Thame United 1 - 2 Chichester City

It was Thame United’s third cup tie in seven days as they welcomed Step 3 side Chichester City to the ASM Stadium in the third qualifying round of the FA Trophy. Thame had reached this stage with away victories against Westbury and Portland United, while Chichester, who ply their trade in the Southern League Premier Division South, entered the competition at this stage.

After Wednesday’s long trip to Exmouth, manager Ben Williams had a number of selection issues, with several players unavailable. Josh Stranks, Luke Tingey, Ed Daffern and Charlie Bacon all came into the starting line-up. Greg Hackett, Curtis Brown and Roger James were all missing from the Thame squad.

Thame got the first half underway, kicking towards the ring-road end and looking directly into the sun. The pitch was in very good condition. Early pressure came from the visitors, with No. 8 Dunn heading over from a corner and No. 18 Davison shooting wide. Chichester were content to play the ball out from the back, with the Thame forwards pressing high up the field to disrupt their game plan.

Thame suffered an early blow when Luke Tingey went down holding his hamstring. He was unable to continue, with Dan West coming on after just 15 minutes.
Goalkeeper James Callan was called into action in the 27th minute, comfortably saving a long-range shot from Dunn. A few minutes later, he made another save from No. 16 Lawrence.

The hosts’ first chance of the game came from Ed Daffern, who picked up the ball on the left, drove towards goal, cut inside and curled a right-footed shot wide of the goal. Moments later, Charlie Bacon won the ball on the right and managed to drive into the box, but his cross was too high and was collected by the visitors’ right-back, who cleared the danger.

Davison went into the referee’s book in the 40th minute for a late tackle on Jack Tutton. Both sides were warned, as a number of late tackles were flying in. Both teams created one more chance apiece before the half-time whistle, with the score remaining 0–0. To be honest, it had been something of a non-event, with Thame doing well to stifle their higher-league opposition.

The second half got underway with an early chance for the hosts after they won the ball deep in the visitors’ half. Chichester goalkeeper Evans was forced into making a save.
Out of the blue, Chichester took the lead in the 49th minute. A long ball from deep inside their own half was picked up by their leading scorer, Harry Bridle, who appeared to have pushed centre-half Fin Murray as he won the ball. With goalkeeper Callan off his line, Bridle managed to lob the ball into the net.

The goal sparked the visitors into life, with further chances falling to No. 4 Munt and Bridle. Callan pulled off a good save to deny the striker, who then headed just over the bar from a corner. Thame made their second substitution, with Jamie Davies replacing Charlie Bacon, as they started to get a foothold in the game. They should have equalised when Ed Daffern connected with a cross inside the six-yard box, but goalkeeper Evans managed to tip the volley over the bar. Moments later, Harry Alexander curled a left-footed shot just wide from the edge of the box. Then, in the 74th minute, Thame equalised, and no more than they deserved after the previous 15 minutes of pressure. A scramble in the box fell to Harry Alexander, who managed to prod the ball home through a number of players.

However, the scores remained level for less than a minute. Substitute James Sweet picked up the ball on the right flank and ran at the Thame goal, avoiding several tackles before shooting past the Thame goalkeeper. It was not a great goal to concede, with the home side guilty of sitting off the player as he drove forward. Aydin Ulas and Ashley Moakes replaced Hayden Beadle and Jack Tutton for the final 10 minutes. The home side threw everything forward in search of an equaliser, with Dan West moving up front. He had the ball in the net from a great through-ball, but he was flagged offside.

Ethan Holt replaced Callum Hall for the final few moments as Thame applied further pressure and won a series of corners, with goalkeeper Callan coming forward. However, Chichester held firm and managed to withstand the pressure to see out the game and advance to the next round. Thame held their own for long periods of the game against their higher league opponents and on another day the result could have been different, they now turn their attention to the league with the visit of Beaconsfield Town to the ASM this Tuesday, before and FA Cup meeting with Eastbourne Borough next Saturday.

Attendance 112

Goals
Harry Alexander (75 minutes)

Team
1. James Callan
2. Callum Hall (Ethan Holt 90 minutes)
3. Josh Stranks
4. Finn Murray
5. Luke Tingey (Dan West 15 minutes)
6. Mark Riddick (C)
7. Ed Daffern
8. Jack Tutton (Ashley Moakes 80 minutes)
9. Hayden Beadle (Aydin Ulas 75 minutes)
10.Charlie Bacon (Jamie Davies 70 minutes)
11.Harry Alexander

Substitutes
12.Jamie Davies
14.Ashley Moaks
15.Dan West
16.Aydin Ulas
20.Ethan Holt