scoresheet.