Our Tuesday night game this week will be the ‘Lance Key Derby’ when we make the short trip up the road to Soham Town Rangers for a Cambridgeshire Invitation Cup Second Round tie. It is a match-up which is long over-due as the last time we played each other was in the 2021/22 season when both clubs were in the Midlands section of the Northern Premier League and Lance was manager of Histon. Soham did the double over us that year, although the season ended with both sides being relegated. We have since gone our separate ways, but the Cambs Invitation Cup has given us the chance to renew acquaintances, and presented us the chance to regain the upper hand over our near neighbours.
Soham started their current campaign in the Eastern Counties League Premier Division like a runaway train, winning eight of their first ten games to go clear at the top of the table. They have since hit the buffers, losing all of their last four league games and slipping to fourth in the table. Their latest defeat came on Saturday when they went down 1-4 at home to Dereham Town. But we can expect Lance to have his players in the right frame of mind for a game which will mean plenty to the managers in both dressing rooms.
The Soham team on the night is likely to include a couple of names that are familiar to Histon followers. One is the ever-popular Marcus Cole, who won over the hearts of many Histon fans during his four seasons with the club, during which he made 125 appearances for us. The other is Tafari Passley, a striker who started just once for the Histon First team but was in or around the First team squad for several seasons. He is currently Soham’s leading scorer with seven goals in his fifteen appearances this season. Both Marcus and Tafari were released by former Stutes manager Chris Nunn but have since re-united with Lance Key at Soham where they have become regular First team starters.
We expect to have the M&M partnership of Matt Payne and Mark Critoph in the dugout again on Tuesday after both missed last Saturday’s 5-3 win over GNG Oadby Town. Wayne Goddard and Paul Shadrack proved to be able replacements for Matt and Mark on the day. Both Jake Kerins and Adden Tokley also missed last Saturday’s game through injury and sickness respectively, but both hope to be available for selection on Tuesday.
History is on our side when it comes to matches against Soham in the CIC. All five of our previous meetings in the competition have ended in wins for the Stutes, the most recent of which being a 2-0 victory at the semi-final stage in February 2019. Pat Bexfield and Salim Relizani were our goalscorers on the night, taking us through to our most recent appearance in the final where we came unstuck against Ely City.
We reached the second round stage of the competition this season by easing past Cambridgeshire Premier League leaders Great Shelford 4-0 in the First Round while Soham earned a 2-1 win at home against West Wratting.
The game on Tuesday night will be played to a conclusion, going to penalties if the scores are level after 90 minutes. The winners will go through to the Semi-Finals stage, which is scheduled for Tuesday 16th December.
Soham Town Rangers’ ground is in Julius Martin Lane, CB7 5EQ. Admission is at the specially reduced rates of adults £7, Concessions £4 and Under 16s free. Your support for the Stutes would be greatly appreciated as we look to progress into the Semi-Finals stage of the competition for the second year running. So get yourself up to Soham on Tuesday night and make some noise for the boys in their quest for cup glory!
