MALVERN TOWN 1, SOHAM TOWN RANGERS 2.

ON the day the club’s new floodlights lit up the Langland Stadium, it was a shame the team couldn’t illuminate the fans on the field as well as they crashed to their 12th defeat of the season.

There was also no early Christmas cheer for the Town faithful with only keeper Craig Humphries proving a Scrooge figure to a relentless Soham attack.

The Malvern shotstopper pulled off a string of superb saves to deny the visitors as the Cambridgeshire side produced an attacking onslaught at the Langland Stadium on Saturday.

It was a controversial penalty decision which separated the two sides in the end, as Malvern left-back Nick Clayton was adjudged to have handled the ball in the 63rd minute.

Humphries nearly reached Paul Jones’ resulting spot-kick, but it went low and beat his dive.

Malvern’s consolation strike came with two minutes left from influential captain Jamie Hyde.

The midfielder’s driving run into the penalty area was rewarded after he was fed by sub Darren Critcher.

Soham stormed the Malvern penalty area in a free-flowing and entertaining first-half with numerous chances, starting in the second minute when Darren Jimson hit the crossbar.

They were rewarded in the 11th minute when they took the lead through Aaron Turner.

Lee Mussell had Malvern’s best two chances of the first-half, both carbon copy efforts, which saw him fed through, breaking the Soham offside trap, but were put wide after he lacked confidence and composure in front of goal.

Humphries saved Malvern from being at least 5-0 down at the interval with a series of impressive stops, including two brilliant point-blank saves.

The second period was more of the same as Humphries proved a stubborn last line of defence as Soham stormed the box.

Visiting striker Jimson had a great chance when his chip was knocked onto the crossbar in the 55th minute and Abblett bundled what looked like an easy follow-up over from close-range.

But Malvern had their chances including a wide shot from Anthony Smith.

Following the killer blow of the penalty, Town re-grouped and had a glorious chance through Andy Bullock in the 84th minute which he knocked into the side netting. Two minutes later Hyde saw his tame right-foot shot go well wide.

Town remain bottom of the British Gas Business Southern League Division One Midlands table after Saturday’s defeat.

MALVERN TOWN (4-4-2): Humphries; Harris, Clayton, Allen (Critcher, 34min), Smith; Aldington (Bullock, 67), Crowther, Mussell, Ingram (Reynolds, 80); Malins, Hyde. Subs (not used): Harris, Woods.

Booked: None.

Sent off: None.

SOHAM TOWN RANGERS (4-4-2): Jordan; Turner, Johnson, McNeil, Williams; Weston, Jones (Gray, 82), Simpson, Abblett (Seymour, 82); Jimson, Furnell (Smith, 68). Subs (not used): Coleman.

Booked: Abblett.

Sent off: None.

Referee: Lance Blackwood (Walsall).