This was the second meeting between the two former Eastern Counties sides within the week, with Wroxham beating the Greens on penalties in the League Cup. Soham made three changes from that side as Joe Asensi, Louis Baucutt and James McCabe all returned to the starting eleven.
This game only managed to get the go ahead after passing a morning pitch inspection after gallons of water had been pumped from the pitch following heavy rain in the days building up to the game.

Just like the cup game the previous week, Wroxham felt they had an early call for a penalty when Daniels appeared to be fouled inside the area, but again the officials allowed play to continue. Carus fired straight at Bircham moments later whilst Hilton turned Harradine’s strike just behind. The hosts opened the scoring in the tenth minute, when following good build up play down the left, Mason floated a ball into the middle of the area where James McCabe found room to volley over Hilton and in under the bar. The visitors almost immediately equalised with the next attack, but Harrop’s shot from distance beat Bircham with the ball coming back off the far post. As the half continued the rain again started to fall and the two sides began to adjust to the worsening conditions. Midway through the half and Wroxham were back on level terms as Ross Durrant received the ball centrally, powering his shot past Bircham from 25 yards. Five minutes later a full stretched Hilton made a save to deny Mason after he had cut in from the left, with Stanley putting wide with the follow up shot. Just after the half hour mark, Hilton came rushing out of his area to clear from an advancing Mason, whilst Durrant volleyed over minutes later up the other end of the pitch. The Greens retook the lead seven minutes before the break as McCabe and Baucutt combined to knock Harradine’s corner into the middle of the area where Robbie Mason fired his shot through a crowd of players and into the top corner for his twentieth goal of the season.

Wroxham levelled for the second time nine minutes after the restart as Daniels laid Gordon’s left sided ball along the edge of the area where Ben Thompson had time to place his shot wide of Bircham. With conditions deteriorating, Soham were beginning to slowly have the better of the play, winning a series of corners, with Baucutt being thwarted by Hilton from one of these with Mason putting wide from a loose ball. Eastaugh headed over from a visiting corner, whilst back up the other end, Davis, Mason and Baucutt all had opportunities before Hilton made a fine save tipping Harradine’s freekick over the bar. Soham thought they had secured the victory with only four minutes remaining when McCabe received McDonald’s ball down the right, with the winger beating Gordon to deliver the ball in from the right. This evaded everybody inside the area, with the ball curling wide of Hilton and in at the far post for his second of the afternoon. Wroxham made their final substitution moments later as the visitors threw more players forward, and this paid off two minutes into stoppage time when the referee judged that McDonald had fouled Durrant inside the area and awarded the Norfolk side a penalty. Bircham did well to save Angelo Harrop’s spot kick, but could do nothing as the striker converted the loose ball.

Soham Town Rangers
D. Bircham, L. McDonald, J. Asensi, S. Davis, L. Baucutt, M. Bromwich, J. McCabe, M. Simpson, R. Mason, L. Stanley, B. Harradine
Unused: M. Robinson, J. Fuller, S. Bennour

Wroxham
M. Hilton, M. Halliday, R. Gordon, R. Starking, J. Carus, A. Eastaugh, R. Durrant, G. Lemmon (J. Forshaw 87), B. Thompson (M. Blake 70), A. Harrop, M. Daniels (B. Jones 64)
Unused: B. Lewis, J. Smith

Score: (2-1) 3-3

Goals
STRFC: J. McCabe (10, 86), R. Mason (38)
WFC: R. Durrant (23), B. Thompson (54), A. Harrop (Pen 90+3)

Yellow Cards
STRFC: L. McDonald (Foul 90+2)
WFC: A. Eastaugh (Dissent 33), A. Harrop (Foul 84)

Attendance: 176

Match Pictures