Category: Sports News

CHINNOR RFC Seconds 29 pts vs Reading Seconds 10 – October 21 – Home League Game – Match Report – (Contributed)
Tries: Nick Grimsdell, Joe Iosefo and Ed Orchard x 2.
Conversions: Gareth Duder x 2

CHINNOR seconds are back to their winning ways with a great win against a very strong Reading seconds, beating the visitors 29 points to 10.
This makes it three wins and three loses in this very competitive Canterbury Shield, Division 2 League, playing against major clubs with large pools of players, and the boys are holding their own.

Chinnor went behind within three minutes of the start to a penalty but pulled it back in the 10th minute after some good work by both forwards and backs, cluminating with Joe Iosefo going over in the corner. This was then well converted by Gareth Duder from the touch line against the wind.
The lead was brief however, with Chinnor dropping behind again five minutes later to a converted push over try, and Reading was confidently ahead 10 points to 7.

Chinnor then started to take control, despite some strange decisions that saved Reading from going further behind. Nick Grimsdell scored to take Chinnor into the lead 12 points to 10. This was followed by a well worked try by Ed Orchard and again converted by Duder, which saw the first half finish with Chinnor 19 points to 10 in the lead.

The Chinnor boys kept control of the game but were denied adding to their points tally by being blown out of the game with 19 penalties to 4.
This added to their own mistakes and some dubious choices, besides not keeping control of the ball and at least five forward passes with the line at their mercy. This was duly rectified with Orchard going over for his second try. Ed Devine, who has been out of the game for three months after receiving a knee injury at practice, came on as a replacement for the last 20 minutes and did very well to score the next try.

An elated Chinnor team finished the game ahead 29 points to 10.

All 19 players had good games and although Ian Stock was taken off for the last 20 minutes, he was adjudged man of the match.

Walter McGuicken
Second Team Manager

Match Report: MILTON UNITED 2 THAME UNITED 1 – Monday, October 16.

FOLLOWING the heavy defeat against Witney United on Saturday, Thame United made a number of changes to the side for the game against fellow Hellenic League Premier Division Club, Milton United, in the Floodlit Cup on Monday evening.
Mark Bell, Luke Ricketts and Tony Weaver were all promoted from the Reserve side, with Mark going straight in to the side at centre back and Luke and Tony on the bench.

The game got off to a bad start for Thame when Milton United opened the scoring in the first five minutes from Darren Howell. However, as a pre-cursor to their performance in the rest of the game, the Thame United side showed great commitment and effort to pull themselves level 10 minutes later. Sion Kitson punished Milton when the goalkeeper collected a back pass to drive the ball powerfully in to the corner of the net from the resultant free kick.

The remainder of the first half and the first twenty minutes of the second half saw both sides attack without breaking down the opposition defence, despite numerous dangerous crosses in to the Milton box from the flank.
The turning point of the game came with twenty minutes to go when Thame right back Dave Hocking was given a red card for two bookable offences, the second of which saw him carried off the field.
With Thame down to 10 men, Milton pressed for the winner. However, just when it seemed that Thame would take the tie in to extra time, in the ninth minute of injury time, Paul Searl was unable to hold a powerful drive from Vince Rusher and the ball rebounded to substitute Danny Kirby to finish from close range.

It was cruel luck for a Thame side who put in as good a team-based and committed performance as they had done all season. Particularly impressive were debutant Mark Bell, who dealt with everything thrown at him by Milton, and his defensive colleagues Chris Watkins and Sion Kitson.

Thame travel to mid-table Chipping Norton Town on Saturday.

Thame United line up:
Searl, Watkins, Hocking, Bell, Kitson, Connelly, Jack, Miller (Ricketts), Jackson, Reading (T Weaver), J Weaver

THAME Tennis Club held its annual Finals Day recently, when again there were some notable achievements, with the high standard of play being appreciated by a very large viewing crowd.
In the Men?s Singles, Jack Groves secured his first title at the club by defeating a previous multiple winner, Doug Struthers 7-5 6-3 in a closely fought match played to an exceptionally high standard.

Fiona Pidgeon (in what turned out to be a busy afternoon for her) then went on to win the Ladies? Singles title by defeating a previous champion Clare Carder also by the score of 7-5 6-3.

After facing a flying start from their opponents, Mark Ashworth and Lee Wright ultimately prevailed in the Men?s Doubles to win their third successive title by defeating Richard Bradley and Neil Morgan, again by the score of 7-5 6-3.

In her second Final of the afternoon, Fiona Pidgeon successfully partnered her Singles opponent, Clare Carder, to win the Ladies Doubles title by defeating Terry Merry and Dawn Munro in a closely fought match that went to three sets 6-2 3-6 6-1.

Appearing also in the Mixed Doubles Final, Fiona narrowly missed out on a historic clean sweep when she and her partner Nick Belcher slipped to defeat against Jenny McLeod and Steve Nannery by the score of 6-4 6-4.

Joel Morris (who also had a busy afternoon) firstly won the Boy?s Under 15 title by defeating Josh Batty 6-0 6-1.
He then went on to display his phenomenal talent by taking on Mark Wilkins in the Boy?s Under 18 Final and winning the first set 7-5. Mark?s experience eventually told as he then went on to win the next two sets 7-5 6-0 and thereby retain the title that he won last year.

Louise Wilkins then completed another successful afternoon for the Wilkins family by also retaining her title when she defeated Hannah Clark 6-1 6-2 in the Girl?s Under 18 final.

Earlier, Thomas Worthington prevailed over Max Schmidt to win the Under 12 title.

The Autumn/Winter season is now under way at the club with special membership subscription rates available. For more details, please call Aidan Coles on 01844-238900.

MATCH REPORT – League game – Saturday, Octber 14; Thame United 0 Witney United 7
Thame United suffered their heaviest loss this season when they were defeated 0-7 by Witney United last Saturday.
Two of the visitors’ goals were scored from the penalty spot whilst another was the result of a goalkeeping fumble.
Nevertheless this was a poor performance, which saw Thame defenders allowing the opposition far too much space, and although Thame created several good
chances their strikers seemed incapable of finishing.

Witney’s first came after nine minutes when Lee Keyes met a good through ball from the right, to fire home from 15 yards. Keys got his second from the spot in the 27th minute after Dave Hocking was judged to have fouled in the area.
The confident Keys got his hat-trick three minutes later when he chipped Thame goalkeeper, Paul Searl, from 10 yards.
On 35 minutes Johnson hit the post with a header and Mark Odum met the rebound to finish from five yards.

As if 4-0 was not bad enough, with two minutes of the first half remaining, Searl dropped the ball
when he went to collect a corner and Witney’s Ben Border was quick to tap home.

At half time Thame Chairman, Jake Collinge, replaced a linesman who had pulled a leg muscle in the opening half. Despite banter from Witney supporters and
encouragement from the Thame faithful to raise his flag whenever the visitors attacked, his decisions were fair.

The Thame second half performance was better. Witney however increased their lead in the 67th minute when, against the run of play, Neil Maskell met a
corner to head home from 10 yards. The visitors final goal came with 15 minutes remaining after Alex Cairns was harshly judged to have fouled in the box. Keyes
scored his fourth with the resultant penalty.

Thame United: Searl, Jackson, Watkins, Johnson, Hocking, Connelly, Gibson
(Weaver), Cairns (Reading), Jack, Tripp, Da Silva.

THROUGHOUT this autumn, members of the eight, SOLLutions Health and Fitness Clubs in Oxfordshire (including Thame Leisure Centre) are taking part in a Land?s End to John O?Groats SOLLutions Fitness Challenge.

The actual journey between Lands End and John O?Groats is one that extends from the south west in Cornwall to the north east in Caithness. The distance is around 875 miles.
For the SOLLutions Fitness Challenge however, the epic journey has been divided into 30 stages or destinations along the route. Participants will progress between the stages with every 15 minutes of cardiovascular exercise completed in the gym. The challenge is open to all SOLLutions to all gym users regardless of fitness levels and is design to be fun and keep exercises motivated.
All those who complete the challenge will be receive a special certificate of recognition.

Gary Oleinik, game organiser, said ?Gym Challenges give customers short-term goals that are challenging and attainable. With the help of our fitness team we aim to give customers fun and rewarding experiences throughout the year which will help keep them motivated and achieve their fitness goals.?

Visit www.soll-leisure.co.uk to find your nearest club or call: –

Chinnor 2nds, 50 Pts vs. Westcombe Park 2nds, 13 Pts October 7 – Away League Game.
SCORERS: Tries – Andy Millburn x 2, Joe Iosefo, Phil Scott-Priesley, Martyn O,Mahony, Ed Orchard, Nick Grimsdell, Leon Westerman. Conversions – Gareth Duder x 5.
MATCH REPORT
What a great game played by two good sides, but this time the Chinnor 2nds reached new heights with everything just going right for them on the day. The forwards were awesome and they gelled superbly with the back-line, who were also in top form.
Chinnor came out of the blocks from the start unlike last week where it took them 20 minutes to settle in.
Joe Iosefo put points on for Chinnor within five minutes, after good control by the forwards. Within minutes however, Westcombe Park came back to even the score.
Five minutes later it was the turn of the backs and Ed Orchard scored, followed by a convertion by Gareth Duder. But Westcombe Park came back again in the 25th minute and the score was 12-10 to Chinnor.

Chinnor then stepped up a gear with Andy Millburn turning the ball over on the halfway line by putting Chinnor into an attacking position and allowing for Phil Scot-Priestley to score – again converted by Duder. Another good break, this time by Ian Stock, gave Nick Grimsdell the opportunity on the wing to score, and again Duder converted. The first half ended 26 points to 10 in Chinnor?s favour.

The second half went all Chinnor?s way and Westcombe Park found whatever they tried was just to no avail. Chinnor continued to score at regular intervals with tries by Martyn O?Mahony and Leon Westerman, and two by standin Captain, Andy Millburn, with Duder converting two of the tries.
Westcombe Park added to its tally with a well-taken drop goal when every thing else seemed to have failed for them.
The game finished with Chinnor winning 50 points to 13.
All 19 players featured had great games but there were outstanding performances by O?Mahony, Beets, Iosefo and Weeks-Pearson, but man of the match goes to Stocky for his all-round game and change in position.

Walter McGuicken
Second Team Manager

Ed. Chinnor 1st XV were not so lucky on Saturday – they lost 8 pts to 85, against Westcombe Park 1st XV in their National League 3 South match on Saturday (07/10). Report to follow.

SOLL Leisure is delivering free, one day passes to thousands of homes across Oxfordshire this autumn, as part of its GET FIT in 00.30.00 campaign.
The campaign has been designed to make it as easy as possible for people to build regular physical activity into their lives, whether it is at work, at home, or in the gym. As well as the free vouchers, customers can download a free trial voucher from the SOLL Leisure website “Link

SOLL Leisure says: “At SOLLutions we are absolutely committed to encouraging the people in the local community to make regular physical activity a part of their lives. We are constantly seeing coverage in the media about how we are facing an obesity and health epidemic; however exercising for 30 minutes at least five times a week can have a dramatic impact on your health. It can reduce the risk of premature death, heart disease, some cancers and type two diabetes, as well as improving mental health and sense of wellbeing.
“Incorporating exercise into your life can be extremely daunting. This campaign will help you break down the challenge of getting physically fit into manageable bite-sized chunks. The Fit in 00.30.00 programme recommends a minimum of two 30 minute sessions a week in the gym and three of more sessions of 30 minutes elsewhere. Activities can include DIY, gardening, dancing, walking and even housework! This campaign is about a realistic, sustainable approach to exercise and fitness.”

To find out more about the Fit in 00.30.00 campaign, contact the SOLLutions Health and Fitness centre at Thame Leisure Centre or call 01865 408380.

CHINNOR RFC Match Report – Chinnor 2nd, 21 Pts vs. North Walsham 2nd, 11 Pts. Date: 30th September – Away League Game.
Scorers
Tries: Rob Arther, Adam White.
Conversions: Gareth Duder x 1
Penalties: Gareth Duder x 3

ANOTHER great game played by two good sides and in the spirit that all rugby games should be played. Fair, but with no quarter given, the hits came in hard and it was played at a fast pace but this time the Chinnor boys came out on top.
Chinnor were forced to defend well for the first twenty minutes and went down to a penalty and a try in this period. With only fifteen players available for Chinnor, and no replacements, North Walsham made rolling changes with twenty players.
Matt Woodward injured his arm with a possible fracture after 10 minutes, but stayed on playing in absolute pain knowing it would jeopardise the game if he left the field, as did Andy Millburn who had an injury with a finger in the eye. This gave him a lot of trouble for the whole game but he too persevered. They both have to be commended for their conviction and team spirit.

During the next twenty minutes Chinnor settled down but tried too hard and lacked patience, and as a result they wasted some good scoring opportunities.
North Walsham succeeded with another penalty in the 10th minute of injury time and the first half finished 11- nil to North Walsham.

After a good chat at half time between Captain Tom Whelan and a few players, the boys came back on fire. The pack dominated the opposition, the backs clicked and Chinnor had their first points within three minutes of the start with a good try by young wing Rob Arther in the corner. The forwards kept up the pressure and were rewarded with two penalties in the 16th and 30th minutes. Gareth Duder turned these into points with some good kicking and the score was equal at 11 all. Rob Fenwick (Fenners) was very vocal on the field, which helped to gee up the team and appeared to encourage everyone. Chinnor took the lead with another great kick by Duder from somewhere near the halfway line.
Finally in the eighth minute of injury time, Adam White ran in a superb try which was well converted by Duder and Chinnor seconds got their first win in the Canterbury Shield League.

Man of the match Gareth Duder, but fourteen other inspirational players did their club proud.

Walter McGuicken

Thame United 2, Wantage Town 6 – League Match- 30/09/06 – Match report

With 15 minutes of this match to play, Wantage were leading 3-2 and Thame were looking as if they would equalise. As they pushed forward in search of their third goal however, Thame left huge defensive gaps that Wantage were quick to exploit.

Thame scored after four minutes when the ball struck Thame?s Patrick Johnson and was deflected into the net.
The visitors fought back and equalised in the 25th minute when, after a good run on the right Gavin Jones, passed to Paul Day who beat Thame goalkeeper Paul Searl from 10-yards. Wantage were creating more chances and it was the impressive Jones who set up their second. Once again he ran at goal on the right before passing to Day to shoot, but this time Searl parried Day?s shot only to see the ball fall at the feet of Adam Giles who fired home from 8-yards. The visitor third came in the 60th minute and yet again, was the result of a Jones’ right wing run. This time he picked out Giles who finished confidently from six yards.
Thame then had a good spell of attacking football. Nathan Jack has a great chance to pull one back for Thame but with only goalkeeper Terry Burton to beat, he chose to try to dribble past him rather than shoot, and Burton bravely lifted the ball from his feet. Substitute Jordan weaver was unlucky to see Burton brilliantly save his strong 25-yard shot.

Ben Connelly made several excellent long runs through the middle, one of which ended with his shot going just wide. The Thame pressure eventually paid off in the 74th minute when a long ball from Joe Da Silva found Jack who fired home from 15-yards.

Thame continued to press but any hopes of a draw were dispelled when, with 14 minutes remaining, Wantage substitute Tom Rowe netted their forth with a strong 20-yard shot. Giles then completed his hat trick when he headed in a free kick. The visitor?s final goal came in the last minute when substitute Tom Austin fired past Searl from 8 yards.

Thame United: Searl (Capt.) Johnson, Watkins, Kitson, Hocking, Connelly, Gibson, Tripp (Howes), Miller (Weaver), Da Silva.

THAME held their first open of the season on the River Thame at Crendon Bridge on Sunday, October 01
All the rain we have been having of late did not deter the fish from feeding. First past the post was local tackle shop dealer, Ian Horrocks of Thame, Angling with 9.6.0, followed by Rob Carney with 5.8.0 and closley in third place was Adge Campden with 5.6.0.
Section winners were Martin Chown and Nick Newitt.