Heybridge Swifts coast to away win at Soham Town Rangers

Heybridge Swifts, seen here celebrating their first goal in Tuesday night's 3-0 win at Soham Town Rangers, earned another point in a 0-0 draw at home to Potters Bar Town tonight. (Image: Archant)

Heybridge Swifts took another big step towards securing a Bostik North play-off place thanks to a comfortable win on the road at Soham Town Rangers tonight.

An own goal by home keeper Josh Pope literally handed Heybridge a first-half lead.

Juan Luque’s initial free-kick thudded into the defensive wall, but he pounced on the loose ball to drill in a cross-cum-shot which Pope seemed to block, only to then drag the ball over his own goal-line with a despairing hand, beside his near post.

Harrison Chatting doubled the lead by sweeping home from close range in the 49th minute, and Luke Callander wrapped up the points by expertly heading home, again from inside the six-yard box, on 57 minutes.

This latest win sees Jody Brown’s men cement their sixth place, the final play-off berth. They remain two points clear of seventh-placed Maldon & Tiptree, who beat Barking 3-1 tonight. The Swifts also have two games in hand over the Jammers.

The Swifts showed their urgency from the very first whistle, earning three corners in quick succession inside the first two minutes. Jack Cawley had a shot blocked from Swifts’ fourth corner of the evening, and Luque scuffed a shot wide from the fifth corner after just nine minutes.

The visitors continued to dominate and keeper Pope unwisely picked up a back pass by Jack Mochalski, deep inside his own penalty area on the quarter-hour mark. Cawley’s effort from the ensuing free-kick cannoned into the defensive wall.

But the Swifts deservedly took the lead in the 22nd minute, via Pope’s bizarre own goal.

Soham rarely threatened in the first half, although the second of two free-kicks from Callum Russell was glanced off the frame of the goal on 33 minutes.

Callander nearly doubled the lead from close-in on 37 minutes, and then fired into the side-netting from a narrow angle just four minutes before the break.

The Swifts made the game safe early in the second-half, through neat close-ranges finishes by Chatting and Callander, before home centre-half Lee Chaffey was sent off for a late challenge on Joe Gardner on 68 minutes.

HEYBRIDGE: Jessup, Ramon, Cawley, Abdulla, Henshaw, Baker, Chatting (sub Dark, 72), Griffiths, Callander (sub Stevenson, 79), Krasniqi (sub Gardner, 35), Luque. Attendance: 119