Town are through to the first qualifying round of The Emirates FA Cup after defeating Soham Town Rangers 4-0 in a replay under the lights at The Rec.
This now sets up a tie with Step 3 side Biggleswade Town at The Rec which is a mouth-watering tie for the club and the town.

On reflection before we go into the match events this was the finest performance that I have seen from Town in a long time. It’s also the best display since Danny Crow took over as manager. That's not to say performance have been bad but this was one of those games where the goals we scored and our quality all over the pitch was second to none. Danny made a couple of changes, Brandon Pickess came into the middle of midfield to replace the injured Joe Manning, and it was a return for long standing player Jake Anema at CB who partnered Cook. The only other change saw Nathan Stone come in for Asa McGeachy who was carrying a slight knock.
4-4-2 and 2 big lads up front was the course of action, and it worked and worked so effectively as this match report will now read.
Within 2 minutes Harrison Hide who was an absolute menace for the Soham centre backs made a run down the by-line and straight away had Town on the front foot. The Soham defenders although both good players were soon to find out the quick movements and strengths of Hide and Stone throughout the game.

The first 10 minutes flashed by as Town had a couple of set pieces that although were dangerous crosses they didn't create any meaningful chances. However, it did not take Town long to open the scoring. Town had a corner from the left-hand side which was dangerously whipped into the box and Brandon Pickess flicked it on to find Ryan Crisp at the far post to finish into the Soham net. It was great finish, and it rebounded on the underside of the bar and it was great to see Cripsy open his account for the season.

Town were forced into an early sub though and no sooner did Crispy score that smart effort a hamstring injury forced the attacker off to be replaced by the lively Charlie Pennell.
The first meaningful effort by the visitors came on around the 26th minute mark, Ryan Sharmans freekick left Elliot Pride routed and it clipped the outside of the post. It was a let off for Town who had been so comfortable.

The referee then handed out 2 yellow cards in a matter of minutes to Stone and Cook. Of course, Gangles is known for his no-nonsense approach which I feel at times goes against him unfairly, but this was a strange decision. Cook then was booked for a soft foul and both fouls were the first offences.
Soham then had another chance on goal and again it fell to Ryan Sharman, a well delivered freekick was met well by Sharman but his header was well saved by Pride in the town net.
Towns set pieces were a problem all night for Soham and somehow Town didn't make them count as much as they should have. Around 40 minutes gone Robbie Tuner whipped in a dangerous corner that somehow wasn’t put in after a goal mouth scramble.
Moments later the same happened again and the ball fell to Matt Cook who fired his well powered effort over the cross bar.

Half Time and Town were ahead and even though Soham had a couple of chances Town were the ones pressing and looking more threatening on the break.
The second half began and no sooner did the the second half start it was 2-0 to Town. Harrsion Hide chased the ball down and won the ball back superbly to find Nathan Stone, the veteran striker twisted and turned, and it was like a scene from Boogie Nights watching the poor centre half turning around in circles, Stone poked it into the bottom corner.
This was the pattern of the second half and Town really started to assert dominance. Josh Durham had a well driven effort saved and Harrison Hide was unlucky not to get on the end of a very loose back pass by the Soham defender but he keeper just got there in time to strike the ball against Hide.

Then the goal of the game came, and it was a beautiful goal. Robbie Turner played the ball down the line to Hide who again had been making these runs all game and really dragging the Soham defenders into a foot race. His first touch was exquisite, and his low driven cross was met first time by Stone who's finish matched Hides cross. It was an example again of how well Danny and Tom had worked on this system tactically and it was fully on show there.
It was nearly 4 when Robbie Turner was played in and had his shot cleared off the line and from the rebound Brandon Pickess fired over with a well struck shot. Just when the Soham defenders thought they were going to get a break with Stone coming off to a vast applause by the Harleston faithful which has been done so many times now, they were greeted with Asa McGeachy who has made a thunderous start to the season.
Asa then nearly made an instant impact as Robbie Turner had a shot which was spilled by the Soham keeper only to then save well to deny McGeachy.
The visitors then had their first chance of the second half which was brilliantly saved by Pride one on one.

Harrison Hide then got his deserved goal to make 4 and a dream night for Town. Asa McGeachy picked up the ball down the right-hand side and used his power and pace to get to the by-line and Hide couldn't miss. The visitors then forced a couple of saves by Pride in the closing stages but other than that the last 10 minutes wasn't eventful.
4-0 it finished.

To summarise that performance, it was as good as I have seen at The Rec in several years. Make no mistake we came up against a very good Soham side who are well drilled and have some youngsters that I am sure will progress further. But Town won battles in all areas. The CB partnership of Cook and Anema was great to see again and was as solid as ever and both players compliment the other. Last year’s Players Player Of The Year George Barber won his individual battles with the wingers who he came up against who were sharp and his area dominance and high energy is second to none. Harry Hawthorne coming to the club having played against our reserves last year for Wymondham Reserves which was a staggering jump up in standards to 7 divisions higher, he has looked composed and the step up hasn't even phased him. The central midfield partnership was made up of 2 Harleston boys which makes this fitting, Josh Durham who signed for the club back he was 16 and this is now his 4th season with the club, next to him was Brandon Pickess who's high energy and physicality brings a great balance to the midfield, I hate to think how much ground Brandon covered and was very close to MOTM, his display was a credit to himself and being a Harleston lad made it more special for me personally(and his effort tweeted on 86 minutes was an in house joke). It was unfortunate that Crispy got injured as the first 10 minutes or so you could see Crispy was in the mood and a goal was something that would have pushed him on further in the game but of course he unfortunately got injured. Robbie Turner with his high energy and calmness on the ball was something we have been used to seeing at Harleston with sprinkles of quality here and there. But upfront its the same old story for Nathan Stone (Gangles) after scoring a hat trick against Brantham he said " That's me done" but still at the ripe old age of 40 he continues to score goals and is only 10 appearances away from 200 for Town. Harrison Hide was fantastic, and his pace and strength were an absolute killer for the Soham defenders, he has been placed at either centre back or centre forward but as a centre forward, he is so effective and tonight's Man Of The Match performance epitomised it. Other players played their part as Charlie Pennell came on to replace the injured Ryan Crisp and again has stepped up from the Anglian Combination to again perform well again at a higher level. Kyle Bettinson came on in the final stages of the game, but it was a good run out for the 16-year-old. Asa McGeachy being as effective tonight as a sub then he is a starter.
This might seem a farfetched report but tonight was a big night for Town as progressing in the FA Cup is something this club has never done so these are special nights that don't get forgotten.

It sets up a tie with Biggleswade Town who are in Step 3 so this will be a difficult tie but what have we got to lose.

Could we upset the odds?