Category: Sports News

MATCH REPORT – Saturday 10th October, 2009 – Chinnor Oxen (Vets) XV, 20 v Alchester 2nd Team, 5.

LAST Saturday, 10/10/09, saw Alchester RFC fielding a 2nd team for the first time ever away to Chinnor Vets in a friendly. The Alchester team had youth on their side against the Vets, despite that, the game was fair and even, the difference in the first half being Richard Simpson who broke the Alchester line to stroll over the whitewash for Chinnor Vets first try after about 20 minutes, faithfully converted by Conor Begley.

The 2nd try came from the newly returned Chinnor ?legend?, Kenny Lue making his debut for the Vets after about 10 years off, last appearing for the 1st team and Kingsey Road, when he popped up to seize a bobbling ball to dive over the line to grab a try to rapturous celebrations ensuring that the Vets went in at the break 12 ? 0 up.

The turn around did not change things with the heavy weight front row of Alchester dominating the scrum with the lighter weight, more experienced and more mobile back row popping up where least expected to secure turn over ball for the Vets of Chinnor. Alchester, did, however help themselves to a consolation try before Chinnor sealed the win with a Begley Penalty and another try to make the final score 20 ? 5 in Chinnor favour.

All credit and thanks to Alchester for putting out this 2nd team for the first time, a true milestone in their clubs history.

Finally a mention for all those that have turned out for the Vets, so far, this season:

Rob Atkin, ?Reg? Bailey, Mike Bailey, Conor Begley, Alan Beveridge, Steve Bridges, Jon Brooks, Carl Buckland, John Cann, Craig Dalziel, Tim DeGlanville, Ben Forward, Kieron Hall, Tony Howells, Doug Humphries, Bill Jackson, Craig Jones, Kenny Lue, Jeremy Philpott, Dave Ratcliffe, John Sellars, Richard Simpson, Craig Smith, John Vaughan, Richard ?Nobby? Warner, Dave Wells, Mike Wiltshire, Paul Wright

Photo: Man of the Match: Jon Brooks

The referee was Doug Humphries.

SATURDAY, October 10, 2009 – SCORE: Finchampstead 0, versus Thame United 2; Match report:

UNITED maintained their unbeaten start to the league campaign with a hard fought win at sixth placed Finchampstead on Saturday.

The result owed much to the form of keeper Paul Searl as United found it hard to break down the home defence. The most telling contribution from Searl came ten minutes before the break when, with United already leading 1-0, defender Mitchell Meredith was adjudged to have fouled striker Bobby Hogg in the penalty area. Pat Selby drove the resultant penalty powerfully down the centre of the goal and, with Searl already committed to diving to his right, his outstretched left arm somehow managed to keep the ball out and push it away from goal where Selby collected the ball only for Searl to again save his goal bound effort. This proved to be as near as Finchampstead got to scoring, but nevertheless was a turning point for the game.

Ten minutes earlier United had taken the lead when Stuart Barr got the faintest of touches to an Adam Rhodes free kick and, with the assistance of a deflection off a defender the ball found its way in to the back of the net. Until then United had been in the ascendancy and were unlucky not to have already been further ahead following good efforts from Ben Connelly, Nik Rhodes and Aaron Rogers.

The second period began with Finchampstead putting more pressure on the Thame goal without really causing the defence, or Searl, any particular problems. United themselves were dangerous when breaking forward and nearly added to their lead in the 65th minute when Aaron Rogers floated a cross from the right that beat the keeper and was heading for the back of the net until the unfortunate Mark Jones, who had pushed forward for the cross, inadvertently blocked the ball on the line. As it was, United had to wait until the 89th minute to extend their lead when, with Finchampstead pushing forward, United broke down the right. With Connelly picking-up the ball on the half way line he beat two defenders and with the keeper coming out to collect the ball, Connelly managed to stab the ball across the six yard line where Sam Cowan was on hand to score from close range.

The win pushes United up to fourth in the league and well-placed with up to five games in hand on their promotion rivals. On Saturday United face Penn & Tylers Green at home (AFC Wallingford; 3:00pm kick off), opponents they have never beaten in the league.

Thame United ? Searl, Barnett, Meredith, Hocking, N.Rhodes, Cowan, A.Rhodes, Barr (G.Way), Jones (Higgs), Rogers, Connelly (El-Kassir).

MATCH REPORT: Thame Netball Club – Tornadoes 12 v Kies 25; 07/10/09

THAME Tornadoes lost out on their third win of the season as rival Thame team, Kites, took the win on Wednesday evening.

It was another fast game and both Tornadoes and Kites played the ball well between the centre court players. Tornadoes player of the match was awarded to Rachel Wilkins who played a superb game at Centre, a position she doesn?t usually play. The Tornadoes shooters also played well and scored some excellent goals but Kites made it very difficult with excellent defending in the circle.

Both teams gave the game their all and it was a very close match. Some outstanding shooting by Kites GS saw them take the win 25 goals to 21.

Team: Hannah White (captain), Sue Dunn, Rachel Wilkins, Carol Storey, Vanessa Hake, Karen Fowler, Amanda Collingwood, Katie Houghton and Lisa Sydenham.

Image courtesy of skippytinks.co.uk

NATIONAL Division 3 South West: Saturday, October 10, 2009 – Chinnor 28 PTS V Weston-Super-Mare 17 PTS – MATCH REPORT (Contributed)

CHINNORhad a more satisfying day than of late at Kingsey Road on Saturday, with a 28-17 win over Weston-Super-Mare.

Still hit by injuries, Chinnor recalled evergreen prop, Simon Matthews though hooker, Simon Tattersall, was back from injury as was Eric Brown, out
since the beginning of last season.

Chinnor got off to a flying start in the third minute when the highly influential Alex Wallace dotted down for Chinnor after some smart lineout work by the home side. A few minutes later, Cathcart gave Chinnor an 8-0 lead with a penalty goal.

In the 11th minute, Tattersall had to leave the field for a blood injury to his head. This proved to be the first of four such occasions for Tattersall who was forced to retire at half time after contributing
brightly despite his obvious discomfort.

Another penalty goal from Cathcart on the 24th minute received a swift reply in Weston?s first
significant threat of the day. Reacting well to an undermanned blindside, full back Neil Trevenna weaved in to score near the posts. With Harry Warman?s conversion, Weston narrowed the gap to 11-7, a score
which stood until half time.

Seven minutes into the second half, referee Brian Barclay from Devon, decided that Weston?s lock Andrew Richards misdemeanour at a ruck was deserving of a yellow card. Despite being down to 14 men, Weston was the next to score with flanker Dan Fry scoring an unconverted try to give Weston a lead in the match for the first time at 11-12.

Two sweeping moves down the pitch inspired by Wallace?s astute insertions into the Chinnor back line, led to two tries from the rejuvenated Pip Seymour. With the score now at 21-12 in Chinnor?s favour and his work for the day done, Seymour was replaced by Eric Brown wearing a Chinnor shirt for the first time in nearly two seasons. From a
tidy forward drive, Joe Pickett scored his debut try for Chinnor. With the extra added by Cathcart, Chinnor now led 28-12.

With the game heading towards the close, Weston winger James Arnold finished off a well executed passing sequence to make the final score 28-17 for Chinnor.

Chinnor would be pleased to get back to winning ways (and a bonus point) at Kingsey Road with this showing of sharpness and pace perhaps lacking so far this season. The forwards were tidy throughout and coped well with Tattersall?s forced retirement and subsequent loss of precise throwing in. Winpenny did well to keep this element of play accurate for
the home side. Alex Wallace at full back had an eye catching match. Safe under the high ball, his out of hand kicking was faultless. Best of all, his decisions to enter the line saw him score one try and make two tries for Pip Seymour who was a direct and abrasive force throughout.

Chinnor team: Wallace, Serrano, Williams R, Hewitt, Seymour (Brown 63), Cathcart, Hopwood, Matthews, Tattersall (Winpenny 42), Pickett, Jackman, Black (Williams M 78), Gilbert, Hastings, Mowbray.
Reps: Winpenny, Williams M, Brown

Picture: Chinnor No 8, Tom Mowbray makes a break against Weston Super-Mare

AM Print & Copy Hellenic League Floodlit Cup – Thame United 6, Swindon Supermarine Reserves 0; Tuesday, October 06, 2009 – Match report:

THAME United comfortably defeated Swindon Supermarine Reserves at Wallingford on Tuesday evening in a Floodlit Cup fixture. The visitors play in the Hellenic reserve league enabling Thame manager, Mark West, to rest some key players for this fixture.

The opening exchanges were fairly even but then Thame started to gain the upper hand. The turning point of the match came after 20 minutes when Thame?s Aaron Rogers was fouled, just outside the penalty area as he ran at goal. The referee, perhaps harshly, dismissed the visiting centre half, Dave Glover, judging that he was the ?last man?. Adam Rhodes took the resultant free kick, and beat the keeper, by placing his shot in the top left hand corner. Five minutes later it was 2-0 as Sam Cowan hit a beautiful 35-yard volley over the keeper?s head. On 30 minutes, Rogers ran at goal on the left, and created enough space to, square the ball to the unmarked Mark Jones who finished confidently from 15-yards.

Thame controlled the second half, although it was 80 minutes before the lead was increased, but then the floodgates opened. Goal number four came from a corner which was headed in from close range by substitute, Stuart Braun. Soon after, Thame goalkeeper, Paul Searl, who had been a spectator for much of the game, was forced to make an outstanding save from a strong 20-yard shot. With five minutes remaining Rogers did well to control a ball played ?over the top? from defence, before running at goal and finishing well from 15-yards.

The final goal came in the last minute. The back-in- form, Ben Connelly, who throughout the game had supplied a steady stream of crosses from the right, beat two men and hit a 20-yard shot, from an acute angle, easily beating the demoralised visiting keeper.

Thame United: Searl, G Way, Meredith, Barnett, Higgs, Cowan (El-Kassir), Connelly, A Rhodes, Jones (Braun), Rogers, Baylie

United are away at Finchampstead on Saturday 10th October. The next game at Hithercroft Stadium is on the 17th, when Penn & Tylers Green are the visitors.

LEAGUE MATCH – Saturday, October 3, 2009 -Thame United 0, Wokingham & Emmbrook 0; Match Report:-

THAME United exchanged their 100% league win record for an unbeaten record on Saturday when they drew 0-0 with league leaders Wokingham & Emmbrook. It was a match, played in a strong gusting wind, which made it difficult for players to judge the flight of the ball. The encounter was also marred by a referee who blew his whistle at the least provocation, and it seemed at times without any reason, and he consequently prevented the game from flowing. Although the sides were evenly matched, the game was therefore not particularly entertaining.

The visitors, with the wind at their backs, started brightly and could have gone ahead after 15 minutes when impressive striker Richard Bland pounced on a loose ball and hit a shot from 12-yards, but Thame keeper Paul Searl made a seemingly impossible fingertip save. A few minutes later Thame captain, Dave Hocking was forced to clear a goal bound shot off the line. Thame grew stronger as the half progressed, but both Ben Connelly and Adam Rhodes were unable to convert difficult half chances.

The home side had the wind advantage in the second half and this time and it was Thame who controlled the play. Their best chance came from a set piece. A corner was played back to Connelly, who hit a ball to the far corner which Nik Rhodes met with well-placed header forcing an outstanding save from the visiting keeper. Searl?s goal was rarely troubled until, with about 20 minutes to play, visiting striker Luke Lee hit the post from 10 yards. Shortly after however Lee was dismissed for a second bookable offence. Thame made substitutions and continued to press, but despite the home side?s one-man advantage, they were unable to penetrate the well-organised Wokingham defence. The game therefore finished goalless and a draw was a fair result.

Several Thame players had excellent games but defender Nik Rhodes was chosen as Thame?s man of the match.

Thame United: Searl, Cowan, Wakelin (Barr), N Rhodes, Hocking, El-Kassir, Connelly, A Rhodes, Jones, Rodgers (Higgs), Ricketts.

Photo: Man of the match, Nik Rhodes

CHINNOR FIRSTS’ Trip to Gloucestershire Saturday (03/10/09) ended their run of defeats, when they beat Coney Hill, 12 points to Chinnor, 6 points to Coney Hill.

To come away with a win at Coney Hill is no mean feat. Coney Hill play their rugby in a hard, abrasive and uncompromising manner, expecting no quarter and certainly not offering one. Adding their fairly vociferous spectators to this mix puts this result, for Chinnor, into context. It was an absorbing game, not particularly high on skill level but for sheer blood and guts it had it all – from both sides.

Ricky Hopwood came into the starting line-up at scrum half in place of the injured Tom Jarvis with Harry Jackman coming into the second row. Chinnor started into a strong wind which was gusting at a pretty hefty pace down one touchline. Coney Hill used the conditions well with fly-half Ryan Barnett kicking to the corner, putting Chinnor under pressure at every available opportunity. They launched a series of attacks from this touchline and were rewarded almost immediately when Chinnor were caught off-side in front of the posts, allowing Adam Morgan the opportunity to slot a simple penalty.

Chinnor defended resolutely in the ensuing period, as they did for the entire game, restricting Coney Hill to just three points. Gradually Chinnor, keeping the ball in hand, worked their way up field. They were awarded a penalty and kicked for the corner. From the resultant catch and well controlled rolling maul, Harry Jackman went over. The conversion from the touchline never had a chance into the swirling wind. So with 26 minutes gone, Chinnor were two points ahead at 3-5 having absorbed a fair bit of pressure before hand. It was then much of the same for the remaining 14 minutes of the half with Coney Hill battering the Chinnor line with wave after wave of attack. Their only reward during this period was another penalty by Adam Morgan when Chinnor were caught offside. With the interval score showing Chinnor just the one point adrift at 6-5 and, with the wind at their backs, it was game on.

Coney Hill came out for the second half with much intent, hardly allowing Chinnor a touch of the ball. Harry Jackman was yellow carded during this period and this heralded a Coney Hill onslaught of some intensity. With several scrums on the Chinnor line with Coney Hill put-ins, the Chinnor seven held firm. This was, in hindsight, the critical part of the game in that they kept Coney Hill at bay with some superb first-up tackling. James Cathcart came on for the injured Mark Chase, who was carrying a groin injury, and with Chinnor restored to a full complement and securing a majority of the ball, they proceeded to peg Coney Hill back into the corner they themselves had defended so well in the first half.

Chinnor were now in the ascendancy having a platform from which to attack. Evergreen Simon Matthews then came on to add to Chinnor’s dominance during this phase of play. Minutes later, starting from a set scrum, they engineered a blindside move and from some 20 metres out Tom Mowbray delicately flipped the ball to the supporting Pip Seymour to go over for the match winning try, well converted by Hewitt. Coney Hill refused to give up, trying at every available opportunity to break out from defence. However it was the fitter Chinnor unit that eventually prevailed.

This performance showed an abundance of character from the Chinnor side. Harry Jackman made a lot of hard yards. Sam Jones, belying his age, was in the thick of the action all afternoon and another youngster Joe Pickett indicated that he can take all the intimidation coming his way and and is making huge strides on the scrummaging front under the tutelage of the experienced Joe Winpenny.

After two fairly exasperating performances, Chinnor showed they are still a force to be reckoned with and with their injured players on the verge of returning for selection then the situation at Kingsey Road looks infinitely more promising.

BOTH Thame netball squads, the Tornadoes and the Hurricanes, are playing in the Aylesbury and District League Division four this season.

The Tornadoes have won their first two games and although the Hurricanes lost their first game, they are hoping for a win in their game this evening!

The club is still welcoming players to training and are keen to grow and develop as a club…ideally fielding a junior team!

Contact: Karen Fowler via karenfowler84@hotmail.co.uk

Here is a match report from the club’s recent match against All Blacks, on 23/09/09.

Thame Tornadoes took their second win of the season last Wednesday evening, beating All Blacks 2, 35 ? 27. All Blacks fought hard but solid shooting by Tornadoes Vanessa and Carol meant that Thame had the edge. Both teams demonstrated a high standard of play and Hannah and Sue both had an excellent game for Thame, defending brilliantly in the circle.

Player of the match was awarded to Katie Houghton who came on as WA and made some fantastic passes into the circle. Thame Tornadoes are training hard with their coach Lisa Manning and hope to make it three wins out of three when they take on Kites next week.

Team: Hannah White (captain), Sue Dunn, Rachel Wilkins, Mel Wilkins, Shelley Weeks, Carol Storey, Vanessa Hake, Karen Fowler, Amanda Collingwood and Katie Houghton.

Challenge Cup Preliminary Round – 27th Sept 09 – Thame Uninted 1, v Kidlington 5 – Match report;

WITH half an eye on the fixture this coming Saturday against league leaders Wokingham and Emmbrook, United fielded a changed side for this Challenge Cup match at Premier Division Kidlington. Whilst the result was a fair reflection of the play, the scoreline somewhat flattered Kidlington as they scored two goals in the last ten minutes as United were looking to get back in to the game.

Kidlington opened the scoring in the 18th minute a minute after Thame should have taken the lead when Nik Rhodes was unable to force the ball home from three yards following a near post flick. As it was, Kidlington went straight down the other end and, with some fortunate officiating for the home side that saw an off-side missed and a corner wrongly awarded from which striker Jimmy Deabill headed past Paul Searl in the Thame goal. Three minutes before half time Kidlington stretched their lead when a free kick from the right was delivered low in to the box, with Weedon the quickest to react, placing the ball beyond Searl.

Three minutes after half time and it was game over as Leggett again placed a header wide of Searl. United then put together their best period of football and were rewarded in the 68th minute when Ben Connelly ran on to a through ball and, with the keeper coming out at speed, somehow managed to divert the ball to Aaron Rogers who slotted in to an empty net, whilst Connelly felt the full force of the keepers challenge. Five minutes later and United could have had a second as Stuart Barr delivered a pin-point cross from the left on to the head of Lawrence El-Kassir who could only divert the ball wide from three yards. This turned out to be the last opportunity for Thame, as Kidlington hit them with two late goals to make the scoreline more comfortable than it was.

United will be looking for a big crowd on Saturday (October 3, 2009) as they entertain league leaders Wokingham and Emmbrook (3:00pm kick off at AFC Wallingford). This will be United?s first league game for five weeks, and they remain the only club in the Hellenic League with a 100% record. Already Thame have played five games fewer than most of the league, with Wokingham sitting 10 points clear of Thame at the top of the table.
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FA VASE SECOND QUALIFYING ROUND REPLAY – Tuesday, September 22, 2009; Thame United 0, Halstead Town 1
(aet; 0-0 after 90 minutes)

JUST as it looked as though only penalties would separate two evenly matched sides in this replay, the lack of intervention from the match officials in a series of controversial incidents ten minutes from the end of extra time ultimately cost United a place in the next round of the FA Vase.

First, the referee failed to spot an obvious foul on keeper Lee Orkney from a Halstead corner, awarding the visitors a second corner, before the same player was bundled to the ground as the ball came over from the resulting corner and was scrambled over the line by a Halstead attacker for the winning goal.

The preceding 110 minutes had been an even, tense game not assisted by the late arrival of the visitors from Essex that had resulted in a 45 minutes delay to the kick off. United were quickest out of the blocks, regularly ?turning? the visitors back four with balls down the channel for wingers Luke Ricketts and Stuart Barr to chase with success. The nearest United came to scoring in the opening period was after five minutes when Barr, seeing the keeper off his line, hit an opportunistic effort from 40 yards that the back-pedalling keeper was fortunate to push on to the crossbar and away for a corner.

Whilst United continued to press, Halstead gradually began to impose themselves on the game and, although Orkney in the Thame goal was rarely troubled, the visitors created a number of half chances. That said, the next clearest chance came to Thame when Luke Ricketts went on a powerful run from his own half, crossing to the near post for Mark Jones to glance his header just wide of the near post. Barr then had a further opportunity, volleying just over the bar from 20 yards.

The second half saw Halstead in the ascendancy, pushing the Thame defence deeper in to their own half but without creating any real chances. Like the first game on Saturday, it was no surprise that the match went in to extra time and after an uneventful first period, Thame realised luck was not going to be with them when they hit the woodwork for a second time in the 108th minute. Striker Aaron Rogers hit a powerful left foot volley from the edge of the box that the visiting keeper managed to push on to the post and away for a corner. Two minutes later and it was game over for Thame in the most controversial of circumstances.

Thame United: Orkney, Cowan, Wakelin (Meredith), Hocking, N.Rhodes, El-Kassir, A.Rhodes, Barr (G.Way), Jones, Rogers, Ricketts (Connelly)

Photo: Thame goalkeeper, Lee Orkney