Second half fightback sees Belper Town close gap to play-off places

Ollie Ward's contentious 17th minute penalty success saw Soham deliver a sucker punch as Belper wasted chances.

But Craig Nelthorpe levelled from the spot on 57 minutes before a fantastic lob by Nathan Curtis on 81 minutes and a great finish from a tight angle by Brodie Litchfield two minutes later sealed a second successive win for the Nailers.

“It was a poor first half for us and we didn't do anything we had talked about before the game, about starting brightly with a good tempo,” said manager Grant Black.

“I thought we let them slow it down and we didn't get hold of the game.

“We then conceded a goal which was a harsh penalty and we didn't really shake it off for the rest of the half.

“We had a few strong words at half-time. The lads are not daft, they know that was needed.

“We made a few changes we needed to make too.

“The tempo and the change in attitude then won us the game.”

Black admitted the missed first half chances did not help matters.

“Is is frustrating to miss chances but it's part and parcel of football,” he said.

“But we always say getting into the positions is the most important thing. When we're not getting into positions we'll start worrying.

“We have scored a lot of goals this season and had three different goalscorers today, so we do have other people stepping up.

“Soham are always in games for 50-60 minutes and make it really difficult for teams.

“So we talked about having to be patient and potentially having to win the game in the last 25 minutes which came to fruition today.”

The game attracted a crowd of 591 and Black added: That was absolutely unbelievable for us as a club and we can only thank them all and hope they come and enjoy it again when there is another international break.”

Belper will be looking to make it three wins in a row and push on into the play-off spots with a trip to 18th-placed Wisbech Town this Saturday.