Chinnor 40-24 Richmond ( att : 1,616 ) - 2026/27 English Champ

October 10, 2026

Today saw the visit of Richmond to Kingsey Road in the fourth round of fixtures in the Champ this season.

Since these diaries covered Chinnor’s opening day defeat at home to Ealing Trailfinders, they had played two matches away from home and registered two wins. First, they travelled to fortress Goldington Road and handed Bedford Blues an unexpected 52-33 beating, and then last weekend they held off a stirring fight-back by Caldy to emerge victorious 38-35 after holding a 38-14 lead with a little over 20 minutes remaining.

Previous Meetings

The last time these two clubs met was on the last day of last season. Richmond were already confirmed to be facing a relegation play-off against London Scottish, and with an eye firmly focused on that game they made 15 changes to their starting XV, but put-up as sterling effort until finally losing 14-29. Richmond went on to comprehensively beat London Scottish 34-11 to retain their Champ status.

Chinnor had travelled to the Richmond Athletic Ground for Richmond’s first game back in the Champ last season, and slipped to a 13-18 defeat to the newcomers.

Prior to last season, the two sides had last previously met in 2023/24, when Chinnor won both encounters on their way to winning National League One. Fatbear covered both games, with Chinnor winning 55-26 at home and 41-16 at the RAG.

However, these were the only occasions when Chinnor had tasted victory over Richmond, having lost in the four earlier meetings. In Chinnor’s first ever season at the 4^th level of English rugby in 2008/09, they lost 21-35 at home and 21-23 at the Athletic Ground, then in the aborted 2019/20 season, Richmond won 26-14 at home, and in a game featured in these diaries, they were victorious 21-5 at Kingsey Road.

Richmond This Season

Richmond came into today’s game having lost all three of their opening matches but the fixture computer hadn’t been particularly kind to ‘Mond.

Richmond conceded a try in the last minute to lose 40-42 at home to Ampthill having led 40-21 with 20 minutes to play, but then performed creditably at both Ealing Trailfinders and at home to Worcester Warriors. before ultimately going down 19-35 and 26-45 respectively, running out of steam in the final 20 minutes of all three defeats.

Consequently, Richmond came into today’s game second from bottom with one point, above Bedford Blues on points difference.

Richmond Squad

Richmond lost four key players in the summer, with hooker Seb Brownhill and centre Ronnie du Randt joining Blackheath, lock George Nugent signed for Ampthill and centre Tololima Savaiinaea went to Doncaster Knights.

Replacements joining ‘Mond included lock Charlie Bell from Exeter Chiefs, centre Tom Riman from Loughborough Students, prop Austin Hay from London Scottish, flanker Fergus Dick from Oxford University and Rams, and centre Rowan Grundy from Rams.

Full-back Callum Greive was the top points scorer so far on 18 points, whilst back-row forward Xavier Hastings had scored two tries. Eleven other Richmond players had touched down once.

Matchday Information

The journey from Richmond to Thame is 46 miles and should normally take around an hour via the M4, M25 and M40.

Online tickets for the game were £20 for adults, £18 for concessions, £10 for full-time students, whilst under 16s were allowed in free. Tickets at the gate were £22 for adults. The usual food vendors for burgers, pizzas, crepes, Greek food and coffee were in place, and a pint of XT4 was £5.17 with the member’s 10% discount.

 

A few spots of rain were falling around 15 minutes before the start but at the 15.00 kick-off it was cloudy with patches of blue sky, with a solitary red kite on patrol in the skies above. The temperature was 14 degrees and the infamous Chinnor breeze was in attendance.

Richmond made two changes to the side that lost at home to Worcester Warriors last weekend with winger Josh Addams and prop Chris Freeman replacing Archie Brosch and Theo Bevacqua.

Chinnor made seven changes to the side that won at Caldy, with first starts of the season for centre Sam Hanks, South African back-row forward Josh Du Toit, lock Scott Hall, hooker Luke Thompson and prop Kai Owen. Luke Carter swopped with Callum Pascoe at scrum-half and Izzy Wharton replaced Harry Dugmore in the back row.

Richmond were playing in their traditional yellow, red and black hoops with black shorts whilst Chinnor were in their usual home kit of black and white.

Match Report

Richmond kicked off towards the ring road end but into the breeze. Carter cleared for a line-out on the Chinnor 10 metre line, which was won for the visitors by Bell, but after a loose pass went to ground Richmond were awarded a scrum on the Chinnor 10 metre line.

The scrum was solid and fly-half Lewis Dennett chipped ahead, but Carter was able to make the catch, and although he was tackled by the Richmond attackers, Chinnor were able to clear the danger.

Richmond had started strongly, and after another scrum near the Chinnor 10 metre line, Addams was just unable to keep Dennett’s cross-field kick in play with a clear run to the try line beckoning. Du Toit claimed the Chinnor throw and Morgan Passman made some yards but after a period of some scrappy play Chinnor were awarded a scrum near the half-way line.

The Chinnor scrum was put under pressure but the home side were able to get the ball away through Passman. Following a ruck, lock Jamie Campbell made a break and when Chinnor reworked possession, Carter made a half-break, chipped ahead and wing Ben Currie did amazingly well to gather the ball and keep control to crash over the try line. Fly-half Liam Richman added the extras from close to the posts so Chinnor led 7-0 after 9 minutes.

Two minutes after the restart, Richmond were obviously caught offside at a ruck, enabling Chinnor to take play to mid-way inside the Richmond half. Du Toit again won the lineout for Chinnor, after which Hall picked up at the base of the ruck and burst into the Richmond 22, but he failed to see Carter alongside him in support on the outside with a clear run to the line, and went infield and was tackled. Prop Robin Hardwick drove for the line but Chinnor were pinged at the next ruck 8 yards from the Richmond line.

Campbell stole the Richmond lineout and Wharton made progress through the centre of the Mond defence, then a chip towards the corner bounced into touch inside the Richmond 22. However, the referee had been playing an advantage, and Chinnor kicked the penalty to 5 metres. Campbell won the lineout for the home side but the rolling maul was penalised as it headed for the try-line.

With 17 minutes played, Richmond back-row forward Iwan Coyle picked up at the base of ruck near his 10-metre line and set off on a mazy run to within 5 metres from the Chinnor line. The desperate Chinnor defence conceded a penalty, but the tap from the visitors was held-up to give Chinnor a defensive 5 metre scrum, from which they were awarded a free-kick.

Chinnor kicked long but Greive was able to gather and run back to the half-way line before being tackled, after which Dennett kicked out on the full to give Chinnor a line-out on the half-way line. Campbell won the line-out but the attacking move was halted after a forward pass by Currie.

Richmond tried to run from their scrum on halfway, but Dennett’s flat pass was well read by Richman who intercepted and had to legs to run under the posts to score, although Addams and Grieve came very close to catching him. Richman added the extras to take the score to 14-0 after 25 minutes.

Richmond conceded a penalty which Chinnor kicked to midway inside the Mond half. Du Toit made the catch, and with a penalty advantage Wharton made a break but after being tackled, the referee took play back for the penalty, which the home kicked to 15 metres from the tryline. Hall secured line-out possession and after good hands involving Hanks and James Bourton, Wharton was given a short run to score close to the posts. Richman slotted the easy conversion, giving Chinnor a 21-0 lead with 29 minutes on the clock.   

Some kick tennis followed with Metcalf beating Addams in the air, before Grieve beat Currie to the returned kick, then Jack Metcalf made the next catch. Out of the blue Richmond spread the ball wide and Addams scorched down the touchline to score in the corner for a fabulous try. The tannoy announced that Greg Kitson had scored. The error was understandable as the players were wearing different numbers to those published on social media, although the two players are hardly look-alikes ! Grieve’s difficult conversion drifted wide so the score became 21-5 after 34 minutes.

Chinnor responded by pressurising the Mond defence but Owen knocked on inside the 22. However, a penalty advantage had been played, which Chinnor kicked to just outside the Richmond 22. Richmond stole the Chinnor throw and kicked into the Chinnor half, where Richman set off on a blistering run and after several passes were interchanged, Richmond were able to make a vital interception and they cleared to their 10-metre line.

Hall won the lineout for Chinnor and the rolling maul progressed 10 metres but Chinnor knocked on 10 metres from the tryline. Richmond won a free-kick at the scrum but Hall won the subsequent lineout for Chinnor. Simpson chipped ahead but with the ball about to enter the Richmond in-goal zone, Kitson attempted to kick dead but badly miscued. Fortunately for the Richmond winger Passman couldn’t catch the sliced high ball and touch down, and the referee blew for half-time following the knock on.

Chinnor’s restart for the second half was caught in the wind and bounced into touch for a Richmond lineout which Jake Monson won for the visitors, and after a high kick Currie did well to make a catch in the swirling wing and then evade two would be tacklers.

Chinnor started the second period brightly with Metcalfe, Simpson, Bourton and Campbell prominent in the attacking moves. After a penalty advantage came to nothing, Chinnor kicked for a lineout 15 metres from the tryline. Hall won the lineout ball, Bourton made a strong burst but when Owen drove for the line the referee blew for a penalty to the visitors, from which they were awarded a free-kick at the subsequent scrum.

Richmond kicked to touch to give Chinnor a lineout on the Richmond 10 metre line, which Campbell won, but Chinnor failed to make any impression on a stubborn Richmond defence despite multiple attacks. Richmond eventually secured possession and kicked long, where Metcalf, Simpson and Richman exchanged passes until Richmond centre Riman made an interception, but his kick ahead was too strong and went dead.

Pascoe’s kick from the resulting scrum was partially charged down, but bounced into touch for a lineout to Chinnor. After Chinnor secured their lineout ball, Pascoe kicked cross-field and Metcalf produced a spectacular volley to prevent the ball going out of the full, and with the line at his mercy, the ball bounced unkindly back over the Chinnor winger’s head, and Richmond gleefully gathered and cleared to touch.

Dugmore won the lineout and Chinnor moved the ball wide for Metcalf to chip ahead, but Kitson was back covering and cleared.

After a good spell for Chinnor, Wharton knocked on near the half-way line to give Richmond the scrum. Addams made a half-break and Richmond sent a grubber kick into touch 15 metres from the Chinnor line. The tap from Dugmore was appalling, and substitute hooker Harry Hocking was alert to gather and saunter over the line virtually unopposed. Grieve’s conversion was good, taking the score to 21-12 with 56 minutes played.

The Chinnor restart went straight out of play to give Richmond a scrum on the half-way line. Addams couldn’t get on the end of Dennett’s chip ahead and Metcalf cleared back to the Richmond 22. However, Richmond returned the ball with interest and were pressing for another try but Chinnor’s defence was good. A grubber kick bounced into touch 15 metres from the Chinnor line, but this time the throw was to the failsafe Campbell and Pascoe cleared his lines.

Bell won the lineout for Richmond, and with a penalty advantage, scrum-half Matt Marsh sent the ball into orbit and Currie was taken out in the air. However, the referee went back to the first offence, and Richmond were back 15 metres from the Chinnor line. This time Monson won the lineout for Mond, and with another penalty advantage, a long-floated pass from centre Paddy Case found Addams in acres of space to score out wide. The conversion by Grieve from close to the touchline was excellently struck, and it was now a two point game with the score 21-19 after 65 minutes.

Richmond smelt blood and Pascoe did well to field two high kicks into the Chinnor 22, and Chinnor gradually made their way up field and forced a penalty near the half-way line, which was kicked to 10 metres from the Richmond line. Campbell ruled the air, the Chinnor rolling maul rumbled over and substitute hooker Alun Walker was credited with the score. Richman sent a superb touchline conversion through the uprights as Chinnor extended their lead to 28-19 with 71 minutes played.

Richmond were not finished though, and somehow Chinnor lost possession from the restart. Richmond moved the ball wide and Case again sent Addams running to score in the corner for his hat-trick. Grieve’s effort from the tee sailed narrowly wide of the uprights, making the score 28-24 after 74 minutes.

There was an air of tension amongst the Chinnor supporters with Richmond one try from taking the lead. The Chinnor pack produced a good shove at a Richmond scrum, but the visitors made to get the ball away and kicked deep to Simpson who kicked back to the Richmond 22. Play was scrappy until Richmond won a scrum on the half-way line. However, Chinnor were awarded a scrum penalty which was kicked to the Richmond 22. Campbell won the lineout and Pascoe chipped over the advancing defenders, substitute Will Cave made the catch and offloaded to Campbell to stride over from 10 yards. Richman failed from the tee for the first time in the afternoon, but Chinnor had some breathing space with the score 33-24 and 80 minutes on the clock.

Richmond pressed again looking to get within losing bonus point range but Chinnor forced a penalty, and took play to the Richmond 10 metre line. Campbell won the lineout and with a penalty advantage, Currie ran down the touchline, chipped ahead but slipped before he could gather his kick.

Chinnor kicked the penalty to 10 metres, and in a carbon copy of an earlier try, Campbell won the line-out, the rolling maul trundled over the line and Walker touched down. Another splendid conversion from Richman finished the match as the final whistle blew with the score 40-24.

Last season today’s match would have been a 5-1 result, but this season it was 4-0 and Richmond went home with nothing to show for their spirited performance.

With today’s win Chinnor moved up to third in the table, and with a win for Bedford, Richmond slipped to bottom place. It doesn’t get any easier for Richmond as they host in-form Rotherham next week-end, whilst Chinnor travel to Cornwall for face Cornish Pirates.

 

 

Thame United 0-1 Eastbourne Borough ( att : 415 ) - 2026/27 FA Cup

October 3, 2026

After Thame’s convincing 3-0 victory over Beaconsfield Town in mid-week, they now faced a much more formidable foe in the shape of step 3 Eastbourne Borough in the 3^rd Qualifying Round of the FA Cup. Thame would be looking to reach the 4^th Qualifying Round for only the third time in their history.

Thame Update

After failing to win their first two games of the season, Thame had been on a good run, progressing through three rounds of the FA Cup to get to today’s fixture, whilst they had won twice in the FA Trophy before narrowly exiting the competition after a 1-2 home loss to step 3 Chichester City.

Three consecutive league wins had also been recorded to leave Thame with a 3-1-1 record. Thame had scored 33 times in 12 matches so far this season, and with 16 goals conceded, there had been an average of over 4 goals in Thame’s games !

Harry Alexander was the leading scorer with 9 goals, followed by Greg Hackett and Ed Daffern on 5, with Roger James finding the net 4 times.

Eastbourne Borough Background

Eastbourne is a coastal town in East Sussex with a population of over 100,000. It has a reputation of where people go to retire, and sports wise, is most famous for its pre-Wimbledon tennis tournament. Despite growing up in Sussex, Fatbear had never been to Eastbourne, but had visited nearby Beachy Head.

Eastbourne is unusual in being a town with three sides in steps 1 to 6 in the non-league pyramid, Borough ( step 3 ), Town ( step 4 ) and United ( step 5 ), with Biggleswade the only possible comparison.  

Home is the 3,622 capacity Priory Lane, which for sponsorship reasons is now The Connect Management Stadium. The club’s nickname is The Sports and their first-choice colours are all red.

Eastbourne Borough were formed in 1965 as Langney Sports, with Langney being the suburb of Eastbourne they were located in. The club joined the newly formed Division 3 of the Sussex County League in 1983 and in 1999/00 they won Division One to earn promotion to the Southern League Eastern Division, which at the time was step 3 in the non-league pyramid.

The club changed its name to Eastbourne Borough in 2001, and two seasons later won promotion to the step 2 Southern League Premier Division. In the league restructuring for 2004/05 Borough were placed in the newly formed Conference South, and a 2-0 victory over Hampton and Richmond in the 2007/08 promotion play-off final saw The Sports promoted to the National Conference.

Borough enjoyed three seasons at the highest level of non-league football before being relegated at the end of the 2010/11 season. Eastbourne then spent 15 seasons back in Conference South, twice losing in the promotion play-offs, until suffering an unexpected relegation last season after coming last with only 9 wins and 36 points.

Borough had reached the 1^st Round proper of the FA Cup on five occasions, the most recent being in 2020/21 when they lost 0-3 at home to Blackpool. Sports first appearance in the 1^st Round was in 2005/06 when they drew 1-1 with League Two Oxford United and lost the replay 0-3. In 2007/08, Eastbourne lost 0-4 at home to Weymouth, who at the time were playing in one division higher, whilst in 2008/09 Borough drew 0-0 at home with fellow Conference side Barrow, and again lost the replay 0-3. Their other tie was in 2017/18 when they suffered a heavy 0-7 defeat at Conference League side Braintree Town.

Eastbourne Borough This Season

Eastbourne Borough were relegated into the Isthmian League Premier Division and began the season by going unbeaten in their opening three games, drawing 2-2 at Aveley and winning 3-2 at home against both Three Bridges and Brentwood Town. They then lost three in a row, 1-2 at Cray Wanderers, 0-1 at home to Leatherhead and 0-1 at Lewes.

The FA Cup provided some welcome relief with a 4-2 victory at step 3 Whitehawk, which was the start of their current run of 5 consecutive wins, beating Cheshunt 3-0 and Chatham Town 2-1 at home in the league, then step 4 Windsor & Eton 3-0 in the FA Cup and last weekend step 4 Welwyn Garden City 4-2 in the FA Trophy.

Eastbourne’s 4-1-3 league record meant they were 10^th in the table going into today’s cup match. Their average attendance so far was 821, the 8^th best in their division, and down from the 958 average last season and 1,304 the year before.

Eastbourne Borough Squad

The top scorer for Sports in all competitions was ex-Peterborough United, Aldershot Town and Chelmsford City midfielder Kai Corbett with 8 goals, with ex-Gillingham and Hornchurch striker Liam Nash next on 4 goals.

The most familiar name to Fatbear in the Eastbourne squad was ex-Wycombe and Aldershot US born centre-back Giles Phillips, who played for Oxford City in their one season in the National League in 2023/24, whilst ex-Brighton Under 21 full-back Matthew Hayden was not to be confused with the barrel-chested Australian opening batsmen of the same name !

Swiss striker Gold Omatayo appeared in these diaries for King’s Lynn Town last season at Oxford City, whilst forward Darren McQueen appeared as a substitute for Ebbsfleet United at Oxford City in 2024, and was playing for Hornchurch last season. Forward Shayon Harrison appeared in these diaries for Romanian side Politehnica Iasi and had also played for Melbourne City, Almere, UTA Arad, AC Oulu and Tatran Presov after being released by Tottenham as a youngster.

Ex-Arsenal, Nottingham Forest, Bromley, Aldershot, Boreham Wood and Dagenham and Redbridge midfielder Josh Rees was another plying his trade at Hornchurch last season, and midfielder Max Sheaf had previously played for Hull City, Cheltenham, Ross County and Gateshead.

Midfielder Craig Eastmond played nearly 300 games for Sutton United but before that had played for Millwall, Colchester United and Wycombe Wanderers, and keeper Lewis Carey was back with The Sports after a spell with Horsham. Terrell Egbri started his career with Southend United, before going on to play for Malden & Tiptree and Czech side MFK Vyskov.

The Sports manager was Steve King, who established his reputation at Sussex sides Lewes and Whitehawk by punching well above their weights, and also had spells at Farnborough, Dartford, Macclesfield, Welling, Gloucester City and Hednesford Town on his CV.

Watching Eastbourne Borough

Eastbourne Borough had featured once before in these diaries when they visited Oxford City on the opening day of the 2022/23 National League South season and came away with a 3-1 victory.  However, Oxford City went on to finish 3^rd at the end of the regular season and achieved promotion to the National League via the play-offs, whereas Borough missed out on the play-off after ending in 8^th place.

 The previous time Fatbear had seen Eastbourne Borough play was also at Oxford City, when the two sides met in the 4^th Qualifying Round of the 2008/09 FA Cup, when Conference League Eastbourne overcame Southern League opposition 1-0 in a very even match. My memory of the game was that the Eastbourne line-up that day included Ashley Barnes, on loan from Plymouth, who had since gone onto play over 200 games in the Premiership for Burnley, but was totally anonymous that day. However, there was a good reason for Barnes failing to make an impression, as checking the programme for the match he didn’t play ! Presumably Plymouth didn’t want him to be cup-tied so instead it was a side packed with ex-Crawley Town players that edged to victory over a side two levels below them.

 

Matchday Information

According to AA route planner, the journey from Eastbourne Borough to Thame’s ASM Stadium is 122 miles and should normally take two hours 15 minutes via the M23, M25 and M40. A healthy number of Sports fans had made the journey.

At the 15.00 kick-off the weather was dry and the temperature was 20 degrees.

Attendance was £10 for adults, £5 for concessions and £3 for Under 16s. The programme was online but there were no free team-sheets available.

Thame made two changes from the side that beat Beaconsfield in mid-week with the return of Greg Hackett and Hayden Beadle, with Ed Daffern dropping to be bench and Ethan Lack cup-tied.

Eastbourne Borough made one change from the victorious side over Welwyn Garden City, with Eastmond replacing Sheaf.

Borough were playing in a change kit of all purple with pink sleeves, whilst Thame were in their usual red and black stripes.

Match Report

Thame kicked off defending the ring-road end and quickly won a throw-in mid-way inside the Borough half. Callum Hall’s long throw was headed on by Mark Riddick but Carey easily saved.

Eastbourne responded with Arthur Grout have a long range shot blocked, and the effort by Rees from the rebound bounced slowly wide.

Hackett then made a strong run and invited Harry Alexander to run into the Borough area, but he made a slight touch on the back of centre-back Freddie Carter, who crashed to the floor and won the free-kick. Shortly after Hall ran from inside his own half but Alexander was unable to control the through ball which would have put him clear on goal.

The home side were looking lively, as Joshua Stranks charged down the touchline but after being surrounded by three defenders near the corner flag, he somehow managed to pass to Alexander, who played a low ball across the face of the goal, but Roger James could only air-kick to waste a great chance.

In the 9^th minute McQueen did well to cross from the right-wing but Rees headed high and wide from a central position. At the other end, James then saw a cross-cum-shot go wastefully wide with Hackett lurking unmarked beyond the far post.

The game was end to end with both sides looking dangerous. Rees sent another header over the bar, running on to a cross from Hayden towards the penalty spot, before Beadle and Hackett combined to release Alexander into the Sports area, but Rees made an important tackle and emerged with the ball.

The opening goal nearly arrived in the 13^th minute. The clearance from Thame keeper James Callan was poor and Omatayo was able to play in Corbett, but the shot from the edge of the area went narrowly past the far post.

McQueen then ran after a long ball out of defence by Hayden, and after managing to keep the ball in play, cut back inside but his fierce drive was pushed away by Callan diving to his right.

Hayden then went on an eye-catching run and found Omatayo with his pass but the Swiss striker saw his effort from just inside the area saved by the outstretched leg of the Thame keeper for the first corner of the match, to which Omatayo rose the highest, but could only direct his header well over the bar.

Eastmond played a long ball forward which Omatayo headed on, but the scampering McQueen was just unable to prevent the ball going out for a goal-kick.

McQueen then dived as Hackett attempted a tackle near the half-way line without making any contact, and the two players had a flare-up. The game continued with a throw-in to Thame.

Grout then got to a long ball ahead of the Thame keeper advancing outside of his area, but his header was weak and Dan West was able to get back to comfortably prevent the ball rolling into the net.

With 21 minutes on the clock, James saw Carey off his line and attempted an ambitious volley from near to the touchline but the Eastbourne keeper was able to retreat and make a catch over his head.

The visitors then forced consecutive corners, both of which were played low to the near post and were dealt with by the Thame defence.

Hackett went on a mazy run and was brought down close the Eastbourne D. Beadle took the free-kick but his drive was pushed away by Carey diving to his left. James was unable to reach the rebound, but in any case, he was off-side.

Hall did well to prevent McQueen latching on to a long ball, after which Stranks committed a bad foul on Hayden to receive the first yellow card of the game. Corbett’s free-kick from about 40 yards flew straight into the hands of the Thame keeper.

This was followed by a bad challenge by Rees on Jack Tutton but the referee didn’t think it warranted any sanction other than a free-kick to Thame.

In the 34^th minute McQueen went down easily near the Thame corner flag and won a soft free-kick but Corbett’s delivery was punched away by Callan under his own crossbar, and Hayden won another the corner for the visitors. The set-piece was played short to Carter, who cross was headed away for a corner on the opposite side of the pitch. This time Phillips headed high over the bar.

James then played a smart through ball to put Beadle clear but the move was halted by the linesman’s flag for offside. Fatbear was directly in line and didn’t agree with the decision !

Corbett was the next Sports player to go down easily to win a free-kick, and the former Aldershot man got up to take the free-kick himself, which was on target but blocked by the head of Finlay Murray. A minute later Corbett went down even more easily inside the Thame penalty area but failed to con the referee, who allowed play to continue.

Hall went on a 60-yard run for Thame, but his attempted pass to Hackett was poor and Phillips was able to intercept.

With half-time approaching, McQueen was fouled by Beadle just inside the Eastbourne half, but Tom Daley would have been impressed by the exaggerated fall to ensure he got the decision from the referee.

When Eastbourne played the ball forward, Corbett was fouled just outside the Thame area, who again was the in charge of set-piece duties. However, his effort hit the wall and flew high into the air and West headed clear. Sports put the ball back into the mixer where Callan, under pressure, missed with his punch. Omatayo bundled the ball into the vacant goal, but the referee deemed that Callan had been impeded and award a free-kick to Thame. The goal was chalked off.

It was goalless at the break. Eastbourne had started to get on top, but Thame had defended well and had looked decent going forward.

The second period began with a great chance for Thame. Corbett’s free-kick was hit straight at Hackett, and Beadle pounced onto the loose ball and put Alexander clear on goal. However, Thame’s top scorer took a heavy first touch, and Carey forced him wide of the goal and unable to get a shot away. Instead, he turned and attempted to find James, but Sam Oguntayo slid in to make a vital interception.

Hayden won another corner for Eastbourne but Phillips headed over the bar.

The home side though were enjoying a good spell. Tutton dispossessed Phillips and played wide to Hackett, whose shot was blocked. Alexander’s pass saw Tutton running into the Borough area but he became the meat in a sandwich as tacklers converged from both sides, and the referee waved play on.

For Borough, Grout saw two long range efforts blocked in a period of less than 30 seconds, then Hackett became the second Thame player to see yellow following a poor tackle on Eastmond. Corbett decided to go for glory from about 35 yards, only to send the ball a few feet over the crossbar.

In the 63^rd minute, Tutton sent a free-kick bouncing into the Eastbourne penalty area but no Thame attacker was able to get on to the end of it, and the ball went off harmlessly for a goal-kick.

Corbett hit the deck again inside the Thame area following a challenge with Hall and play continued. Even one of the Sports supporters behind the goal told him to get up.

Thame had another rapid counter-attack but the ball from James across the face of the area was just a fraction ahead of the unmarked Alexander. When Thame reworked possession, Tutton’s shot from the edge of the area was blocked by Carter.

Next, Corbett had another go from 35 yards, this time sending his effort harmlessly wide. Rees then got to a long ball ahead of Murray and laid the ball off to substitute Harrison, whose low left-footed drive from the edge of the area was well held by Callan diving to his left.

West became the third Thame player to enter the referee’s notebook, sliding late into Corbett. This time Corbett’s free-kick was on target, as Callan made a sprawling save diving to his left. Carter was first to the rebound but his shot from a narrow angle was saved by the body of the Thame keeper at the expense of a corner, from which Carter headed over the bar.

The visitors created a great chance to score in the 74^th minute but after a good cross to the back post by Harrison, McQueen could only spoon over the bar.

That was to be McQueen’s last contribution to the game as he was promptly replaced by Egbri, who almost made an instant impact, but after getting to the byline his cross was a fraction too long for Corbett.

A quick throw-in by Thame as Eastbourne were caught napping enabled Alexander to run into the Borough penalty area but the impressive Hayden did well to usher the ball off for a goal-kick.

Thame were still looking dangerous on the occasions they were able to attack and James played a clever back-heel to release Hackett, whose left-footed cross was inches too high for Ulas to head home. Another break led to Daffern sending a 20-yard curler inches wide of the post. In between, a Oguntayo free-kick saw Sheaf head straight at Thame keeper Callan.

Tutton became the latest Thame player to see yellow after a trip on Oguntayo

With 83 minutes played, Egbri did well to get to the byline to deliver a good cross, but West made an ever better clearance. The match between two previously free-scoring sides still remained goalless.

An Ebgri corner was glanced on by Phillips at the near post but there was no Borough player on hand to finish at the far post. Thame substitute Curtis Brown made a break and James played a return pass for him to chase, but Carey was alert and came out of his area to concede a throw-in.

The deadlock was broken shortly after. Substitute Owen Bellamy made a good run into the Thame area, and his ball from close to the byline reached Egbri at the back post who had a simple tap in. 0-1 after 89 minutes.

Egbri should have added a second less than a minute later, but he could only blaze over the bar from around 8 yards after another good run by Bellamy.

There was still time for Thame substitute Charlie Bacon for go down in the Eastbourne area, but the referee rightly ignored the pleas for a penalty.

Borough safely saw out the added time to take a deserved victory to go into Monday’s draw, but the late winner was a heart-breaker for the home side, who had given a good account of themselves against their higher rated opponents.

Thame United : Callan – Hall ( Bacon ), West, Murray, Stranks ( Ulas ) – Hackett ( Brown ), Tutton, Riddick – Alexander, James, Beadle ( Daffern )

Eastbourne Borough : Carey – Hayden, Phillips, Carter, Oguntayo – McQueen ( Egbri ), Rees, Eastmond ( Johnson ), Grout ( Sheaf ), Corbett ( Bellamy ) - Omatayo ( Harrison )

 

Thame United 3-0 Beaconsfield Town ( att : 95 ) – 2026/27 Southern League Division One Central

September 29, 2026

Tonight saw Thame’s first home floodlight game of the season as they returned to the bread and butter of Southern League football with the visit of Beaconsfield Town. Successful runs in both Cups had meant that Thame had played only four times in the league, leaving them in 12^th place in table, whereas Beaconsfield had played eight times and were in 6^th place, but with only 5 more points than Thame.

Thame Update

These diaries last covered Thame in early September when they beat step 5 Reading City 3-2 in the FA Cup. In the next round Thame were held 3-3 at home by fellow step 4 side Exmouth, conceding a 95^th minute equaliser, but made the long mid-week trek to Devon and returned home after 2 am in the following morning with a 3-1 victory. Step 3 Eastbourne Borough await next Saturday in the Third Qualifying Round at the ASM.

Thame had also clocked up the mileage in the FA Trophy, with a trip to Dorset to play step 4 Portland, albeit on a Saturday, and earned a 2-0 victory. Last Saturday, step 3 Chichester visited the ASM and eliminated Thame from the competition with a hard-fought 2-1 win, bringing to an end an unbeaten run of 9 games for Thame.

Thame had also played one league match, when they comfortably beat MK Irish 4-0 away from home.

Thame had scored 16 goals in their last 6 games, and 30 times in all 11 of their matches played this season. With 16 goals conceded in total, there had been an average of over 4 goals in Thame’s games !

Harry Alexander was the leading scorer with 8 goals, followed by Greg Hackett with 5 and Ed Daffern and Roger James with 4 each.

 Beaconsfield Background

Beaconsfield is a town in Buckinghamshire with a population of around 12,000. Its football team was formed in 1994 as Beaconsfield SYCOB, with SYCOB coming from Slough Youth Club Old Boys who merged with Beaconsfield United. The name was changed in 2017 to Beaconsfield Town.

Starting in the Spartan League, SYCOB joined the Spartan South Midlands League in 1997 and won promotion to the Southern League Division One East after winning the Spartan South Midlands Premier Division in 2003/04. Relegation followed at the end of 2006/07, but SYCOB only spent one season back at step 5 before winning promotion again.

Newly renamed Beaconsfield Town won the Southern League South-East title in 2017/18 to move up to step 3 for the first time in their history, but were relegated at the end of 2023/24, finishing 4^th from bottom on goal difference. Last season they finished in 11^th place on their return to step 4.

Home is Holloways Park, the club’s nickname is The Rams and their first-choice colours are all red.

Fatbear’s one trip to Holloways Park ( or Holloway’s Park as it was known then before the apostrophe was dropped ! ) was in November 2013 to watch a Southern League Division One Central match against Northwood Town, which Beaconsfield lost 0-2 and missed a penalty. They were still known as SYCOB at the time.

Previous Meetings

The honours were even between the two sides last year, but in a slightly unusual fashion. Beaconsfield won 4-1 at the ASM in November, but Thame won the return 4-0.

The season before, these diaries covered Thame’s 3-2 home victory, when they faced a 0-2 deficit with around 25 minutes remaining to play, but three goals in a 12-minute spell enable Thame to end up as 3-2 winners. Thame had earlier in the season won 1-0 at Beaconsfield.

Beaconsfield Town This Season

Beaconsfield had a terrible start to the season. An opening fixture in the FA Cup at home to step 5 Penn and Tylers Green, who had been in step 6 last season, looked to be straight forward enough, but The Rams were stunned by a 0-3 defeat.

It got worse as the first league game saw a 0-5 hammering at home at the hands of Waltham Forest, and although Beaconsfield finally scored some goals in their next game, they went down 2-3 at local rivals Marlow.

The FA Trophy saw a 1-1 home draw with step 4 Sheppey United, but the Rams exited the competition after a penalty shoot-out.

Another 0-5 stuffing followed, this time at Didcot Town, before Beaconsfield finally got the show on the road with four consecutive victories, beating MK Irish ( H 2-1 ), Hadley ( A 1-0 ), Flackwell Heath ( H 2-0 ) and London Lions ( A 4-1 ). However, the run came crashing to an end last Saturday with a 0-3 loss at Biggleswade Town

Beaconsfield therefore came into tonight’s game with a 4-0-4 record but had a minus 7 goal difference.

Beaconsfield Town Squad

None of the squad who played for The Rams at Thame in March 2025 were still with the club, and very few of last season’s players were still at Beaconsfield, leading to many new signings in the summer, or promotions from the youth team.

Their top scorer so far this season was ex-Chalfont St Peter forward Courie Coley with 4 goals, including a hat-trick against London Lions. Ex-Aylesbury Vale Dynamos and Aylesbury United winger Blaaze Lawrence had found the net twice.

One familiar name to Thame supporters would be winger/forward Alfie Anderson who had a short stay at Thame during the ill-fated 2023/24 campaign before moving on to Aylesbury Vale Dynamos and Aylesbury United, whilst midfielder Mekhai Bessasa-Grant was a former Oxford City youth player, playing at Thame for The Hoops in the Oxfordshire Senior Cup in March 2025, and had played for Gloucester City, Marlow, Evesham and Didcot on loan, before joining Beaconsfield in the summer.

Defender Mohammad Gamal had apparently been playing in Egypt, midfielder Corey Hart was previously with Flackwell Heath, and midfielder Freddie Ford was with Northwood Town last season.

Rueben Whitaker joined from Rayners Lane, right-back Alex Peapell was in his second spell after a season with Larkhall Athletic, and defender Mack Miskin had played for Northwood and Harrow Borough.

Captain Charlie Smith started his career at MK Dons, and had since played for Kidlington, Berkhamsted and Risborough Rangers, and was in his third season in his second spell with The Rams.

Matchday Information

According to AA route planner, the journey from Beaconsfield to Thame’s ASM Stadium is 27 miles and should normally take half an hour.

After being dry all day, some light rain started to fall just before the 19.45 kick-off, but it only lasted for a few minutes. The temperature was 21 degrees.

Attendance was £10 for adults, £5 for concessions and £3 for Under 16s. The programme was online but free team-sheets were available at the turnstile. A pint of Poretti cost £5.40.

Thame made three changes from the side that lost to Chichester City in the FA Trophy. Dan West came in for the injured Luke Tingey, and Roger James replaced Hayden Beadle. Ethan Lack had returned to Thame, having left to join Potters Bar Town in the summer, and was in either his third or fourth spell at the club. Lack replaced Charlie Bacon in the line-up, and Beadle and Bacon were both on the bench.

Beaconsfield also made three changes from the weekend, with Smith, Aaron White and Taran Sohi coming into the side, as Mirko Jovanovic dropped to the bench, and Garnal and Whitaker were missing altogether.

Beaconsfield were playing in a change kit of all sky blue, whilst Thame were in their usual red and black stripes.

Match Report

Beaconsfield kicked off towards the ring-road end and promptly lost possession, but the Thame attack fizzled out to nothing.

The early phases were pretty even and in the 8^th minute, Lawrence received a pass just outside the Thame area but his shot was blocked and keeper James Callan gathered to stop the corner.

Thame’s first promising move came in the 10^th minute as Lack ran at the Beaconsfield defence, played a give and go with Alexander, but the shot from 12 yards was miscued and flew high and wide.

The rain briefly returned as Lawrence was denied by a good challenge inside the Thame area, and play continued. Ford then sent a long-range effort well wide as Beaconsfield were starting to get a slightly upper-hand.

After the opening quarter of an hour, Thame started to get into the game. Alexander laid off to Lack, but the first time shot from 20 yards went high and wide. Miskin then made a poor header trying to deal with Jack Tutton’s long ball intended for Alexander. With keeper Ezekiel Ifekoya unable to pick the ball up outside his area, he took a wild kick sending the ball high into the air. James took possession and ran across the 18-yard line. The advancing Daffern took the ball off James and ran into the Beaconsfield area past two defenders, and side-footed into the bottom corner past Ifekoya. 1-0 after 16 minutes.

Shortly after, Thame keeper Callan played a poor pass straight to Lawrence, who then skipped past West to the byline, but his low cross was cut-out by Callum Hall.

After this minor alarm, Thame took control of the rest of the half. Miskin did a lot better dealing with the next forward ball from Tutton to head back to his keeper ahead of Alexander. Joshua Stranks then sent a dangerous cross from the left-wing, but James’ header struck White and rolled through to the keeper.

Tutton then found Daffern on the left, who cut inside to shoot from the angle of the penalty area. Ifekoya fumbled the shot, but Smith cleared. Thame reworked possession and James went down in the area after a clumsy challenge, but the referee waved played on. It was in the category of “I’ve seen them given……”

James then shot from 25 yards but the sprawling Ifekoya made the save, after which Tutton ran past three defenders, but his shot from just inside the area lacked power and went harmlessly wide.

A Thame corner was played to Alexander on the edge of The Rams area, who took a touch then shot narrowly wide.

Beaconsfield were hanging on, and a long throw from Hall was flicked on inside the 6-yard box but the ball wouldn’t fall for Daffern.

The game’s first peace of dubious officiating then arrived as Lawrence ran at Tutton who stood his ground, and a free-kick to Beaconsfield was awarded as their winger crashed into the static Thame player and on to the floor. Defending players do not have to get out of the way of an attacker running at them……….

Smith then produced a super sliding interception to prevent Daffern’s through ball putting James clear. West and Alexander then combined to release Hall into space on the right-wing, but the full-back opted to shoot from out wide rather than cross, and the ball bounced through to Ifekoya, who saved easily.

The first yellow card was shown in the 37^th minute as Coley committed a bad foul on Mark Riddick just inside the Beaconsfield half. However, Coley injured himself in the tackle and had to be replaced by Uthman Hassan.

Thame soon doubled their lead. James ran onto a ball down the left-hand channel by Stranks, and looking up, played a square ball across the Beaconsfield area for Alexander to run onto and smash into the roof of the net. 2-0 with 40 minutes played.

A minute later, Smith’s back-pass was weak but Ifekoya showed good skill with his feet to evade Daffern and clear. The relief didn’t last for long though as Lack was found on the right-wing but his attempted cross for the unmarked Daffern at the far post was sliced, and sailed into the hands of Ifekoya.

Against the run of play, Beaconsfield had a half-chance, but Hassan was unable to get onto a ball inside the Thame 6-yard box, and Callan gathered.

With half-time approaching, James decided to shoot from 25 yards when there were better options, but the shot was poor and bounced well wide. Stranks then embarked on a rampaging run down the left-wing and his excellent cross towards the far post needed to be put off for a corner by Miskin to prevent Alexander having a tap-in.

At half-time Thame led 2-0 but it felt like they missed some opportunities to be further ahead, and they would hope they wouldn’t regret not having already put the game to bed.

Although Daffern made a strong run at the start of the second half, his cross-cum-shot was poor and flew high and wide.

Following this, The Rams had a brief good spell. Miskin’s good run down the left ended with a dangerous cross into the 6-yard box, but Callan was able to dive onto it. Several second later Hassan slid in and collided with the prone Thame keeper. The Rams’ substitute was shown an obvious yellow card, although a Beaconsfield supporter exclaimed that the referee didn’t know what he was doing. This was not to be last time this feeling was to be expressed !

Lawrence won possession for Beaconsfield and passed to Gulio Marroni to run to the byline, but Ford was unable to get onto the end of the ball across the face of the goal-mouth.

However, Thame soon regained control of the game, and Riddick’s overhead kick was well saved by Ifekoya.

James ran across the face of the Beaconsfield 18-yard line but his shot on goal was well blocked by Miskin at the expense of a corner. The set-piece was partially cleared, but Tutton’s long range effort was blocked and Ifekoya gathered the loose ball.

The game’s controversial incidents occurred two minutes later. Hassan committed a poor foul, well worthy of a second yellow card. As a bout of handbags ensued, Hassan pushed Tutton to the floor, an act which some referees would have deemed to be a red card offence in itself. Incredibly, referee James Thompson deemed neither to deserve any sanction, and Hassan somehow stayed on the pitch. As one Thame player was heard to say, “Ref, this is a league game, not a friendly”.

Daffern did well on the left wing to beat his man and cross in to the danger zone, but Finlay Murray’s powerful header was at the keeper, who made an excellent save. Daffern then made another excellent run, then slipped a pass to Alexander, but Thame’s leading scorer put the ball narrowly over the bar as Ifekoya came off his line to narrow the angle.

Beaconsfield then replaced their substitute and Hassan left the pitch to ensure he would commit any more offences, at which there were several comments from the Thame bench along the lines of “they know what he did” etc.

The impressive Ifekoya then did well to go outside of his area to make a sliding tackle to deny Daffern. Lack then made a strong run and fed James, but Marroni made an important tackle at the expense of a corner.

A slick Thame passing movement led to Lack’s shot hitting the post and rebounding to safety, after which a cross from Hall was tipped over the bar by Ifekoya.

James then showed exceptional control to bring down a long ball then run into the Beaconsfield area, but his effort was well saved low down at his near post by Ifekoya.

Miskin then became the next player to enter the referee’s notebook following a cynical trip, but shortly after, Ford did well to get to the byline, but no Beaconsfield player was up in support to get on the end of his cross.

Thame continued to dominate and another flowing passing move ended with Alexander shooting a few feet over the bar. At the other end Lawrence teed up Ford, but the 20-yard effort sailed about 10 feet over the bar.

Another smart move from the home side saw Daffern send substitute Aydin Ulas to the byline, but the cross to the near post saw Alexander’s effort well blocked.

The visitors’ best chance came in the 72^nd minute. Anderson made a good break on the left and his cross reached Ford just beyond the far post, but his shot from a narrow angle produced a good save by Callan for a corner.

A minute later Anderson crashed to the ground close to the corner flag, but the referee was unimpressed and play continued. It looked like a clear foul to Fatbear and it could be added to the catalogue of errors by the man in black.

Ifekoya then had a lucky escape when his attempted clearance was charged down by Lack, but the goalie’s blushes were spared as the ball fell kindly to him to gather.

Thame were still looking for a third goal, and Tutton ran down the left-hand channel to the byline, but after opting to go for goal, Ifekoya got a hand to his effort to push the ball away for a corner. Ifekoya flapped at the set-piece but no attacker was on hand to capitalise. Murray then blasted over the bar from 10 yards after a cushioned header by Riddick.

A rare foray by The Rams into the Thame half saw Miskin head a corner narrowly wide at the far post. Thame’s response was for Ulas to play a glorious ball down the left-hand channel for substitute Bacon to run on to and into the Beaconsfield area. Bacon’s side-footed finish hit the far post, then the near post, before nesting into the back of the net. It was now 3-0 with 84 minutes on the clock.

As the game approached full-time, Ulas showed several examples of outstanding talent as the home side pressed for a fourth goal. First, a good run and pull-back set-up a chance for Curtis Brown, but Ifekoya made a top save. Ulas then set-up Alexander for a 20-yard strike that Ifekoya again did well to hold on to. Finally, the Oxford City loanee jinked past two would be tacklers to tee up Brown, whose 20-yard attempt bounced awkwardly in front of the Beaconsfield shot-stopper and hit him on the shoulder. Thame reworked possession for Alexander’s drive to narrowly go over the bar from the edge of the area.

With the game in added on time a long ball saw Lawrence run clear of the Thame back-line and Hall committed the professional foul to bring him down. This time the referee found the red card in his pocket, and Hall had to walk towards the dressing rooms. The free-kick was touched to Lawrence, whose shot struck the outside of the post and went off for a goal-kick.

Anderson again looked lively, running past three Thame defenders, but could only shoot into the side netting.

The dismal performance from the referee was then perhaps summed up just before the final whistle when Riddick dived in studs up on Ford but fortunately failed to make any contact on the Rams midfielder. The Thame captain was lucky not to have faced any sanction for the reckless challenge.

When the match finally ended, Thame deservedly took the three points from a game they had dominated but probably should have won by a far greater margin. Beaconsfield had to thank an outstanding performance from their keeper to keep the score down.

After tonight’s results, Thame had climbed to 9^th in the table whilst Beaconsfield had slipped to 7^th.

Goal Highlights : https://x.com/thameunitedfc/status/2105388089602699391 

Thame United : Callan – Hall, West ( Ulas ), Murray, Stranks – Tutton ( Moakes ), Riddick, Lack – Alexander, James ( Brown ), Daffern ( Bacon )

Beaconsfield Town : Ifekoya – Peapell, Smith, White, Miskin – Sohi ( Anderson ), Ford, Marroni ( Bessasa-Grant ), Hart – Coley ( Hassan, Onu ), Lawrence