Category: Sports News

MATCH REPORT – Bournemouth 24, Chinnor 26 – National third division South West; Saturday, September 05. 2009.

CHINNOR’S first match of the season, an away win at Bournemouth, was marred by an incident of foul play which led to the hospitalisation of Chinnor scrum half, Toby Prescott, and possibly the end of his season.

Chinnor gave debuts to hooker Simon Tattersall, flanker Liam Gilbert, no. 8 Tom Mowbray and fly half Mark Chase. There was a welcome return for Sam Black at lock, back from injury after missing most of last season.

In good but blustery conditions, the game got off to frenetic start with the first score to Bournemouth from a penalty goal on seven minutes. Just two minutes later, a Bournemouth scrum 10 metres from their own line was disrupted by Chinnor?s Toby Prescott. No 8 Mowbray pounced on the loose
ball to score an unconverted try. A few minutes later, Prescott ran off the back of a scrum and sent a long pass to Ben Hewitt to scoot in at the corner. With the conversion failing, Chinnor led 10-3.

Bournemouth then came back strongly. Winning a mid field penalty, they kicked for the corner. The resultant lineout saw the ball moved to winger Rory Hearson, coming in to midfield at great pace. He brushed off two tackles to dot down under the posts. The conversion from Puks Ngapaku levelled the score at 10-10.

The 36th minute then saw the low point of the match. Prescott darted from the scrum and wrong footed Bournemouth fly half Ngapaku. As Prescott passed, Ngapaku hit Prescott in the face with a stiff arm
forward smash. Catapulting into the air, Prescott lay ominously still.

Examination at hospital revealed that Prescott?s jaw was fractured in four places and four teeth were dislodged. The referee yellow carded Ngapaku which seemed totally inappropriate for an act of foul play which has possibly ended Prescott?s season. Chinnor Captain, Richie Williams, went to scrum half and Alex Wallace, returning from a long injury lay off, replaced Prescott.

On 39 minutes and with their dander up, the Chinnor pack rolled a maul off a lineout over Bournemouth?s line for prop Ian Stock to score. Cathcart converted to give Chinnor a 17-10 half time lead.

The second half started well for Bournemouth. Repossessing the ball after the restart led to a series of rucks on the Chinnor 22 with Bournemouth winger, Hearson, again breaking the Chinnor line to score a try. With Ngapaku in the sin bin, replacement kicker Mike Pope slotted the conversion to level the scores at 17-17. Shortly afterwards, two
penalties in quick succession from Chinnor fullback Cathcart gave Chinnor a 23-17 lead.

Bournemouth remained competitive and, in the 62nd
minute created an overlap on the left which allowed Pope to score wide out. Ngapaku?s conversion gave Bournemouth a one point lead at 24-23. Seven minutes later, Chinnor?s Cathcart regained the lead for Chinnor with a well struck penalty. Chinnor now led 26-24 and were hanging on in the face of intense pressure from the home side.

In the dying seconds of the match, Bournemouth were awarded a penalty. As the ball sailed wide, the referee blew for full time with the score 26-24 in Chinnor?s favour.

In some ways this was a typical first match of the season. There was a degree of rustiness and Chinnor will be worried about the fall off in performance in the second half. Failed kicks cost Chinnor 19 points.
Bournemouth are a very competitive side and any side visiting Chapel Gate will do well to get a result.

All in all, Chinnor were grateful to get a win but the whole match was overshadowed by the act of foul play which has possibly ended the season of Chinnor?s brightest spark and man of the match, Toby Prescott.

Chinnor team: Cathcart, Serrano, Hewitt, Williams, Shiel, Chase, Prescott (Wallace 36), Stock, Tattersall, Whelan (Winpenny 70), Black, Jackman, Gilbert, Hastings, Mowbray.

Reps: Winpenny, Wallace, Wood

PHOTO: Man of the match, but sadly injured, Toby Prescott

Bill O’Donnell

MATCH REPORT: Didcot Reserves 0, Thame United 1.

United maintained their 100% record in the league with a comfortable win on Bank Holiday Monday at Didcot Town Reserves. United went in to the game having kept clean sheets in each of their last three games and extended that record with a performance that provided further evidence that, in this league, solid defensive foundations will provide the recipe for success.

United were quickest out of the blocks when, after only two minutes, both the returning Stuart Barr and Lawrence El-Kassir went close following a cross from Aaron Rogers. However, the away support only had to wait another couple of minutes before United took the lead. A goal mouth scramble resulted in the ball falling at the feet of top goalscorer Mark Jones who confidently beat the keeper from close range for his sixth goal in seven appearances this season. Having taken the lead, United seemed content to preserve their position and for the remainder of the half the game was contained mainly in the middle of the pitch with neither keeper threatened. The only incident of note was the sending off of the Didcot Town striker who, having just been booked, was involved in a challenge with Thame keeper Lee Orkney that resulted in both players being booked and the striker leaving the field of play for his second bookable offence.

The second half started in similar vein to the first half, with United on the front foot. In the 56th minute Sam Cowan went close with a header from a Luke Ricketts corner whilst five minutes later substitute Thomas Hoskin shot wide when put through on goal by Ricketts. With only one man up front Didcot rarely threatened the Thame goal, although United were reminded of the importance of a second goal when, in the 72nd minute, the Didcot striker hit the bar with an effort from 25 yards. United responded immediately, with Adam Rhodes hitting the bar, before Hoskin placed a header over the bar from a Ricketts corner when fellow substitute Stuart Braun looked to be better placed. Braun then had an opportunity to seal the win but could only head wide from a Rhodes corner. The final opportunity fell to Rhodes in the 78th minute who, following good work down the right from Hoskin, saw his powerful shot from the angle beat both keeper and bar.

In the end, United held on with relative easy, making it four clean sheets in a row and seven straight wins in all competitions since the season start. United are without a game this coming Saturday, although the Reserves begin their season at home against Shrivenham Reserves (3pm kick off at Southern Road Recreation Ground). The following weekend (12th September) United have their biggest game for five years when they entertain Southern League Side Burnham in the FA Cup.

Thame United:

Orkney, Cowan, Wakelin (Hoskin, 45), Hocking (Gascoyne, 89), N.Rhodes, El-Kassir, A.Rhodes, Ricketts, Rogers (Braun, 60), Jones, Barr

CHINNOR seconds match report for 29th August 2009.

Chinnor Seconds had their second friendly of the season against a RAF under 23 fifteen team.
The game started off well for the Chinnor side with most of the play in the RAF 22 metres, but they were unable to put points on the board, and it was RAF that scored the first points with a converted try after a lucky bounce of the ball. Chinnor then took their turn with a forwards drive and try scored by captain Rob Fenwick.

Chinnor forwards dominated all the forward play, but the RAF backs proved to be a well-drilled side and you could see that they had enjoyed a few games playing together, knowing each other?s play. Chinnor added another try just on half time, this time by Andy Millburn and the first half finished 10 points to 7 in Chinnor?s favour.

The second half started with the RAF using their back line and keeping the ball away from the Chinnor pack. This paid off and they scored within the 5 minutes following a missed tackle. Five minutes later they scored another try, which was knocked on before being dotted down, this the ref missed, and the RAF increased their lead by 19 points to 10. Again Chinnor came back with a great break by Matt Webster, sadly losing the ball through a tackle inches before the line, Andy Millburn was on hand to pick up the ball and go over for his second try.

With 10 minutes to go the score were RAF 19 points to 15 in the lead. A missed tackle in the last 5 minutes gave the RAF another converted try and the game ended 26 points to 15 to the RAF.
Man of the match could be any one of the forwards. But man of the match goes to Ben Sanders who had a great game for his first run in the back line.
The second team are looking forward to all their boys returning from their break and those that had a run for the firsts.
Walter McGuicken

F A Cup Preliminary Round – Thame United 2, Wootton Blue Cross 0; 29/08/09 – MATCH REPORT

THAME United?s F A cup run continued of Saturday when they defeated Bedfordshire based, Wootton Blue Cross at Wallingford. The game was closer than the score suggests with possession fairly even. The difference was that United created more chances and took two, whilst the visitors squandered theirs.

Wootton had the better of the first few minutes but then Thame settled and both sides looked dangerous. Thame?s first goal came in the 22nd minute, from a well-executed set piece. Luke Ricketts, who had an outstanding game, took an in-swinging corner from the right, hitting it hard and low. Mark Jones broke away from his marker and met the ball just inside the near post, volleying home from close range. Thame grew in confidence and had their best spell of the game creating, but not converting, several half chances. The teams went in for the break with Thame leading 1-0, a fair reflection of play.

Wootton came out fired up for the second half and, for a while, United were forced to defend in numbers relying on occasional counter attacks. The visitors hit the bar and wasted several good scoring opportunities by missing the target. Although Thame?s goalkeeper, Lee Orkney, was kept busy, he was rarely tested. Thame fought back and in the 70th minute, Aaron Rodgers forced a good block from the visiting keeper then collected the rebound, but was unlucky to see his shot hit the bar. United scored a minute later and once again, Ricketts was the main provider. This time he made a good run on the left, cut in to the by-line, and played a ball to Rogers who found Jones in space 15-yards from goal. Jones hit the post with his shot. The ball could have gone anywhere, but amazingly, it came back to Jones?s feet and he buried his second shot. It was effectively ?game over?, and although the visitors pressed, forcing a first-rate save from Orkney, United also continued to attack, with substitute Stuart Braun also forcing a good save.

Thame will face stiffer opposition in the next round, when they will meet undefeated Southern League Division One side, Burnham. The game will be played at Wallingford on 12th September.

Thame United: Orkney, Cowan, Wakelin, N Rhodes, Hocking, El-Kassir, Connelly (Hoskin), A. Rhodes, Rogers (Braun), Jones, Ricketts

United do not have a game scheduled for next Saturday 5th September.

RACQUETS cycling club – Every Saturday at 10am outside Racquets, in Thame Cattlemarket – Free participation.

No one gets left behind; helmets recommended but not compulsory. BBQ Breakfast on return. Contact simon@Racquets-fitness-centre.com

LEAGUE GAME – 25/08/09 – Thame United 2, South Kilburn 0; MATCH REPORT – On paper, Thame United faced their toughest league opposition so far this season on Tuesday evening, when they entertained South Kilburn, who were also on maximum points.

Thame however won comfortably. As a result, they are now the only club in the league to have scored maximum points.

After a few minutes play, United started to win more possession, and both John Mitchell and Luke Rickets went close. United?s goalkeeper Paul Searl, was forced to make a good save in the seventh minute, but it proved to be the only time he was really tested all half. Thame?s first goal came in the 20th minute when, following a period of pressure, a visiting defender made a back pass to his goalkeeper. The alert Mark Jones did well to intercept the ball, turn and hit a strong 15-yard shot pass the keeper, from an acute angle.

The second goal came eight minutes later. Sam Cowan played a good ball to right-winger Ben Connelly who, under pressure from his marker, hit a cross that looked too deep. As the ball fell to the left by-line however, it was met by Jones, and quickly passed to the unmarked Adam Rhodes in the centre of the goal, who finished clinically from 8-yards. Thame continued to press for the remainder of the first half and one point, the visiting centre back was heard to shout out in frustration, ?its coming straight back at us?. The home side were faster to the ball and more creative than the visitor?s, who began to loose their composure and, as a result, received two bookings before the break.

The game was more even in the second half as the visitors fought for a goal. Searl was busy but apart from one superb save, he was not really tested. United however continued to press and, at one point, won five consecutive corners. As the game progressed, Kilburn?s frustration grew, as did the list of their names in the referee?s book. Scott Lewis was dismissed for a second offence, and David Ferguson received a straight red for an ?off the ball incident?. It is a tribute to Thame?s discipline that, although provoked, they did not receive any bookings. When the final whistle blew, therefore it was United?s eleven player?s verses the visitor?s nine.

Thame United: Searl, Cowan (G Way), Wakelin, N Rhodes, Hocking, El-Kassir, Connelly, A. Rhodes, Mitchell (Rogers), Jones, Ricketts (Hoskin).

Thame United are hoping to extend their F. A. Cup run next Saturday (29th) when Bedfordshire side, Wooton Blue Cross, from the United Counties League visit Hithercroft Stadium. The game kicks off at 3pm

PICTURE: Goal scorers, Sam Cowan and Adam Rhodes

CHINNOR Rugby Club, based in Thame, will be hosting three pre-season games this weekend, 29th August, 2009, and will be holding a welcome barbeque. Everyone welcome.

The first XV v Ilkeston, 2nds v RAF, 3rds v Alchester.

THAME United 2, Woodley Town 0 – 22/08/09; League game match report:

PLAYED four, won four. That’s United’s tally after Saturday’s game against league newcomers, Woodley Town. Both of Thame’s goals showed real quality, and although the visitors had their fair share of possession, they were unable to penetrate the well-drilled home defence.

Woodley had the better of the opening exchanges and, perhaps their best chance of the match, came in the second minute when home keeper Lee Orkney did well to deflect a goal-bound shot over the crossbar. Their advantage was however short-lived as Thame scored three minutes later. The tricky Luke Ricketts picked up the ball on the left wing, just in the visitor?s half, beat his marker, and ran at the Woodley goal beating another defender, before cutting in and unleashing a powerful 15-Yard shot pass the advancing keeper. Woodley came back and their was some entertaining end?to-end football.

Thame?s second, which came after 20 minutes, was a beautifully executed opportunist?s goal. The ball was played from midfield to Mark Jones in space, about 40 yards from goal. Jones hit a superb lob which flew over the keeper?s head and bounced, just over the goal line, before hitting the back of the net. Both teams created good chances, and Orkney made another fine save before the break.

Woodley came out fired up for the second half and controlled the first few minutes. Thame came back, and through good work from wingers Connelly and Ricketts, created some half chances, which kept the visiting keeper busy. Ricketts went close and substitute John Mitchell forced a particularly good save from a header. Although the visitors continued to look dangerous, Orkney was the quieter of the two goalkeepers. In the final few minutes, Woodley looked a spent force and Thame were in control when the final whistle blew.

Thame United: Orkney, Cowan, Newell (Wakelin), N Rhodes, Hocking, El-Kassir, Connelly (Rogers), A. Rhodes, Hoskin (Mitchell), Jones, Ricketts,

Thame United are hoping to extend their F. A. Cup run next Saturday (29th) when Wooton Blue Cross, from the United Counties League visit Hithercroft Stadium. The game kicks off at 3.00.

SOME of Thame Tennis Club?s ladies teams are coming to the end of their summer campaigns, and a very successful year its been too.

In the Aylesbury and District League, the Ladies Second team in Division Four, captained by Rosie Knight, finished a successful season with a four sets all draw away to Marsh Gibbon. This result, plus their four wins and only one loss this season, should secure their place in the Division.

Meanwhile, in the Oxford League, the Ladies A team – Jo Kelly, Louise Wilkins; Ruth Tupper and Jenny McLeod (c) in Division One, drew their penultimate match two rubbers each at home to Portcullis A team.

The Ladies D team also drew 2-2 on the grass courts of North Oxford D in their last match of the season. This was a great result on an unfamiliar surface with new pairings within the team of Fiona Weiss (c), Nikki Jackson, Nina Ackland and Deb Savage .

For more information about Thame Tennis Club visit their website at www.thametennisclub.org.uk

HELLENIC LEAGUE DIVISION 1 EAST – Tuesday 18th August, 2009 – KINTBURY RANGERS 1, THAME UNITED 2. MATCH REPORT:

United maintained their 100% record in the league on Tuesday evening with a comfortable win at previously unbeaten Kintbury Rangers. It would be no exaggeration to say that United should have been four up after the quarter of an hour and these missed chances ultimately led to a nervous final few minutes.

United dominated from the kick off and in the opening ten minutes Dave Hocking, Lawrence El-Kassir and Ben Connelly all went close as they laid siege to the Kintbury goal. Two good opportunities went begging in the tenth minute when Nik Rhodes firstly saw his header at the back post from a Connelly cross well saved by the home keeper, before leading scorer Mark Jones somehow contrived to place the ball over the bar from only four yards.

Kintbury rarely threatened the Thame goal, although keeper Orkney had to be alert in the 23rd minute, grabbing a mis-hit effort low to his right. The pressure eventually paid for United in the 41st minute. Nik Rhodes met a corner with a powerful header that the keeper could only parry in to the path of El-Kassir who calmly slotted the ball home from close range.

With United 1-0 ahead at the break, they came out in the second half determined to kill the game off. They nearly did this in the 55th minute when, in similar fashion to Jones earlier in the game, Rhodes managed to volley the ball over the bar from only three yards. United did get their second five minutes later, Adam Rhodes played a through ball to Luke Ricketts that the defender was unable to deal with, and Ricketts hit a powerful low drive in to the bottom right hand corner of the net from 20 yards, giving the keeper no change.

There followed a period of disjointed play, albeit Thomas Hoskin had the ball in the back of the net on 63 minutes only to be pulled back for off-side, and the home keeper did well to save from the same player 10 minutes later.

With United seemingly easing towards another win, Kintbury pulled a goal back with five minutes to go. Given space, the young Kintbury right back hit a powerful drive from 25 yards that seemed to bounce awkwardly in front of keeper Orkney and flew in to the bottom corner. United then defended deep in their own half for the remainder of the game and came under increasing pressure. However, Orkney was not tested again and United held on for another victory that sees them well placed in the top six in the league.

On Saturday (22nd August) United have a home fixture against promoted Woodley Town (3:00pm kick off at Wallingford), before another home fixture against unbeaten South Kilburn on Tuesday 25th August (7:45pm kick off at Wallingford).

Thame United: Orkney, Cowan, Newell (Wakelin), N.Rhodes, Hocking, El-Kassir, A.Rhodes, Connelly (Rogers), Jones (Stocker), Hoskin, Ricketts.
Subs not used: West, Way.