Category: Sports News

FA cup Second Qualifying Round: Saturday, October 1, 2011; Thame United 1, Oxford City 3. MATCH REPORT (Contributed)

THAME united were defeated 1-3 in the FA Cup at the ASM Stadium on Saturday, by on-form Oxford City. Thame?s opponent?s play in the Evostik Southern League where they currently occupy second place, having won seven of their 10 games. United play two leagues lower and have won two from six. Nevertheless it was Thame who were leading at half time.

Several Key players were missing for United due to injury, suspension and holidays forcing five changes from the team that defeated Brackley in the previous round. The game, which attracted 426 spectators, was played in a temperature of 29 degrees, and understandably, the pace was slow at times.

After an even first five minutes the visitors started to threaten the Thame goal but United keeper Nick Bennion was in superb form making several quality saves. Thame defended well, and at times had 10 players in their penalty area, leaving Alex Macdonald as the sole striker. It was one-way-traffic for a while with the home team making the occasional foray into the City half. Then, on 29 minutes an overhead ball from Ian Pykett found a city player on the right touchline but the Thame?s tricky winger Ben Connolly robbed him and travelled before playing a delightful ball to Macdonald putting him through on goal until he was clattered by a city defender.

The referee rightly pointed to the penalty spot. Thame captain Jon Stedman comfortably converted the spot kick, giving the keeper no chance. Thame continued to contain the City threat for the remainder of the half.

The ?writing was on the wall? when City hit the woodwork with their first attack after the restart. The equaliser came in the 49th minute when a long goal kick which somehow eluded the Thame defence, was allowed to bounce, and City striker Steve Basham headed the ball over the oncoming Bennion. The visitors struck again within a minute when enough space was created on the left for Felipe Barcelos to finish well from 20-yards. The visitor?s third goal came on 66 minutes with a 15-yard strike from Darren Pond. The remainder of the match saw Thame trying to counter attack but the visitors snuffed out any chances and the visiting keeper was not really tested.

The exhausted Thame side left the pitch knowing they were out of the cup but also knowing that, at times, they had played above their level and had given it their all.

Thame United’s clash with Oxford City was filmed by FATV and appeared on The FA.com website and on www.YouTube.com/FATV.
LINK

Thame United: Bennion, I Pykett, P Pykett, Steadman (Hocking), Brown (N Rhodes), Cowan, Connelly, Hayes, MacDonald, Rogers, Hall (Barr)

PICTURE: Courtesy of pitch-side-stories.blogsport.com

THAME Men?s 1st XI came through a tough pre season match beating local rivals Aylesbury 3-2 giving them strong momentum going into the their first league fixture next week. Thame started strongly dominating possession through the midfield preventing the Aylesbury side, positioned two division higher, from gaining any momentum.

The Thame defence looked well organised and in control, as the game progressed Thame pushed forward with great distribution, particularly from man of the match Sam Seddon causing the home side numerous problems. Thame were finally rewarded when Sam Hall picked up the ball after a broken down penalty corner and finished emphatically into the roof of the goal. Mark Brooks soon added to the tally with a great individual goal rounding the keeper giving the visitors a 2 goal lead at the interval.

The second half saw Thame reduced to 10 men as Alex Merrick was forced to leave the pitch. Thame continued to work hard but Aylesbury pushed to exploit their numeric advantage and after a number of penalty corners were rewarded with a goal. Thame responded and restored the 2 goal lead when Brooks fired home his second of the match. As the second half neared the end having 10 men took its toll and Aylesbury used their subs well and exposing the tired Thame legs pulled a consolation goal back to finish the game 3-2.

SOURCE: Contributed

All four adult teams kick their seasons off on Saturday. The ladies and men’s firsts are both playing Amersham.

THAME BOYS Under 13s, Wycombe & South Bucks Division 1, Match Report – Sunday, September 25, 2011; Marlow Youth 1 vs Thame Boys 4 (Contributed by Andy MacDonald)

THAME Boys passed their first test in the top division with a gutsy performance against long standing top division team, Marlow Youth. With a depleted team prior to kick off along with three injury worries in team regulars George, Alex and Max, Thame overcame a Marlow side that found it hard to handle the pace and fitness of a fast improving Thame side.

Thame dominated the first half with Alex and Shaun running the Marlow defence ragged, Jack and Bradley controlled the midfield with Cam sat just behind them protecting the defence. Austin was welcomed back to the team and his efforts were rewarded with a first goal that settled the nerves of the travelling parents.

Shaun was also rewarded for his constant harrying of the defence when he latched on to a through ball to poke Thame 2-0 up. Marlow got one back before half time and things looked on edge until Thame came out a completely different team in the second half.

Thame had most of the play and after five corners, beautifully executed by an improving Nathan, Brad used his strength to head a ball down onto a Marlow defender to force the own goal (sorry Brad, own goal) to make it 3-1. Shaun added a fourth towards the end, again outpacing a very tired Marlow defence.

Thame came to Marlow and did a good job, with five players to come back to the next game against top team Penn and Tylers on 9th October at Meadow View Park. This will be a tasty fixture. Come down and see this team play; they are fast improving and have a great team ethos.

Man of the Match Brad Young
Manager Gerald Reilly
Linesman Steve Chiani

MATCH REPORT (Contributed); National 3 SW – Saturday, September 24th, 2011; Old Redcliffians 10, Chinnor 21.

IN their first ever visit to this Bristol side, Old Redcliffians, Chinnor recorded a tough away victory by 21-10.

With Goode injured and Corpe unavailable, Henry Colver and Tom Gray were promoted from the seconds and Richie Williams joined the replacements. Alex Waddingham debuted for the club at openside.

On the seventh minute, the home side were penalised for a high tackle and James Cathcart duly despatched the resultant penalty goal to begin the day?s scoring. Old Redcliffians then began a sustained period of pressure in the 22. Always attacking the low left-hand corner of this notoriously sloping pitch, they strived desperately to breach the Chinnor line. After 15 phases, Chinnor managed to hold up the ball in a maul and thereby clear their lines. However, the home side once again attacked down their favoured left-hand side and looked certain to score their opening try when a double tackle from Sam Stoop and Mark Chase on the home winger, airborne over the try line, prevented the touchdown. This was perhaps the critical point of the match for Chinnor. Shortly afterwards, Old Redcliffians? Joe Hall stepped up for his third penalty goal attempt and narrowly missed. All in all, Hall missed five kicks at goal during the match.

Old Redcliffians continued to dominate territory and possession and Chinnor were content to defend vigorously and happy to wait patiently for opportunities. The next score came in the 33rd minute with a penalty goal from James Cathcart for Chinnor for another high tackle to give the visitors a 6-0 lead. On the 37th minute, Chinnor turned the screw when Tattersall in midfield turned over ball and set the Chinnor backs running. Gilbert, running wide, outrageously swerved and dummied the defence to slip the ball to Henry Colver whose sprint took him under the posts for Chinnor’s opening try, duly converted by Cathcart to give the visitors a 13-0 half time lead.

At the start of the second half, the pattern continued with Old Redcliffians attacking and Chinnor defending. However, Chinnor went further into the lead on the 57th minute with another Cathcart penalty goal to increase Chinnor?s Lead to 16-0. Two Old Redcliffians? try attempts were stopped on the line by last ditch cover tackles. On the 61st minute, the visitors lost Seymour to a yellow card and a few minutes afterwards a mass brawl ended with a yellow card for each side in the shape of Devine for Chinnor and Hooper for Old Redcliffians. With Chinnor now down to 13 men, Old Redcliffians redoubled their efforts and were rewarded a minute later by a try from Owen, converted by Hall. With the score now at 7-16, Old Redcliffians continued to press and on the 69th minute reduced the deficit to 10-16 with a penalty goal from Hall. However, the home side?s hopes were dashed on the 73rd minute when, following a towering Garryowen from Cathcart, the athletic Stoop regathered the ball and fed the backs. Gray hit the line at terminal velocity to scorch over in the corner for Chinnor?s second try to give a final score of 10-21 to Chinnor.

This was a game where Chinnor?s defence excelled. Spending a lot of the match without the ball, their well-organised and calm defence kept Old Redcliffians at bay. However, whenever they had a chance, they took it. Old Redcliffians were tough and over determined at times with skipper Hooper skilfully managing to avoid the referee?s attention throughout. Had their kicking been more polished, they might have scraped a victory. Chinnor will take heart from this victory and be grateful for their defensive skills, determined tackling and determination not to give anything away.

Gilbert again was magisterial, particularly in the lineout, with Stoop getting back to form and increasingly influential. The pack had a tough day at the office but withstood everything thrown at them by tackling everything that moved. The new boys, Colver and Gray, promoted from the seconds were accomplished in everything they did and promise much for the future. Waddingham at open side tackled his heart out. The emergency scrum half, Frank Jones, again played well and is beginning to look like a natural scrum half.

Scorers:
Chinnor: Colver T; Gray T; Cathcart C, 3PG
Old Redcliffians: Owen T; Hall C, PG

Chinnor team:
Chase (Williams 63), Seymour, Stoop, Colver, Gray, Cathcart, Jones, Winpenny, Tattersall, Whelan (Pickett 48) , Jackman (Devine 52), Smith, Mowbray, Waddingham (Devine 60), Gilbert
Replacements: Pickett, Devine, Williams

THAME Boys Under 13s 6, V Summertown Stars AFC 1; MATCH REPORT (Contributed by Andy MacDonald)

THAME Boys started their season with a superb win against an Oxfordshire league team they had come across in several tournaments previously and were well aware of the threat posed by a quality team.

Having signed three new strong players over the summer, Jack Kennedy, Ben Pearson and Shaun Rounding, despite their successful season last year, Thame quickly showed their class with some great attacking football and controlled the game for the first 20 minutes.

As time wore on and chances were squandered, it was only a matter of time before the counter attacking danger of Summertown punished Thame. Having pushed too many defensive players forward, an opposition clearance was latched upon by a lively strike force which outpaced Lewis who had been left isolated at the back. Summertown clinically dispatched on the break to take the lead 1-0.

Thame were given some strong advice by Manager Gerald Reilly at half time about keeping their shape, and came out looking a different team. The interplay was excellent, the players stuck to their positions and our midfield totally bossed the game allowing the strikers to run Summertown ragged. Shaun notched his first of four well taken goals, Brad smashed home a penalty and Alex slotted a sixth just before the final whistle.

With strong players like George, Matthew, Duncan, Louie, Cameron and Brad closing down every tackle, Jack was able to skilfully distribute the ball to either Max on the left or Ben on the right causing problems for an opposition defence forced to run round in circles. Lewis and Nathan stuck to their men well to nullify a very dangerous attack, with Nathan starting to enjoy his left favoured defensive role. Aiden started to show his confidence in coming out for loose balls and his communication with Duncan was vastly improved on last season.

Thame had the luxury of bringing on players of equal quality and the season ahead looks exciting. The league starts next week and this is where the business really starts. But what a great win for a team that played as a cohesive unit in the second half.

Man of the match was Shaun Rounding.

ONE of the leading amateur golf competitions to take place in the UK will be hosted by The Oxfordshire, near Thame, in five days time – and the public are invited to go along and watch this great competition.

After hundreds of Match play duels over five months of gruelling, competitive regional brackets in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales – The Four Nations successful finalists are ready to represent their country and attempt to win the title of Champion Golf Nation of the Year, on September 26 to 28, 2011.

This leading amateur competition is due to be broadcast on Sky Sports.

Further information on the event available at:
www.fournationsgolfchallenge.co.uk and
www.theoxfordshire.com

The two day competition is open to the public, so whether you are a golf-lover or new to golf, this thrilling Four Nations final is not to be missed!

MATCH REPORT (Contributed) – Saturday 17/09/11 – FA Cup – First Qualifying Round – Thame United 2, Brackley Town 0:

BRACKLEY Town are near the top of the Premier Division of the Evostik Southern League, which is TWO leagues higher in the football pyramid than Thame United. This therefore was the non-league equivalent of Wycombe Wanderers playing a top Premier League side. Against the odds however Thame United defeated them 2-0 at The ASM Stadium on Saturday in front of a crowd of 217 spectators. It was a hugely entertaining game in which Thame were forced to defend for lengthy periods but the younger, less experienced, United team played above their normal level and as a result they will be in Monday?s FA Cup draw.

The visitors dominated the first 15 minutes with Thame keeper Nick Bennion forced into action after three minutes, making a good save from a Brackley shot. Two minutes later Brackley hit the crossbar from a header as they pressurised the home goal. After the initial onslaught Thame recovered and started to create chances of their own and Alex Stuart was unlucky to see his lobbed shot fly just wide with the visiting keeper beaten. Towards the end of the first half it seemed that Thame were capable of not only containing the visitors but creating chances of their own as both Aaron Rogers and Alex Stewart went close.

Brackley came out for the second half determined to break the deadlock as they again put the home goal under siege. They hit both uprights during a frantic 10 minutes in which the United defence excelled itself. Thame recovered, and on 56 minutes a free kick from Thame substitute Matt Hall hit the Brackley post. The home side?s first goal come on 64 minutes when Stewart met a Hall cross with a goal bound shot which was blocked at point blank range by Brackley defender Chris Willmott?s arm. The referee, perhaps harshly, pointed to the penalty spot. Mitchell Meredith comfortably converted the resultant spot kick, sending the visiting keeper the wrong way.

The rest of the game was end-to-end stuff with the visitors again having more possession and Thame playing inspired defensive football. A goal bound header, from a corner, was cleared off the Thame goal line and United man of the match, Bennion made some outstanding saves. The home team increased their lead with a bizarre goal in the 90th minute. Following a Thame attack the visiting keeper collected the ball but his kick was intercepted by the alert Rogers, the ball hitting him on the chest and allowing him to dribble it over the goal line. The Thame team ran the length of the pitch to congratulate him. Two minutes later the final whistle blew on an outstanding performance by the Thame team which both they, and their supporters, will remember for many years.

Thame United: Bennion, Willett, Meredith, N Rhodes, Brown (Steadman), Hayes, Connelly, West, Stewart (MacDonald), Rogers, Ricketts (Hall).

PHOTO: Man of the match, Goalie, Nick Bennion

NATIONAL League 3; South West – Saturday 17th September 2011 – Bridgwater 3, Chinnor 50 – Match Report (Contributed)

ON a pleasant but showery day, Chinnor’s long trip to North Somerset was rewarded with a 50-3 victory against Bridgwater and Albion to leave them lying second in the league table.

With skipper Joe Winpenny unavailable due to work commitments, Liam Gilbert took over the captaincy and Ian Stock stepped up to fill the front row vacancy. The backs were unchanged but with the addition of new boy Henry Colver on the bench.

The match started awkwardly for Chinnor when the ball was dropped straight from the kick-off and retrieved by the home side. Chinnor was then penalised at the ruck to give Bridgwater a 3-0 lead from the boot of Sam Osborne. James Cathcart evened up the score for Chinnor on the 10th minute with a well struck penalty goal – the start of an impressive afternoon’s kicking for the Chinnor fly half.
On the 13th minute, Mark Chase flew through the defence to cross the line but lost the ball in the act of grounding it. From the resulting scrum, the Chinnor pack redeemed the situation by shunting their opposition off the ball to allow Sam Stoop to scoot in for Chinnor’s opening try, improved by Cathcart.

A few minutes later, Gilbert, in imperious form throughout, touched down for a pushover try from opposition scrum ball after Goode was held up short of the line. With Cathcart’s conversion Chinnor were now 17-3 ahead. From the restart, Bridgwater regained the ball and set to attacking the Chinnor line. They were unlucky when the ball was adjudged held up over the line after a good passage of play. Chinnor’s next score came in the 24th minute when Gilbert stole lineout ball and set up a midfield ruck. Gathering the ball, Stoop grubber kicked the ball before Corpe to nimbly tapped the ball straight to the supporting Stock who sprinted over for a classy try. Cathcart once again improved the score to give Chinnor a 24-3 lead at half-time.

Straight from the restart kick, Gilbert gathered the ball and ripped through the centre of the defence to set the supporting Mark Chase up for an easy try, once again converted by Cathcart. The Chinnor lead was now 31-3.

Good work from the pack allowed Chinnor’s impressive emergency scrum-half, Frank Jones, to score his debut try for the club – with Cathcart providing the inevitable to give Chinnor a 38-3 lead on the 52nd minute. Chinnor then brought on all their replacements and the Bridgwater side, unfazed by the score, continued to attack at every opportunity. Chinnor then had a 10 minute defence work out resisting the home side’s valiant attempts to score. It was not until the 72nd minute that Chinnor troubled the scorers again when Gilbert touched down to cap a fine all-round performance. Cathcart did the usual for 45-3. The last score of the day came from a sweet passing movement across the backs leaving Seymour with an awkward run in. His well-judged chip and scorching pace allowed him to regather the ball and touch down near the posts. Unbelievably, Cathcart missed the kick. A few minutes later, the whistle blew for full-time to give Chinnor a 50-3 victory.

Although a comprehensive victory, Chinnor were not in top gear throughout. Bridgwater, with injuries and absences, were forced to field several Colts in their side. Perhaps overwhelmed at times, they could not be faulted for endeavour and energy and played with their heads held high at all times. Their attitude and the experience they will gain will forge them into respectable opponents in the forthcoming months.

For Chinnor, the pack had a dominant afternoon and the backs moved speedily at times. New boy Henry Colver came on for the injured Goode and looked to the manor born. Cathcart had an impressive day with the boot but Gilbert caught the eye with everything he did and gave a scintillating performance.

Scorers:
Chinnor: Stoop T; Gilbert 2T; Stock T; Chase T; Jones T; Seymour T; Cathcart 6C, PG
Bridgwater & Albion: Osborne PG

Chinnor team:
Chase, Seymour, Goode (Colver 45), Stoop, Corpe, Cathcart, Jones, Stock (Pickett 71), Tattersall, Pickett (Whelan 52), Jackman (Devine 52), Smith, Gilbert (c), Hastings, Mowbray (Devine 72)
Replacements: Whelan, Devine, Jones

A young professional sportsman who grew up in the Thame, has recently launched a blog to keep friends, family and supporters up-to-date with his life as a professional squash player.

Will John, 19, has been a professional squash player since July 2010. He trains in St Albans mostly but learned and developed his game at Racquets Fitness Centre, Thame.

Will says in the introduction to his blog: “I train with the Squash Prospects Elite Player Programme with my coach John Milton who has previously coached five top ten PSA world ranked players. Squash has given me so much and I have met so many great people and had many great times. It allows me to see the world whilst doing what I love most. And I am just at the beginning.”

Follow Will’s blog here:
http://willjohnsquash.blogspot.com/2011/09/travel-day-1-london-to-belo-horizonte.html

THAME United is preparing for its biggest game of the season at The ASM Stadium this Saturday (17/09) when Southern Premier League side Brackley Town are the visitors in the first Qualifying round of the FA Cup.

Thame’s Assistant Manager, Frank Thompson, is looking forward to the game. “It will be a real test for our players against a team that are two leagues above us and have made a good start to the season,” he said. Brackley currently lie in sixth place in the league but have lost their last two games.

“We will certainly be underdogs for the game,” added Frank, “but we’re confident that we can give a good account of ourselves and hopefully with a good home crowd supporting us, we’ll be making sure that we don’t make things comfortable for the visitors.”

United have progressed to this round following wins against Sandhurst Town and Newport Pagnell Town respectively, and also gained a good 4-1 victory in the FA Vase last Saturday against Staines, with Alex Stewart scoring a hat-trick.

“The pressure’s all on them – they’re expected to beat us, but Thame are playing some good football at the moment and as they say, football is a funny old game and the FA Cup can certainly produce some upsets!”

The game also throws up some interesting re-unions with ex Thame player Jefferson Louis now at Brackey, able to show off the ASM pitch to his previous side, following ex Brackley’s, Paul Kuhn, now Thame’s new groundsman’s recent win as the FA Groundsman of the Year for the Southern League!

It should be a entertaining afternoon with Thame Boys U12’s providing ball boys for the game and a half time display. Hopefully Thame will be in the draw for the next round on Monday.

The match kicks off at 3pm, Admission is