Thame United 4-3 Flackwell Heath ( att : 121 ) – 2025/26 Southern League Division One Central

February 14, 2026

After these diaries reported on Thame’s hard-fought home 1-1 draw against Barton Rovers, they had played just once since, a 5-1 victory at mid-table London Lions, which extended their unbeaten run to 9 matches. Two home mid-week fixtures had been postponed due to waterlogged pitches.

Today’s opponents, Flackwell Heath, had not played since a disappointing 2-2 home draw against second from bottom Rayners Lane on January 24^th, and had played only three times in 2026.

Amazingly, Mrs Fatbear declined the opportunity to spend Valentine’s afternoon watching some non-league football.

Flackwell Heath FC

Flackwell Heath is a village on the outskirts of High Wycombe with an estimated population of around 6,000.

Its football team were founded in 1907 and play at the 2,000 capacity Wilks Parks, which has 150 seats. Flackwell Heath normally play in all red, and their nickname is The Heathens.

In 2023/24, Flackwell Heath were champions of the step 5 Combined Counties Premier Division North to earn promotion to the Southern League Division One Central.  Heath finished 3^rd in their first season back at step 4, but after beating Barton Rovers 2-0 in front of a crowd of 718, they were hammered in the promotion play-off final 0-5 at Berkhamsted.

These diaries witnessed the match at Thame in April, which Flackwell won 2-1 to clinch their place in the promotion play-offs, as 10 man Thame missed an injury time penalty.

Flackwell Heath This Season

Flackwell Heath arrived at the ASM Stadium in 14^th place in the table with a 10-7-9 record, and were a 6-3-4 away from home. Like Thame, Flackwell had played only 26 games but had 9 points fewer, and had three games in hand on the three sides immediately above them.

Heath were on an unbeaten run of 4 games, with a 3-0 home win over Aylesbury United, a 4-2 victory at Stotfold, a 4-0 win at Marlow, before drawing 2-2 at home to Rayners Lane.

Flackwell started the season well, with 3 wins and 3 draws in their first 6 matches before a 2-3 reverse at Biggleswade, which started a run of 6 losses in 7 games. The rot was stopped with two wins and two draws but they then lost three of the next 5 games before the current unbeaten run.

Flackwell had played 8 matches against the current top 8 in the table, and lost all of them, five of them at home ! This included a 1-2 defeat at home to Thame, when Dan West and Curtis Brown had given Thame a 2-0 first half lead. Charlie Bacon, on loan from Oxford City, scored a late consolation for The Heathens.

Flackwell enjoyed an excellent run in the FA Cup, eliminating step 5 Tuffley Rovers and Soul Tower Hamlets, step 3 Lewes, step 3 Bracknell Town in an away replay, before exiting the competition 0-1 in the 4^th Qualifying Round at step 4 Maldon and Tiptree. Flackwell exited the FA Trophy after one match, losing 0-1 at step 4 AFC Porchester.

Flackwell Heath’s average home league attendance to-date this season was 184, the 6^th best in the division, with the highest being 310 for the visit of Aylesbury United during Christmas although the Cup-tie against Bracknell attracted a crowd of 556. Last season’s average was 274. The average for Thame United was 114.

Flackwell Heath Squad

Attacking midfielder Jack Shakespeare was The Heathens top scorer this season with 10 goals, which could give Fatbear plenty of scope for literary puns ! Striker Juwon Akintunde was next on 7 goals.

Four of Flackwell Heath’s squad had played for Thame, centre-backs Callum Mapley and Harry Mepham, and strikers Harlem Hale and Akintunde.

Keeper Henry Upstall had played for Slough Town and Risborough Rangers, midfielder Ben Stallard was ex-Aylesbury United, defender Lewis Pegg was previously with Beaconsfield Town and winger Bruce Ovbiye-Ndang was in the AFC Dunstable side that played at Thame earlier in the season. Defender Lewis Patrick had played for Risborough Rangers and forward Elias Grant played for Beaconsfield at the ASM last season.

Of the side that played at Thame last season, ex-Risborough Rangers and Thame striker Wiktor Makowski, who scored 39 goals in all competitions, is now playing for step 2 Slough Town. Keeper Carl Dennison had also joined Slough whilst ex-Risborough Rangers forward Michael Harding was now playing for step 3 Berkhamsted Town. Louis Walsh had joined Thame United !

Matchday Information

According to AA route planner, the journey from Flackwell Heath to Thame’s ASM Stadium is 24 miles and should normally take half an hour. A healthy number of Heathens fans had made the journey.

After the recent rains, today was a sunny and dry, and the temperature at the 15.00 kick-off was 6 degrees.

Entrance to the game was £10 for adults and £5 for concessions, £3 for Under 16s, whilst under 5s went in for free. A cup of tea was £1.50.

An online programme had been produced for the match and free team-sheets were available at the turnstile.

Flackwell made three changes to the side that started against Rayners Lane with Mapley, Grant and Matt Roberts selected with Akintunde dropping to the bench and Mepham and Pegg missing out. Thame were unchanged from the side that was victorious at London Lions.

Flackwell Heath were playing in a change kit of all yellow, whilst Thame were in their usual red and black stripes.

Matchday Report

Thame kicked off towards the ring road end but very quickly Grant optimistically shot from 35 yards, but the effort trickled through to Thame keeper Matt Crowther.

Flackwell’s bright start continued as Shakespeare released Grant, but this time his 20-yard attempt went high over the bar. Mapley then make a poor clearance which went to Brown but the Thame winger’s long-range shot was blocked and went out for a throw-in close to the corner flag.

Shortly after, Thame right-back Ethan Lack play a through ball down the right-hand channel from which West forced a corner. The delivery from Harry Alexander was headed high into the air but with Flackwell struggling to clear their lines, the referee stopped play as a Flackwell player was lying prone on the floor injured, and play restarted with a drop ball for Heath.

Grant then got past Thame centre-back Finlay Murray only to be brought down 30 yards from the Thame goal on the right-hand side of the pitch. The free-kick was floated into the penalty area but Shakespeare’s header sailed a few feet over the bar.

Thame enjoyed a spell of pressure which was fruitless, and could be described as Much Ado About Nothing. A period of messy play on the edge of the Flackwell area ended with Lack firing a 25-yard effort a couple of yards wide with Walsh unable to get a foot to it.

With a solitary Red Kite patrolling the skies, Thame continued to press and McGuinness need to get an important touch to a through ball from Brown which would have put Alexander clear.

The first proper shot on target came in the 14^th minute. Shakespeare’s pass gave Jamie Ayres the opportunity to run into the Thame penalty area, but his shot from a narrow angle was pushed around the near post by Crowther for Flackwell Heath’s first corner. Crowther flapped unconvincingly at the delivery from Matty Ayres, but Thame were eventually able to clear.

A minute later Lack brought down Grant just outside the Thame penalty area. Matty Ayres took the free-kick, which was missed by everyone, and the ball bounced into the far corner of the goal. Flackwell led 1-0 with 16 minutes played.

Thame’s Jack Tutton then made a late tackle on Jamie Ayres close to the half-way line but the header by McGuiness from the free-kick was an easy save for Crowther.

Out of the blue, Flackwell doubled their lead. Keeper Crowther slipped when attempting a clearing kick, only for the ball to go to Jamie Ayres, who coolly chipped the ball into the unguarded net. It was now 0-2 after 19 minutes.

Thame were in danger of falling apart, and could have fallen further behind when Shakespeare put Grant clear inside the Thame area, but the shot from a tight angle deflected off the foot of Crowther and just wide of the far post for a corner. Crowther again looked uncomfortably from the ball into the 6-yard area. Roberts retrieved the loose ball to cross back into the danger zone but McGuinness headed over the bar from close range.

Grant then had a cross-cum-shot tipped over the bar by Crowther, and the Thame keeper again flapped weakly at Matty Ayres’ set-piece, and Jamie Ayres reacted the quickest to turn the loose ball into the empty net from around 6 yards. Incredibly, after a Comedy of Errors, it was now 0-3 with 29 minutes on the clock.

Two minutes later, another Flackwell attacked needed a foul by Lack near the corner flag to stop the move, and this time Crowther made a confident catch under his crossbar from the free-kick.

Thame looked out for the count but unexpectedly a cross from Alexander was met by West, and the header flew past the keeper to pull a goal back, so it was now 1-3 after 31 minutes.

It was now Flackwell’s turn to look stunned as Alexander’s defence splitting pass enabled Lack to run to the byline, and his cross was acrobatically volleyed home by Walsh from 6 yards. With 2 goals in three minutes, Thame were back in the match at 2-3 with 33 minutes played.

Play became niggly with the referee awarding a couple of soft fouls to Flackwell but ignored a late tackle on Murray, all of which served to fire up the home support. When Stallard was penalised for a foul, some ironic cheers could be heard from the Thame supporters. Mapley then needed to make a last-ditch challenge after the free-kick was headed on, but the flag was raised for off-side.

Thame left-back Callum Hall then caught the eye with two surging runs from inside his own half. The first led to a corner, from which Heath keeper Upstell’s punch was weak but Mark Riddick, sliding in beyond the far post put the ball just wide. The second time, Hall released Brown to run along the by-line but his shot was saved at his near post by Upstell at the expense of a corner.

The visitors were able to defend the Thame set-piece but when Thame played the ball forward again, West’s flick put Walsh clear, and his thunderbolt smashed against the inside of the post and nestled into the opposite corner of the net for his second goal of the game against his former club. Remarkably, with three goals in 10 minutes Thame were back on level terms, making it 3-3 after 41 minutes.

Flackwell Heath were now the team who had appeared to have fallen apart, and Lack put Alexander clear down the right-hand channel, but with Walsh unmarked awaiting a tap-in, the ball in from Alexander went straight to the Flackwell keeper.

Crowther’s low clearance was then dummied on half-way, allowing the ball to roll clear for Alexander to latch onto. The covering Flackwell defence forced the Thame winger to turn inside and seek out Brown at the back post, but the resulting shot was blocked by Avery for a corner.

Tutton’s ball to the 6-yard line saw Murray rise the highest and ahead of keeper Upstell, and the net bulged from his powerful header. Amazingly, after falling 0-3 behind, Thame now led 4-3 in the 45^th minute.

The referee blew for half-time shortly after to bring an end to a fantastic half, with 7 goals scored in a spell of less than 30 minutes. It remained to be seen if the second period would be anything near as dramatic !

Bouyed by their comeback, Thame started the second half on the front foot although Alexander’s 20-yard effort was an easy save for Upstell. Lack then ran 60 yards down the right-hand by-line before laying the ball off to Alexander, who got to the by-line, but his pull-back to Tutton saw a shot from 6 yards blocked. Tutton then charged at a retreating Flackwell back-line only to be brought down just outside the Flackwell 18-yard line. Walsh put the free-kick 10 yards over the bar.

The first, and only, yellow card of the game was shown in the 50^th minute when Murray fouled Matty Ayres 30 yards from the Thame goal. Grant blasted the free-kick into the defensive wall, and the ball rolled through for Crowther to pick-up.

With 52 minutes on the clock Jamie Ayres played a nice pass for Shakespeare to run on to, but Murray produced a good sliding block-tackle.

However, Thame were looking the side most likely to score the next goal and after Lack and Alexander exchanged passes, Lack burst into the Flackwell area, but his shot from a tight angle was blocked by keeper Upstell and flew high into the air. Tutton attempted to head home but was penalised for a foul on a Flackwell defender in his efforts to get to the ball.

Jamie Ayres then produced another good pass to play Avery into a good possession, but the Heathens full-back’s shot was straight at Crowther, who made a regulation save. Thame moved down the other end, and after Walsh cut inside on the left, his cross was headed by West at the Flackwell keeper.

Flackwell then enjoyed a brief spell of pressure. Matty Ayres’ corner was headed clear by Thame centre-back Luke Tingey, then after Stallard hit the deck the referee waved play, on only for Grant to be brought down just outside the Thame 18-yard line. Patrick’s left-footed free-kick went harmlessly over the bar.

Thame were soon back on the front foot and Tutton’s probing long ball for Walsh needed Upstell to come out of his area to put out for a throw-in. Walsh then showed great skill to get past McGuinness but his shot was blocked.

With 68 minutes played, Brown flashed a ball across the goalmouth but it was neither a shot nor cross and the ball went off for a goal-kick. Back down the other end, Shakespeare played a pass for Jamie Ayres to shoot, but the effort was blocked for a corner. Murray headed the corner away, and Thame cleared.

With 20 minutes remaining, Shakespeare tried his luck from 20 yards but Crowther made a routine low save.

Walsh then produced another super turn to get past McGuinness and put Lack in space on the right, but the Thame right-back was bundled over near the corner flag for a free-kick.

Brown produced a good run to get past Mapley and into the Flackwell area, but with both Walsh and Alexander running to the near post, Brown’s pass went towards the back post where no-one was waiting for the tap-in. Walsh then teed up Brown, but his 20-yard effort went a few feet over the bar.

Flackwell substitute Bacon went on a good run but slipped when approaching the Thame area, and the home side were able to clear.

With 10 minutes remaining, Walsh passed to West to run into the Flackwell area, but his left-footed shot was deflected wide for a corner. Upstell’s punch at the corner was weak, and Tutton gathered the loose ball and ran along the byline, but his shot was blocked by the legs of the Flackwell keeper. When Thame reworked possession, Brown shot over from 25 yards.

With normal time just about up, Tingey made a good header to clear the danger after Bacon had done well to get to the Thame by-line, and a minute later the Thame centre-back made another important header to clear a free-kick.

With 5 added minutes to be played, Thame should have put the game to bed. First, Alexander ran onto a long ball but with just Upstell to beat, he finished poorly, putting the ball first time well wide when he had time to control and pick his spot, or pass to the unmarked Walsh. Brown then ran clear onto a long ball out of the Thame defence but with just the keeper to beat, shot against the legs of the keeper.

Flackwell won a free-kick in the third added minute, and keeper Upstall came up for the kick but Thame were able to clear. Brown ran into the Flackwell half, but with his team-mates urging him to head for the corner, he instead opted to blaze his shot out of the ground !

However, it didn’t matter as Thame successfully saw out the closing moments to take three important points which looked very unlikely after 29 minutes.

Thame might consider this to be a case of All’s Well That Ends Well, but Flackwell would view this as a tragedy.

Thame remained in 6^th place but were now level on points with Hertford but with a game in hand. Flackwell Heath dropped a place to 15^th.

Thame United : Crowther – Lack, Tingey, Murray, Hall – Tutton, West, Riddick, Brown – Alexander, Walsh ( Stow )

Flackwell Heath :  Upstell – Avery, Mapley, McGuiness, Patrick – J.Ayres ( Nsang ), Stallard ( Bacon ), M.Ayres ( Akintunde ), Roberts ( Light ) – Grant ( Wynn ), Shakespeare

 

 

Chinnor 21-39 Hartpury University ( att : 1,560 ) – 2025/26 English Champ

February 7, 2026

After the heartbreak of coming within two minutes of becoming the first side to beat Ealing Trailfinders this season, Chinnor bounced back last weekend to record another fantastic result in their incredible season, winning 19-14 at Coventry to achieve the double over the full-time side. They were now on a run of 9 wins out of their last 11 matches, and stood in 5^th place in the Champ Table.

However, the games weren’t getting any easier as today’s visitors, Hartpury University, were in 4^th place in the table.

Previous Meetings

Chinnor and Hartpury had met 8 times before and Chinnor had never beaten the students, with their best result being an away 17-17 draw last season. Earlier in the season Chinnor took a losing point from a 19-25 defeat.

These diaries reported on last season’s game at Kingsey Road where Hartpury established a 34-0 lead early in the second half and it looked like it could be an embarrassing scoreline, but Chinnor dug deep to score three tries is the closing 20 minutes to put a bit of respectability to a 19-34 result.

The report included a brief history of Hartpury, the previous encounters and some of the players to have played for both clubs.

https://fatbearssportingdiaries.blogspot.com/2024/10/chinnor-19-34-hartpury-university-att.html 

Hartpury This Season

Hartpury arrived at Kingsey Road today with a 10-1-4 record, and were unbeaten at home, with their only failure to win coming in a 33-33 draw with Doncaster Knights.

Hartpury had achieved the impressive feat of home and away victories over Worcester Warriors, whilst their other home wins had been against Chinnor, Coventry, Caldy, Cambridge and Bedford. The away defeats had been at Bedford, Ealing, Richmond and Nottingham.

Hartpury’s average home attendance so far this season was 990, with a capacity 2,000 seeing the 28-25 success over Worcester. Last season their average was 932.

Hartpury Squad

Fly-half Harry Bazalgette was the leading points scorer in the Champ with a mammoth 148 points, of which there was only one try, so Chinnor would need to be mindful of conceding penalties within kicking distance. Bazalgette had started his career at Exeter University before moving to Cornish Pirates. Last season he made one appearance on loan for Bristol Bears in the Premiership Cup.

Ex-Gloucester and Jersey Reds full-back Alex Morgan was the top try scorer with 9 tries whilst hooker Ethan Hunt had touched down 5 times.

Centre Oliver Allsopp joined in the summer from Birmingham Moseley and had also played for London Scottish and Luctonians, winger Keir Clark had previously played for Chippenham, but not in any of the matches reported on by Fatbear, and centre Robert Smith was not in The Cure !

Back-row forward Jarrad Hayler had played for Barnstaple, Taunton, Redruth and Cornish Pirates, lock Dale Lemon was previously with Cinderford, prop Alexander Gibson had played for Coventry and London Scottish, and lock Jack Davies was ex-Bath and Doncaster Knights.

Matchday Information

According to AA Route Planner, the journey from Hartpury to Thame is 66 miles and should normally take around 1 hour 40 minutes down the A40.

Adult tickets purchased online were £16 and £20 at the gate and an online programme had been prepared in advance of today’s game.

The usual food vendors were in attendance today and a pint of Brooklyn IPA was £5.36 with the members’ discount.

There had been a lot of rain over the past week, and although the morning had been mostly dry, the rain started to fall 20 minutes before the 14.30 kick-off time, and it would continue to rain on and off for most of the game. The temperature was 11 degrees, but the infamous Chinnor breeze was mostly absent.

A few patches of sand had been applied to the pitch, which looked heavy, and would cut up as the game progressed and the rain continued to fall. The floodlights were already on well before the start of the match.

Hartpury announced four changes to their starting XV that beat Bedford Blues with young Gloucester/Hartpury BUCS scrum-half Rhys Price replacing Oscar Lennon in the backs and Tom Worts, Cameron Corbett and Will Crane promoted from last’s week’s bench in the forwards. Hunt, Lemon and Hayler and Lennon were all missing from the match-day squad.

Chinnor also made four changes to their side that won last week at Coventry with Ramaz Rukhadze and Alun Walker returning to the front row, Nathan Chamberlain back at fly-half after injury and James Bourton in at centre. Prop Kai Owen and full-back Nick Smith dropped to the bench, whilst hooker Chris Moore and centre Tom Watson missed out altogether.

Hartpury were in a kit of all red whilst Chinnor were in their usual black and white hoops.

Match Report

Chinnor’s run of impressive results ended in a disappointing manner after being well beaten by an impressive Hartpury side, who maintained their jinx over Chinnor. After a close opening 50 minutes, Hartpury pulled away to a comfortable victory with a masterclass of tactical kicking from fly-half Harry Bazalgette and some impressive forward play, in particular at the line-out and rolling mauls. Chinnor had been very effective this season with their line-outs and rolling mauls but they met their match today, three times failing to secure 5 metre lineout possession and seemingly having little answer to Hartpury’s set pieces.

Chinnor kicked off towards the Showground end with a slight breeze behind them. Hartpury won a penalty at the first scrum of the game, which they kicked to half-way. Hartpury’s throw went too long and hooker Walker made the catch and kicked downfield. Hartpury took the ball inside their in-goal area and were forced to touch down to give a 5-metre scrum to the home side.

Scott Hall picked up from the base of the scrum and was stopped short of the line, as were a few more drives. Chinnor then dropped the ball, enabling Hartpury to hack away to halfway, where Chinnor wing Freddie Owsley ran back at the visitors until being illegally stopped. The penalty was kicked to 5 metres, which lock Jamie Campbell won. The rolling maul rumbled over the line and Walker was credited with the touchdown. Chamberlain’s excellent touchline conversion made the score 7-0 after 6 minutes.

A high Chinnor kick after the restart was knocked in to touch by a Hartpury hand to give Chinnor a lineout on their 10-metre line. Conor Brockschmidt won the lineout for Chinnor, who kicked to the Hartpury 22 for Bazalgette to kick back, but Owsley’s return was too strong and went dead to give Hartpury a scrum just inside the Chinnor half.

Hartpury were awarded a free-kick at the scrum which Bazalgette launched into the skies but Chamberlain made a good catch, and Chinnor replied with a high kick of their own, which Hartpury full-back Isaac Marsh dropped to give Chinnor a scrum on the Pury 10 metre line.

Hall again picked up at the base of the scrum and released Bourton to surge forward, but after the move was halted, Chinnor passed straight into touch.

Lock Peter Paramore won the lineout for Hartpury but after Bazalgette’s first kick was returned, the student’s fly-half kicked directly into to touch to give Chinnor a lineout midway inside the Hartpury half.

Brockschmidt again won Chinnor’s throw but scrum half Callum Pascoe was unable to hold onto the tap back, and Chinnor infringed at the ensuing ruck. Bazalgette nudged play to the Chinnor 22 where Paramore again won the visitors’ throw and Allsopp was able to make a strong run, but after he was tackled Chinnor had the put in at the scrum.

Although only 15 minutes had been played, Chinnor had already been forced into making two changes, with Pascoe and wing Grant Hughes having to leave the field with injuries.

Hartpury were able to win turnover ball and Bazalgette chipped towards the corner flag but Chamberlain was able to get to it first but then knocked on trying to keep hold of the ball. From the scrum inside the Chinnor 22, Bazalgette kicked towards the other corner but this time a Hartpury player was able to gather, and Clark crossed for Hartpury’s first score. Bazalgette’s conversion unexpectedly slid wide so the score was 7-5 with 19 minutes played.

The Chinnor restart went straight out of play to give Hartpury a scrum on the half-way line as the rain started to heavily fall. Price twice kicked high and Chinnor were pinged at a ruck from the second effort, and Hartpury were now 10 metres from the Chinnor line. Paramore secured lineout ball and the rolling maul moved irrepressibly forward and over the whitewash. Crane was credited with the score and Bazalgette added the extras. It was now 7-12 with 23 minutes on the clock.

Shortly after the restart, Marsh dropped a high kick from replacement scrum-half Luke Carter so Chinnor had a scrum on the Hartpury 22. A Chinnor penalty was kicked to 5 metres, but Hartpury stole the lineout and were able to clear, and won a lineout of their own on their 22-metre line.

Hartpury won their lineout and Chinnor were pinged again at the ruck and Bazalgette took his side up to their 10-metre line. Lineout ball was again secured but after Bazalgette went aerial again, Chinnor’s Nick Smith was taken out in the air whilst attempting to take the catch, leading to a yellow card for Marsh in the 33^rd minute.

Chinnor kicked their penalty to the Hartpury 10 metre line and another penalty took them to within 5 metres. Several Chinnor drives for the line were repelled but Hartpury were forced to touch down Chamberlain’s grubber kick to give Chinnor a 5-metre scrum, at which they were awarded a penalty.

Again, Hartpury were able to win Chinnor’s 5-metre lineout and clear. However, Chinnor were still pressing and after some more drives for the try-line Price deliberately knocked on to prevent a try and also saw yellow. In the 38^th minute Hartpury had been reduced to 13 players.

Chinnor finally won a 5-metre lineout via Campbell and the forwards rumble over to give Walker a second try of the day. Chamberlain was successful from the tee and Chinnor now led 14-12 with 38 minutes played.

Chinnor needlessly gave away a penalty at a ruck after the restart and Hartpury were back inside the Chinnor 22. However, it was Chinnor’s turn to win an opposition throw, but after some messy play, Bazalgette opted to kick the ball off the field to end the half, with his side trailing by 2 points.

Hartpury’s restart was kicked out of play by Carter to give the students a lineout on the Chinnor 22. Hartpury won their ball and drove to within 5 metres of the line and won a penalty advantage, but this wasn’t required as the forwards finally crashed over, with Worts receiving the credit. Bazalgette converted so the 13 men of Hartpury now led 19-14 after 42 minutes.

Chinnor were looking for a quick response and their pack pushed Hartpury off their scrum-ball and with a penalty advantage went wide, but Joe Brock dropped the ball close to the touchline. Play went back for the penalty so Chinnor had a 5-metre lineout, which they lost for the third time in the game, and Hartpury cleared to the half-way line where Owsley started to run back at the Hartpury defence. However a long pass from Carter was intercepted by Clark, and the winger ran 50 yards to score his side’s 4^th try of the game, and with the conversion from Bazalgette, Hartpury had moved into a commanding 26-14 lead with 48 minutes played.

This time Chinnor were able to make an almost instant response. A penalty was won at the restart and kicked to 5 metres and after several drives close to the line, Hall barged over and Chamberlain added a super conversion. 21-26 after 52 minutes and game on.

Chinnor were on the front foot and won a turnover after a high kick from Carter, but the defence from Hartpury was good and they were given the put-in at the scrum. Bazalgette then produced a fabulous 50:22 kick, bouncing into touch 5 metres from the Chinnor line, and with a sense of inevitability the lineout was won and rolling maul was unstoppable, with Corbett touching down. Predictably Bazalgette converted and it was now 21-33 in the 58^th minute.

Owsley made a good catch at the restart but when Chinnor moved the ball wide Brock knocked on. Bazalgette kicked long from the scrum, and Brock’s day was summed up with a poor clearing kick, giving Hartpury a lineout on the Chinnor 22.

Paramore again won the Hartpury lineout but Chinnor had a reprieve with Smith dropped the ball in midfield and Chinnor were able to fly-hack to half-way where the covering Hartpury defender knocked on. However, Chinnor over-elaborated in midfield from the scrum and dropped the ball, and the loose ball with kicked deep into the Chinnor 22. Some scrambled defence prevented another Hartpury score but a knock on gave the students a scrum on the Chinnor 22.

Hartpury won a penalty at the scrum and won the subsequent lineout. The rolling maul won a penalty in front of the posts, which Hartpury opted to kick to leave Chinnor needing three scores. Bazalgette’s kick took the score to 21-36 with 66 minutes played.

Another period of Chinnor pressure ended with a knock-on, this time prop Kai Owen being the culprit. Another deep kick from Bazalgette forced Hanks to retreat and his clearing kick was partially charged down. The loose ball was hacked forward and off for a lineout close to the Chinnor line.

Chinnor won their lineout but were having difficulty getting out of their 22 and when they did, Bazalgette kicked long again leading to Chinnor having to touch down in goal and having to drop out from behind their line.

Replacement Hartpury scrum-half Sam Allford kicked high into the Chinnor 22 and although Bourton made a good catch he was immediately smothered by marauding Hartpury attackers. Another penalty was awarded to the visitors at a ruck after a lineout tap, and again Bazalgette stepped up to add another three points to his side’s total, taking the score to 21-39 after 79 minutes.

It nearly got worse for the home side as both Hartpury centres broke from their own 22 and deep into the Chinnor half, from which Bazalgette’s deft chip for the corner was just beyond the reach of Oliver Holliday.

Campbell won the lineout for Chinnor, who won a penalty, from which they moved the ball through the hands to win another penalty on the half-way line. Needing a try for a bonus point, the kick was aimed for the corner, but failed to find touch and stayed in play, and Hartpury kicked off the field to end the match.

Despite their impressive win, Hartpury remained in 4^th place in the table, whilst Chinnor dropped one place to 6^th. 

Highlights : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3a_p5UbyAg 

 

 

Thame United 1-1 Barton Rovers ( att : 127 ) – 2025/26 Southern League Division One Central

January 31, 2026

Today saw a fixture between two sides chasing a place in the promotion play-offs as 7^th placed Thame United hosted Barton Rovers in 6^th place. Thame were two points adrift of Barton but had three games in hand. Of the top 9, Thame, still only had to visit league leaders Hitchin Town, but had to play nearly all of their promotion rivals at home.

Thame United Update

The last visit of these diaries to Thame United was at the end of December when Leverstock Green were soundly beaten 4-0. They subsequent suffered three consecutive postponements before coming from behind to beat Biggleswade 2-1 at home, and last Saturday travelled to back-markers AFC Dunstable and returned home victorious after a 6-1 win. A re-arranged fixture with Welwyn Garden City for Tuesday night was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch

Thame were still on a run that had seen them take 19 points out of a possible 21 but had only played twice in January.

Former centre-back Leo Galpin had returned from the USA and signed on for the rest of the season, whilst winger Adam Smith returned to the club after having played for Didcot Town, North Leigh, Risborough Rangers and Milton United after leaving Thame having played 7 games in 2022/23.

Harry Alexander and Louis Walsh were joint top scorers with 11 goals in all competitions, followed by Dan West and Greg Hackett on 7.

Barton Rovers FC

Barton Rovers are located in in the village of Bedfordshire village of Barton-Le-Clay, which is 6 miles north of Luton. The population of the village is estimated to be 5,000.

The town’s football side were founded in 1898 and are known as The Rovers. They play at Sharpenhoe Road, which for sponsorship reason is now called The Winton Haulage Stadium

In the 1970s, Barton Rovers were very successful in the FA Vase, reaching the quarter finals in 1975/76, the semi-finals in 1976/77 and the final in 1977/78, where they lost 1-2 to Blue Star from Newcastle. The semi-finals were also reached in 1981/82.

Rovers have been at step 4 in its various different guises since 2002, reaching promotion play-off finals in 2014/15 and 2015/16, but then had to win an inter-step play-off against Thetford Town in 2022/23 to avoid relegation.

Barton again reached the promotion play-offs last season after a 4^th place finish, but were beaten 0-2 at Flackwell Heath in the semi-final.

Barton Rovers This Season

Barton Rovers arrived at the ASM Stadium in 6^th place in the table a 13-7-7 league record, and were a 5-3-3 away from home.

Rovers started the season well, and were unbeaten in their first 6 matches before unexpectedly losing 0-2 at MK Irish, but had lost only three times in their opening 19 league matches, with the other defeats being 0-4 at home to Thame and 0-2 at Marlow.

However, Barton came into today’s game on a run of just one win in their last 6 games, 4-1 at struggling Rayners Lane, with three consecutive losses at home, to Hitchin ( 0-2 ), Hadley ( 1-4 ) and last time out against MK Irish ( 1-3 ).

Barton had just one victory over a side in the current top 10 in the table, 1-0 at home to Ware, and had not beaten any of the 5 sides above them, although they did have 4 draws from 6 matches.

In the FA Cup Rovers eliminated step 4 Brantham Athletic with a 2-0 home victory but fell at the next hurdle, going down 1-4 at step 3 Billericay Town. Barton exited the FA Trophy after one match, losing 1-3 at step 4 Brightlingsea Regent.

Barton Rovers’ average home league attendance to-date this season was 173, the 8^th best in the division, with the highest being 501 the visit of Hitchin during Christmas. The average for Thame United was 113.

I had been to Rovers’ Sharpenhoe Road on one occasion, visiting in 1995/96 to watch an FA Trophy tie against Crawley Town. In front of a crowd of 331, Crawley ran out 3-1 victors, with David Speedie, ex-Chelsea and Scotland International, and Raphael Meade, ex-Arsenal, Sporting Lisbon and Brighton, amongst the scorers for the Red Devils.

Barton Rovers Squad

Ex-Leighton Town and Newport Pagnell Town striker Albie Hall was the leading scorer in the division with 24 goals, with ex-Wealdstone and Leverstock Green forward Rawn Seale next on 9. Midfielder Alfie Warman had found the net 7 times.

Keeper Matt Boylan had played for FC Romania and Enfield, right-back Ryan Neufville was previously with Berkhamsted, centre-back Kai Phelan had played for Bedford Town and forward Marcus Gouldbourne was ex-Biggleswade Town.

Energetic midfielder George Joyce was in the AFC Dunstable side that drew with at Thame in October, left-back Murphy Culkin recently rejoined the club after playing for Redditch United, St Ives Town, Biggleswade Town and St Neots Town, whilst defensive midfielder Ayoub Enajar joined in December from Kempston Rovers.

Previous Meetings

Fatbear previously reported on Barton Rovers in November 2022, when they lost 0-2 at Thame.  

https://fatbearssportingdiaries.blogspot.com/2022/11/thame-united-2-0-barton-rovers-att-103.html 

That was the third time witnessing Barton playing in Thame, in 2002/03 Thame won 1-0 at their old Windmill Road stadium in an Isthmian League Division One North fixture, but in 2018/19 Rovers ran out 2-0 winners at the ASM stadium.

Since Thame returned to step 4 in 2017, results between these two sides had been very even with 5 wins to each side and 5 draws. Last season Barton won 3-0 at home, and drew 0-0 in Thame. As mentioned above, Thame won the first meeting between the two sides the season, although the 4-0 scoreline was a little flattering, as three of the goals came in the last 5 minutes plus added on time.

Matchday Information

The journey from Barton-Le-Clay to Thame is around 35 miles and should normally take just under an hour.

After a mostly dry day, it was still dry at the 15.00 kick-off but some light showers were forecast for during the game. The temperature was around 10 degrees.

Entrance to the game was £10 for adults and £5 for concessions, £3 for Under 16s, whilst under 5s went in for free. A cup of tea was £1.50.

An online programme had been produced for the match and free team-sheets were available at the turnstile.

Barton made two changes to the side that started against MK Irish. With Ashton Grant suspended after a red card, Enajar returned to the starting XI, whilst Mason Watkins replaced Gouldbourne, who dropped to the bench.

Thame also made two changes to the side that was victorious at AFC Dunstable, with Harry Alexander and Mark Riddick returning, with Abu Khan and Charlie Stow dropping to be amongst the substitutes.

Rovers were playing in all blue whilst Thame were in their usual red and black shirts.

Matchday Report

An even encounter finished in a 1-1 draw, which on the balance of play was probably a fair result. Both sides would probably have felt they should have taken all three points, and could point to good chances missed, but Thame missed a few more of the better chances than Barton.

Barton had the first half chance when a long ball from Neufville was headed on, but Searle’s tame header from 8 yards was easily caught by Thame keeper Matt Crowther. They created a better chance in the 7^th minute when Seale chased a long ball, got past Thame left-back Callum Hall and ran into the Thame penalty area. His left-footed shot beat Crowther, but Luke Tingey covering behind his keeper made a vital block on the 6-yard line.

Already a good battle was developing between Seale and Hall.

Thame’s first real attack saw them win possession in midfield and West spread play wide to the right to Alexander, who played a threatening ball into the Barton area. West arrived to shoot from just inside the 18- yard line, but his goal-bound effort hit team-mate Louis Walsh to deny him a goal, and to add salt into the wound, Walsh was deemed to be off-side.

Barton quickly took play down to the other end of the field, where Hall ran on to a long ball down the left-hand channel and cut inside on to his right foot, but his effort was blocked by Tingey. The rebound fell to Joyce, whose left-footed effort from a tight angle was palmed away by Crowther.

Barton continued to have the better of the early exchanges, and after another long throw from Neufville was headed away, a left-footed volley from the edge of the area by Joyce took a touch off Ethan Lack to give Barton the first corner of the match after 15 minutes.

16 players crowded around the goal-keeper and the goal-line, but the delivery from Joyce was poor and cleared at the near post.

With 18 minutes played, Thame launched throw into the Rovers area, and although play was messy, the visitors eventually cleared. At this point the floodlights came on.

With 20 minutes on the clock, Barton won another corner, and this time there was a scrum of players around the penalty spot, but the kick from Joyce went under the crossbar, for Crowther to make a relatively straight-forward catch. Thame broke quickly and Walsh looked to be put clear, but the linesman’s raised flag ended the attack.

Thame created a good chance in the 24^th minute. Jack Tutton chipped the ball into the Barton penalty area where West headed the ball back across the box, where Walsh gathered, flicked in to the air, but his volley was bravely blocked.

A minute later Walsh was put clear on the left-hand side of the Barton area with just Rovers’ keeper Boylan to beat. His left-footed scuffed shot went past the keeper, but agonisingly for the home side struck the post and stayed out of the goal. Alexander was able to play the loose ball back across the 6-yard box, but West, under pressure, could only put the ball over the bar from close range with the goal at his mercy. It was a great chance squandered.

West then became the first recipient of a yellow card after a late tackle on Neufville near the half-way line, with the noisy reaction of the Barton players perhaps being a contributor to the referee deciding to brandish the card.

Shortly after, Seale showed good skill to get past Hall, but the Thame left-back did superbly to recover and put the ball out for a throw-in. Another long throw from Neufville led to another Joyce volley from the edge of the area, which this time went straight to Crowther.

The yellow cards were then evened up when Enajar cynically fouled Alexander 10 yards outside of the Barton penalty area. Tutton’s delivery was headed high into the air by Curtis Brown, and Boylan made an easy catch.

Shortly after, Alexander played a slick pass for Tutton to run onto inside the Barton area but Charlie Mitson got there first and was clattered into by Tutton in his follow through as he shaped to shoot. No card was shown by the referee though.

With 36 minutes, played Brown did well to hold up possession and then turned past his marker, but the 25-yard effort was straight at Boylan who made the save.

With half-time approaching a cross went along the Barton penalty box which Brown retrieved and pulled-back to Alexander at the near post, but the shot lacked power and Boylan made a regulation save.

As first-half added time started to be played, Tutton slipped past Culkin and sent a fierce shot towards goal, but Phelan made a brave block at the expense of a corner. No-one was at the far post to knock in the corner, and keeper Boylan was able to run out of his area close to the corner flag to clear down the pitch.

There was still time for Thame to create one more chance. A good move involving Alexander, Tutton and West teed up Alexander, but his shot from 10 yards was cleared off the line by Phelan with Boylan beaten, after which the referee blew for half-time.

It was 0-0 at the interval after an even half with both sides playing good football in heavy conditions, but Thame had missed a couple of very good chances.

Barton started the second period on the front foot but although Enajar strode forward towards the Thame area, his long-range effort sailed 20 yards high and wide.

Shortly after, the Barton players and bench were angry at a challenge on Watkins near the half-way line, and when the linesman was challenged on the incident, he said he had a clear view and it wasn’t a foul. This was followed up by some foul-mouthed abuse from a Barton supporter.

Ironically, a minute later Seale jumped into Thame full-back Hall with next to no intent to go for the ball, forcing the Thame player to leave the field with a head injury. The referee deemed this to also not be worthy of a card, and strangely, there wasn’t any comment from the Barton supporter.

The free-kick from Thame was headed clear by the Barton defence, and when Riddick shaped to attempt a volley from the edge of the area, Warman stuck out a leg out so that Riddick ended up making contact with the Barton player first rather than the ball. In the modern game that it now a foul to the defender, but a few years ago it would have been a foul in favour of the attacker !

With 56 minutes on the clock, Lack played a great cross-field ball to Brown out wide on the left-hand side, who cut back on to his right foot, but 20 yard effort went narrowly over the Barton bar. A minute later, a good Thame move saw Tutton’s back heel tee up Alexander, but left-footed shot from the edge of the Barton area flew just over.

More noise from the Barton players and bench arose after a foul by Walsh on Neufville but again the referee didn’t think the offence worthy of any sanction.

Tutton showed good skill to beat two Barton defenders but with at least three passing options available he dithered, turned and lost possession. Barton broke swiftly and Hall was sent galloping towards the left-hand touchline. His pull back went across the 6-yard line to Seale at the back post, who had an easy tap in. From a Thame perspective it was a terrible goal to concede but it was a clinical counter from Barton, which gave them a 1-0 lead with 61 minutes played.

Barton’s Watkins was the next to see yellow after a violent foul on Walsh, but again the Barton players and bench were strangely quiet about this offence !

It got more amusing a couple of minutes later when Phelan made a blatant dive to win a free-kick just outside his area when under pressure, which conned the referee, especially as the Barton manager had earlier berated the referee for falling “for the oldest trick in the book” when a free-kick had been awarded to Thame in the first half. Not particularly picking on the Barton manager, but coaches frequently have little sense of self-awareness or their hypocrisy with their comments to the officials !

Thame were now getting on top and drive from substitute Abu Khan was well blocked by Milton for a throw in. A minute later Khan put a cross into the mixer where keeper Boylan, two Barton defenders and Riddick went for a header, and the ball seemed to be missed by everyone and bounced into the empty net. It was another poor goal to concede from a defensive perspective, and Riddick was credited with the goal. It was now 1-1 with 69 minutes on the clock.

Thame substitute Stow then beat Culkin and Phelan on the left wing but his low cross was effectively cleared by Milton.

With 15 minutes, remaining Phelan sent a long ball over the head of Tingey, and Hall ran clear into the Thame area. With just Crowther to beat, the division’s leader scorer screwed his finish horribly wide of the near post. It was a great chance wasted, and the rain now started to fall.

Hall made another good run, this time down the right-hand channel but under pressure from Tingey and from a tight angle, his shot was partially blocked, and Crowther completed the save whilst sprawled on the floor.

In the 78^th minute Seale ran past Khan but was scythed down by Finlay Murray 10 yards outside the Thame area, who became the latest player to see yellow. The free-kick was hammered into the defensive wall, and Thame broke, with Walsh sending a fabulous pass to release Stow, who then found Alexander to run to the edge of the Barton area, but the left-footed shot went straight at Boylan, who parried and then gathered.

With 84 minutes played, Barton’s Phelan saw a volley from 20 yards heading for the top corner, but Crowther dived to his left to tip away for a corner. The Thame keeper flapped at the corner, but the home side were able to break and Walsh ran at the two covering defenders. He looked to have beaten both as he cut inside, but Miftari stuck a foot and deflected the ball away from the Thame forward.

Two minutes later, Lack crossed from the right wing, but Tutton’s flick on from the edge of the area went harmlessly wide.

With two minutes of normal time remaining, a Barton corner by Lynn was won by Phelan, but Thame were able to clear the header. Barton continued to press but the Thame defending was resolute.

As the game entered added on time, a Thame long throw fell to Alexander, but the left-footed drive from the edge of the area flew narrowly over the bar. Shortly after Stow shot horribly wide after being teed up by substitute Smith.

A collision between Tutton and Seale just inside the Thame half led to more furious complaints from the Barton bench, but the referee merely stopped play, and awarded a drop-ball to Thame when play was ready to resume.

Eight minutes of added time were played and both sides strived for the winning goal, both but defences held firm, and an entertaining game finished as 1-1 draw. The result left both sides in the same positions they started in.

Thame United : Crowther – Lack, Tingey, Murray ( Galpin ), Hall ( Khan ) – Brown, Tutton, West ( Smith ), Riddick, Brown ( Stow ) –  Alexander, Walsh

Barton Rovers :  Boylan – Neufville, Milton, Phelan, Culkin – Seale, Warman, Enajar ( Lynn ), Watkins, Joyce ( Miftari ) –  Hall