Bisley Sports 0, Thame United 2

 

League            22/10/07

 

Thame United moved in to the top six following a confident and convincing win against league champions Bisley Sports on Saturday.

 

With Thame playing down the slope in the first half, they continued with their recent good form by immediately putting the home defence under pressure. Thame had the first real chance of the game in the 11th minute, when they were awarded a free kick 25 yards from the Bisley goal. Top scorer Nathan Jack saw his dipping, curling effort beat the Bisley wall and, with the goalkeeper a mere spectator, the ball crashed against the crossbar and away to safety. However, the respite for Bisley was short lived as ten minutes later Jack hit a thunderous drive from the left hand edge of the penalty area that gave the keeper no chance. With Thame 1-0 to the good the remainder of the first half was a more even affair, although they had a number of chances to increase their lead and were also continually frustrated by offside decisions.

 

Bisley opened the second half much the better of the two teams and for the first ten minutes it was one-way traffic. However, with captain and centre back Dave Hocking in fine form, there were only limited opportunities for the Bisley strikers. Indeed, it was Thame who extended their lead in the 61st minute. Midfielder Graeme Catlin made a strong run in to the penalty area only to be pushed by a Bisley defender. The referee had no hesitation in giving the penalty and for the second time in as many games Jack gave the keeper no chance from the spot.

 

Having gone two goals down, Bisley then had their best spell of the match as they sought to get back in to the game. However, they had not reckoned on the form of goalkeeper Paul Searl, who made a string of fine, breathtaking saves that left the Bisley strikers wondering what they needed to do to score a goal. Nevertheless, it was not all one-way traffic as Thame hit Bisley on the break with good chances falling to Jack, Chris Watkins, Adam Rhodes and Luke Ricketts. In the end, a 2-0 away win at the league champions was a good start to the festive period for United.

 

Thame United: Searl, Cowan, Watkins, Thompson, Hocking ©, Catlin, Connelly, Rhodes, Jack, Swafford (R.Jewell), Ricketts.