Thurlow Nunn Premier: Soham Town Rangers 1-3 Thetford Town

14th February 2026

Soham Town Rangers vs Thetford Town @ Julius Martin Lane - Soham

Thurlow Nunn Premier (Step 5)

15:00 KO

£9 entry

Attendance - 268

Half-time score: Soham Town Rangers 0-3 Thetford Town

Goals:

Thetford Town: Diggens - 15'

Thetford Town: Smith - 27'

Thetford Town: H. Lott - 31'

Soham Town Rangers: Cipriani - 92'

Final Score: Soham Town Rangers 1-3 Thetford Town

A big game this afternoon saw 2nd place Soham Town Rangers host 4th place Thetford Town, with Thetford winning the reverse fixture 1-0 earlier in the season, so all signs were pointing to a fiercely competitive tight game. With three teams outside the play-offs, but with games in hand, Thetford's position in the play-offs was precarious, so 3-points would be ideally needed, and having recently beaten early season favourites Fakenham Town away from home, there was no reason they could not repeat this feat today.

Unfortunately no printed match day programme this afternoon, although an electronic one could be downloaded for free, from what I understand.

It was a lovely sunny and clear day, in contrast to the recent very wet weather, with quite a few games being called off today. The pitch looked in decent condition in light of the weather, a bit bobbly but not cutting up, great work from the groundsmen. Before long, both teams were lining up, Soham Town Rangers in their green kits with Thetford Town in their home claret and blue.

KEY MOMENTS

STR = Soham Town Rangers

TT = Thetford Town

4' - STR - Newman found in space on the right and he unleashes a stinging effort, heading towards the top right corner, but Ruddy is on-hand to catch the ball.

11' - STR - Soham attack quickly down the left, Newman fires the ball across goal, it is blocked and Soham put in a big shout for handball, but the referee is unmoved.

15' - TT - GOAL (0-1) - A slide-rule ball forwards from King sets Diggens through on goal, from the right side of the box he rifles the ball across the keeper and into the top-left corner, what a hit!!!

18' - TT - Lott sets King through down the left, he drives towards the by-line and cuts into the box, he ball across is blocked, dropping to Laker who drives in a low shot, but the effort is also blocked by a Soham defender.

27' - TT - GOAL (0-2) - Thetford with a free-kick on the right side of the pitch, about 40yrds out. King with a perfectly weighted ball into the box, captain Elliot Smith rises high and with a deft flick of his head loops the ball over the keeper and into the net, giving Thetford an early 2-goal lead!

31' - TT - GOAL (0-3) - Thetford Town in dreamland with a 3rd. A sumptuous move starts with Laker cutting in off the left, he plays a neat 1-2 with Smith and now in the box he squares the ball across the mouth of the goal to find Harvey Lott who smashes home from close range, what a goal!!!

40' - TT - A corner ball from King is whipped into the far-post, Haylett leaps like a salmon and heads the ball, but it flies just wide.

43' - STR - Soham with a swift attack down the left, the shot comes in and is saved, the ball is creeping in but is cleared off the line, to maintain the 3-goal lead.

45' - TT - A long ball is pumped forwards, Diggens chases it and holds the ball up well, he cuts the ball back to Buttle who shimmies into the box and hits a low strike towards the bottom right corner, but Wiseman is equal to it.

73' - STR - Soham should scored, they attack down the right and cross the ball in, it evades everyone and rolls to substitute Cipriani at the far-post, but from close range he blasts over the bar, bad miss!

74' - STR - Another corner, Soham must have had close to 15 in the 2nd half, ball whipped in, free-header but off-target thankfully!

81' - TT - Grove showing his pace down the right flank, he drives forwards and squares the ball into the box to pick-out Harvey Lott in the middle, he takes a touch and drills in a shot, keeper Wiseman managing to keep it out with his outstretched leg.

82' - STR - Soham attack down the left, substitute Rose through on-goal, blasts in a shot at the near-post, palmed round the post by Ruddy for a corner, great save!

83' - STR - Carbon copy of the effort 60 seconds ago, but this time it is Tofts, effort at the near-post again and Ruddy will not be beaten to make another superb stop.

84' - TT - PENALTY - Smith competes for a ball in the box and is kicked in the head to win a penalty. Diggens steps up and fires low towards the right, but Wiseman gets down well to make the stop, and collect the spilled ball, and the chance for Thetford to sew up the game goes begging.

92' - STR - GOAL (1-3) - A corner ball is half-cleared, flying high into the air, it drops to Cipriani who hooks the ball back into the box, but it loops over Ruddy and drops into the net, not sure if he meant that, but it set-up another frantic finale, but was it a little bit too late?!

Thetford secure another incredible away win against high calibre opposition, a sublime attacking performance in the 1st half followed but a gritty defensive performance in the 2nd half ensured all 3-points were secured. In doing so, Thetford have done the double over high flying Soham Town Rangers, proving that on their day Thetford can beat anyone in this league. King was at his devastating best, two incredible assists setting up the first two goals. The finishing was also top-draw and Thetford attacked confidently and were more physical in the middle of the park to set the foundation for the win. Soham changed their players and tactics in second half, but Thetford defended brilliantly in the face of the onslaught, Wells and Haylett winning everything in the air, with Grove and Laker protecting the flanks and Smith and Batch sweeping everything up, it was a true team performance in all aspects. With a lot of injuries in the team such as Olpin, Jaydyn Lott, Ebanks-Blake and Mann, the manner of the win was even more impressive. Regarding Soham Town Rangers, a great club who play football the right way and a place I always enjoy visiting, a good crowd today and clear improvements to the facilities, I wish them all the best in their Cambs Invitational Cup final at the end of March. The big games come thick and fast for Thetford Town, the next game in just over a week seeing them host play-off hopefuls Great Yarmouth Town, lets hope for another performance like today, UP THE TOWN!!!

Line-Ups:

SOHAM TOWN RANGERS: Jacob Wiseman, Marcus Cole, Jake Stephenson, Alfie Connor (C), Jordan Baker, Harry Harvey, Mason Newman, Seth O'Neill, Oliver Ward, Hayden Lambert, Ben Tofts. SUBS: Reece Flatts, Luis Cowie, Max Rose, James Dunn, Michele Cipriani.

THETFORD TOWN: Jack Ruddy, Adam Laker, Josh Wells, Ryan Haylett, Dylan Grove, Jeorgy Batch, Elliot Smith (C), Cameron King, George Diggens, Jordan Buttle, Harvey Lott. SUBS: Billy Batch, Sam Bond, Theo Piggott, Daniel Rayner, Kushinga Benyu.