Thame United 3 - 0 Beaconsfield Town

Thame United had their first midweek league game under the lights has they welcomed Beaconsfield Town to the ASM Stadium, after a poor opening start to the season Beaconsfield had gone on a run of four consecutive wins before the weekends defeat at Biggleswade Town. Meanwhile Thame hand played four fewer games due to cup commitments, with their last league game a 4 - 0 away victory at MK Irish on the 15th of September. Last season honours were even with both teams winning away from home. Manager Ben Williams welcomed back Ethan Lack from Potters Bar and he went straight into the starting eleven, Roger James also returned to the starting line, with Hayden Beadle and Charlie Bacon moving to the bench, Greg Hackett was still missing.

Beaconsfield Town got the game underway, kicking towards the Ring Road End in damp conditions as it had started to rain. The opening exchanges were fairly even, with both teams having a shot apiece, although neither effort was on target.
Thame opened the scoring after 15 minutes. A long ball into the Beaconsfield area was kicked up in the air by the visitors’ goalkeeper. The ball fell on the edge of the area and was met by Roger James, who took it into the box. It was then picked up by Ed Daffern on the left. He drove towards the six-yard box and neatly finished to the right of the goalkeeper, finding the far corner of the goal. The home side started to dominate play and created plenty of chances. Roger James had a header blocked and then saw another shot blocked. He was also unlucky not to be awarded a penalty when he appeared to have been clearly brought down in the box. Thame had further efforts from Jack Tutton and Harry Alexander. Beaconsfield were forced to make an early substitution after a poor tackle from Corey Corey. He was forced to go off injured after receiving a yellow card. The home side finally doubled their lead after 40 minutes. Josh Stranks won the ball on the left flank in the Beaconsfield half, moved towards the visitors’ goal and played a neat pass between the centre-back and right-back for Roger James to run on to. James reached the ball first and crossed into the box, where Harry Alexander met it around the six-yard box and fired home. Thame had further chances before half-time, but the score remained 2–0 after a fairly comfortable first half.

The visitors started the second half strongly and had a couple of half-chances, but they did not trouble goalkeeper Callan. Beaconsfield’s number 15 then picked up a yellow card after a poor sliding tackle on the Thame goalkeeper, leaving Callan on the ground for a minute or so. The Beaconsfield number 15 was then at the centre of a controversial moment. He slid in from behind and caught captain Mark Riddick, bringing him down. If that was not bad enough, he then put both hands on Jack Tutton and pushed him to the ground, right in front of the referee. He should have seen a second yellow and a red, but unbelievably, the referee took no further action and awarded only a free-kick. It had to be said that it was a terrible decision from a referee who appeared to be out of his depth at this level. It was also no surprise when the player was immediately substituted by the Beaconsfield management team.

Thame made a double substitution after 69 minutes, with Roger James and Dan West being replaced by Curtis Brown and Aydin Ulas. Goalkeeper Callan was forced to make his only save of the match after 74 minutes, stopping a shot from the right-hand side of the box. Ed Daffern was replaced by Charlie Bacon after 80 minutes. It was more of the same, with Thame creating numerous chances and looking as though they should have made the scoreline more emphatic. It took until the 84th minute for Thame to score a long-overdue third goal. It came from a good move that began deep in Thame’s own half on the left-hand side. Aydin Ulas played a long ball over the top of the Beaconsfield right-back and into the visitors’ half, where Charlie Bacon picked up possession. Bacon ran into the box and fired the ball past the advancing goalkeeper and into the goal via the post. Jack Tutton took a well-earned rest after 87 minutes following a commanding performance in the middle of the park. He was replaced by Ashley Moakes. Thame had further chances fro Aydin Ulas who had looked lively on the left, Bacon and Alexander also when close

The victory was slightly tainted by the dismissal of Callum Hall in the 92nd minute. A long ball down the middle of the pitch bounced off the defender and allowed the visitors’ number 7 to run on to it. There appeared to be a coming together, with Hall seeming to reach out and grab the player. The contact was minimal, but the player went down dramatically. Ironically, the ball fell to another Beaconsfield player, who tucked it away. However, the referee, who had delivered a less-than-convincing performance during the 90 minutes, had already blown for a free-kick and issued Hall with a red card. The resulting free-kick hit the outside of the post and bounced away to safety. With no winners in the incident. A few minutes later, the referee blew for full-time, confirming a dominant victory for the home side. Thame had 27 shots to the visitors’ seven, while goalkeeper Callan had to make just one save. Thame now move on to the third qualifying round of the FA Cup, where they will welcome Step 3 side Eastbourne Borough to the ASM Stadium on Saturday.

Attendance 95

Goals
Ed Daffern (15 minutes)
Harry Alexander (40 minutes)
Charlie Bacon (84 minutes)

Team
1. James Callan
2. Callum Hall
3. Josh Stranks
4. Finn Murray
6. Mark Riddick (C)
7. Ed Daffern (Charlie Bacon 80 minutes)
8. Jack Tutton (Ashley Moakes 87 minutes)
9. Roger James (Curtis Brown 69 minutes)
10.Dan West (Aydin Ulas 69 minutes)
11.Harry Alexander
18.Ethan Lack

Substitutes
12.Aydin Ulas
14.Charlie
15.Ashley Moakes
16.Curtis Brown
17.Hayden Beadle