A.F.C. Sudbury welcomed Soham Town Rangers to The MEL Group Stadium needing to build on Saturday’s victory at Harlow to keep up the pressure on the play-off places which remain tantalisingly within reach.
Sudbury kicked off the match playing from left to right as seen from the Brian Tatum stand. Within the opening minute, Richard Howell set Chris Bryan free through the centre and Soham Town Rangers were quick to get bodies in the way of the Sudbury striker’s shot to avert the danger. In the third minute Soham showed their intent with James Motley powering along the right wing. His cross arrived before his strikers and was an easy gather for Danny Gay in the home goal. Lewis Brown rose highest to head clear a fifth minute Sudbury corner form the left wing delivered by Dave Wareham as both sides battled to get the initiative on a wet afternoon with a strong breeze running the length of the park and favouring the visitors in the opening period.
Dan Cotton’s eighth minute free-kick from mid-way into the A.F.C. Sudbury half went well wide of the home goal before Dubi Ogbonna’s shot was blocked by Adam Dalby following a pass from Jordan James. Dan Cotton’s curling cross went behind Danny Gay’s goal as Soham continued to play with enterprise. On the quarter-hour Sudbury took the lead. Michael Shinn did well to find Richard Howell who shot through a sea of legs and with Soham ‘keeper Dan Burcham unable to cling on, James Baker was on hand to guide the ball home for his twenty-first Ryman League goal of the season.
On twenty-one minutes Soham came close to levelling the tie. Dubi Ogbonna cut inside from the right and unleashed a superb shot which beat Danny Gay and thumped off the far post and away to safety. A minute later and Dan Cotton’s free-kick, was delivered with menacing curl and Danny Gay tipped the ball over the crossbar at the expense of a left wing corner. Cotton delivered the corner and Nathan Clarke rose with authority to head clear. Paul Jones blasted the loose ball high over the crossbar as Sudbury stood resolute and firm at the back. Soham were enjoying their best period of the match so far. Ryan Henshaw did well to block a shot from a left wing corner and Cotton’s short corner to Duncliffe saw James Baker head the resultant cross clear. On the half-hour Chris Bryan almost got in from a Dave Wareham cross which Burcham gathered at the second attempt. On thirty-three minutes Sudbury did double their advantage. Richard Howell’s superb ball sent Chris Bryan through on goal and he finished sublimely past Burcham to notch his first goal for A.F.C Sudbury.
Bryan then found himself obstructed on half-way and Michael Shinn’s clever free-kick to the far-post almost saw Ryan Henshaw trouble Burcham with a header but his contact was insufficient to redirect the ball towards the goal. Russell Pond was fouled on half-way and another free-kick was aimed towards Henshaw who did really well to win A.F.C. Sudbury a corner kick on the right. Dave Wareham delivered short to Pond whose cross was headed clear by the Soham defence who were having a difficult shift as Sudbury ended the half with real purpose.

H-T 2-0

The second-half began with incessant Sudbury pressure. Four corner kicks from the left wing in the opening two minutes put Soham squarely on the back foot. From the first Michael Shinn’s swerving delivery was punched behind by Burcham. From the second a shot from Nathan Clarke was blocked and the third saw Russell Pond’s shot from outside the penalty area well saved by Burcham at the expense of the fourth kick. This was headed clear as Soham were able to release the pressure somewhat. Dubi Ogbonna found space in the home penalty area, but Joe O’Donoghue’s superb block after tracking the skilful Soham striker and watching him like a hawk, was a joy to watch. James Baker evaded a tackle to get a shot away on Burcham’s goal, but the Soham ‘keeper was well placed to gather.
Cotton’s left wing corner almost reached Dubi Ogbonna, but Adam Dalby’s alert header denied the dangerous striker an opening. Ogbonna again looked to pressurize the home defence, but Nathan Clarke watched a high ball all the way to head clear to his midfield. Just shy of the hour the industrious Dave Wareham made way for Jamie Griffiths as Sudbury looked to close out the game. On the hour Dubi Ogbonna’s run saw him lay the ball into the path of Soham captain Michael Simpson, but his shot flew way over the home crossbar. On sixty-five minutes Nathan Clarke denied Dan Cotton with a fine stopping tackle as the Sudbury defence continued to look impregnable. Neil Andrews then found Simpson in space who again hit a shot over the home crossbar.
Soham Town Rangers gained a foothold in the game on sixty-seven minutes. Dubi Ogbonna ran into the home penalty area and went down under a challenge by Nathan Clarke. Ogbonna stepped up to despatch coolly past Danny Gay. Within ninety seconds Sudbury had reasserted their two goal cushion and it was James Baker who was this time brought down in the penalty area and slotted the spot-kick home. Ogbonna had a less than convincing penalty shout on seventy-three minutes before Motley tackled James Baker in the penalty area to deny the Sudbury marksman a hat-trick. Danny Emmanuel replaced Richard Howell on seventy-eight minutes, the Sudbury number seven’s influence on the game having been significant. On eighty-one minutes Russell Pond sent a sublime ball over the top for Bryan to run onto and send a shot fizzing wide of the right hand post. James Baker was replaced by Afolabi Obafemi with six minutes remaining to warm applause after another pair of crucial goals.
A.F.C. Sudbury’s fourth goal was a moment to savour. Danny Emmanuel looked to have run into trouble deep on the right wing. He managed to trick his way past three players to deliver the ball to Chris Bryan. Bryan’s snap-shot was brilliantly saved by Dan Burcham making himself big in the Soham Town Rangers’ goal. The ball was half cleared out of the box where, from twenty-five yards, Michael Shinn hit a magnificent shot which rocketed into the back of the net. Afolabi Obafemi almost got his first goal for A.F.C. Sudbury when the ebullient Shinn sent him through, but although he finished well, he was adjudged to be offside. There was still time for Dubi Ogbonna to be stopped by a fine Adam Dalby tackle which underlined the all-round, every player quality Sudbury showed all afternoon as they kept up their charge for a Play-Off place.

AFC Sudbury