A.F.C. Sudbury travelled to Julius Martin Lane to take on Soham Town Rangers in this Boxing Day fixture. Sudbury were without the suspended Sam Clarke and James Baker, Robbie Martin was missing due to work commitments.

Soham Town Rangers kicked off the match on an unseasonably mild December afternoon playing from right to left as viewed from the grandstand. From a first minute corner, Coleman headed David Wareham’s delivery to safety. In the third minute David Wareham found space along the left wing, his low ball into the penalty area was cut out by Simon Flanz. Soham Town Rangers grabbed the lead on seven minutes. Andy Furnell ran strongly into the Sudbury penalty area. He seemed bound to score but for a block by Sudbury ‘keeper Danny Gay and a further block by Steve Adams. The latter block was adjudged to have been made by Adam’s hands, he was booked and a penalty awarded. Daniel Cotton stepped forward to fire the place-kick low into the left hand corner of the goal.

Sudbury responded with Nathan Clarke finding David Wareham on the left wing with a fine cross-field ball. Wareham’s cross flashed across the home penalty area and needed just a touch to defeat the stranded Dan Bircham in the home goal, but the ball defeated attackers and defenders alike. On fourteen minutes Kevin Hawes found himself clean through on goal, but his shot dribbled past the right hand post as the golden opportunity passed weakly. Danny Gay then grabbed the ball at the feet of Daniel Cotton as some desperate defending kept Soham from doubling their lead. It was 2-0 on twenty-one minutes however when Daniel Cotton exchanged passes and fired skilfully past Danny Gay.

Perhaps Sudbury’s best move of the game came when Rhys Darg sent a fine ball to Dave Wareham on the left wing. Wareham linked the ball onto an on-rushing Jemel Fox whose cross was grabbed by the tall Dan Bircham in the home goal. At the other end of the park, Danny Gay saved well from Daniel Cotton, but Sudbury were unable to mount to much of an attacking momentum in their search for a foothold in the game and went into the interval two goals behind and with their ten game unbeaten run in some peril.

H-T 2-0
The second-half began with Adam Dalby coming on for Steve Adams for A.F.C. Sudbury. On fifty minutes Michael Shinn’s free-kick from twenty-five yards drifted over the crossbar as Sudbury looked to battle back in a game in which thus far they had enjoyed little rub of the green. Their luck was further out on fifty-one minutes when Rhys Darg limped off to be replaced by Danny Emmanuel. On fifty-five minutes Sudbury’s task was made virtually impossible when Danny Gay uncharacteristically spilled a Dan Cotton free-kick and Scott Carter was on hand to force the ball home through a melee of players.

On the hour a Michael Shinn corner form the left wing was met by Nathan Clarke’s header, but despite a good contact, the ball flew left of the Soham goal. Michael Shinn then sent a fine corner into the Soham penalty area, but Bircham was on hand to punch the ball clear. A minute later and Sudbury spurned a golden opportunity. Richard Howell latched onto a poor back-pass, but inexplicably blazed his shot just over the home crossbar when it looked easier to score. Michael Shinn’s sixty-fourth minute free-kick defeated the Soham Town Rangers defence and Ryan Henshaw was on hand to reduce the deficit at last.

Arron Wickham had a clear run on goal on seventy minutes for Soham, but his lack of pace saw him forced wide by Jemel Fox and his sliced shot flew wide of Danny Gay’s goal. In the seventy-fifth minute Danny Emmanuel combined with Michael Shinn whose rising shot went over the home crossbar. Jacob Brown had to be alert to divert Dan Cotton’s right wing corner over his own crossbar whilst under pressure as Sudbury struggled to gain the possession they craved.

Five minutes of added on time saw little in the way of chances for either side and Sudbury’s long unbeaten run was, it has to be said, deservedly over.