February 5, 2022
Since these diaries reported on Thame’s draw with AFC Dunstable on New Year’s Day, they have played 5 matches, winning 3 ( Wantage H 1-0, FC Romania A 4-0 & Aylesbury United A 1-0 ), drawing 2-2 at home with league leaders Bedford Town, and losing an Oxfordshire derby at North Leigh ( 1-3 ). As a consequence, they had risen to 7th in the table, 5 points off a play-off position.
Today’s opponents, fellow Oxfordshire side Kidlington, arrived in 16th position, or 5th from bottom, but on a remarkable run. After taking just one point from their opening 5 league matches, they had a mini-revival with 2 wins and a draw, but then picked only one more point in the following 5 games. Since then though, with a fair degree of turnover in their squad, only two losses have been suffered in their most recent 11 games, which featured three wins and six draws. After 25 matches they possessed a 5-9-11 record, with the victories coming over Barton Rovers ( H 3-1 & A 3-0 ), Didcot ( A 3-0 ), Colney Heath ( A 3-2 ) & Wantage ( H 3-2 ).
Kidlington’s Ellis Hercules played for Thame for several seasons as a fondly remembered ball-playing centre-back before emigrating to New Zealand, whilst fellow centre-back Liam Gilbert moonlights as the coach of Oxford United Ladies side. Ex-Wantage and Brackley forward Ryan Knight had scored 10 goals in all competitions but could only make a place on the bench today. Oliver Creed is unlikely to be a relative of boxer Apollo Creed !
The two sides met twice at Kidlington within 4 days in early October, with Thame winning the league encounter 1-0 thanks to a first half goal from Ryan Blake, with the League Challenge Cup tie finishing 1-1 but Thame progressed after a penalty shoot-out.
Kidlington is a large village in the parish of Oxford, and is perhaps most famously known as the HQ of the Thames Valley Police, home to fictional detectives Morse, Lewis and Hilary Greene. Also, Oxford London Airport was known as Kidlington Airport until 2009. The distance between Kidlington and Thame is approximately 18 miles.
I have visited Kidlington’s Yarnton Road ground on one occasion, in 2006 to watch a Hellenic League encounter between today’s two sides, which was won by Kidlington 1-0. I have also seen Kidlington on two occasions at the ASM stadium, with Kidlington beating Thame in 2015/16, again in the Hellenic League, with the other match being during Aylesbury United’s ground-share in Thame, with the Ducks being 2-1 winners.
After a dry and cloudy morning, the weather at kick-off had a hint of rain, and whilst the temperature was supposedly 9 degrees, it was distinctly chilly with gusts of wind up to 20mph.
The first half started with Thame playing with the strong wind at their backs, but it was the visitors who began the strongest, with a long-throw launched in the Thame area within 60 seconds, and in the third minute, after a poor first touch by Thame defender David Lynn, Kidlington striker Stephen Robertson pounced on the loose ball but shot wide with just the keeper to beat. He really ought to have opened the scoring. Four minutes later, midfielder Rhys Wells sent a low shot skidding just wide from just outside the area.
Thame responded with Lynton Goss stealing possession near half-way but his through ball between the Kidlington centre-backs was just a little too strong for David Pearce to reach before the goal-keeper, and then Goss was put clear down the left but his low cross struck the knee of Pearce six yards out but went wide of the post.
In a lively beginning, Kidlington had the next chance, with left-sided attacker Luke Stokoe taking advantage of a slip by Thame full-back Lewis Thorne to advance on goal, but keeper Craig Hill made a fine block from the shot from a tight angle.
It was already looking like this would be a game full of goals, and in the 15th minute Dan West’s 30 yard effort needed to be headed over by a Kidlington defender to prevent the ball heading to the top corner. Three minutes later, Goss again made ground down the left but his low cross into the 6 yard box was scrambled clear by the visitor’s defence.
The first yellow card of the game was shown in the 22nd minute, to Thame’s Gilmore for a late sliding tackle, which was the cue for it to briefly start raining.
Thame were starting to get on top, and in the 25th minute a long goal-kick was headed on for Pearce to find space, and his lay-off found Greg Hackett on the right-hand side inside the penalty area but his shot was blocked by the legs of keeper Way. From the resulting corner, Blake was unable to get a decent contact on his header and the ball ended up harmlessly wide, and a good chance went begging.
Kidlington fashioned another chance in the 31st minute, and after the ball was worked to Stokoe 8 yards out, Hill made a great block at close range. However, it wouldn’t have counted as a handball against Stokoe was awarded.
The opening goal came a minute later. Thame took a short corner, from which Pearce delivered a delightful in-swinging cross which was decisively met by West, whose header hit the roof of the net before the keeper could react.
The match became a little bit scrappy after the goal but it burst back into life in the last 4 minutes before the interval. From a long cross field pass, Goss was put clear but he had to stretch to get in a shot, and the ball went across the goal and wide. However, Goss injured himself in the effort and the game was held up for a few minutes as he received treatment.
When I next looked up, West was rolling the ball into an unguarded net for his second goal. According to the Kidlington supporter nearby, the goal-kick was played to centre-back Liam Gilbert, who when pressed by West miskicked and the ball was gathered by West who rounded the keeper. As he frustratingly exclaimed “Why the hell are we trying to play like Manchester City ?!!”
Kidlington were rocked by this set-back and two minutes later, a lovely back flick from Blake gave Pearce the chance to volley at goal, but his shot was well parried. Thame recycled possession and Pearce was able to cross from the right where Blake outjumped the keeper and a defender to nod in a third goal for the home side.
A 0-3 deficit at the break was harsh on Kidlington, but they had shot themselves in the foot with some poor defending. They came out of the dressing room fired up and nearly pulled a goal back within two minutes but similar to the first half, Stokoe advanced down the left-hand side and forced a top save from Hill.
Thame could have extended their lead in the 49th minute. Tutton’s mazy run took him past several opponents and he laid the ball off to Pearce, whose low cross from the left was met by Hackett 6 yards out, but his effort was cleared off the line. The follow-up from West on the edge of the penalty area went out of the stadium.
After this promising start to the half, the game became a little attritional, with Thame mostly sitting back on their lead, whilst Kidlington were unable to make much impression on a solid defense in which 19 year old Gilmore again caught the eye with his positional play and his reading of the game.
Hercules made a tremendous tackle inside his area to prevent Pearce weaving his way through the middle of the Kidlington defence, and after an attempted clearance was charged down, Blake’s attempt to pass to the unmarked Goss was intercepted for a corner. From the corner to the near post, Hackett’s header was just a fraction high and wide. In between this, the impressive Stokoe had another effort, this time just sliding wide of the far post.
The introduction of some substitutes did little to improve the flow of the game, and although the visitors had a corner bounce across the face of the goal with no-one on hand to get a touch, it was out of the blue when Kidlington did pull a goal back in the 71st minute. A cross from the left found Robertson, who was able to control and shoot left-footed on the half-volley into the bottom corner.
Kidlington though were unable to capitalize and rarely put Thame under any more pressure, although with 4 minutes left on the clock a header was acrobatically tipped over the bar by the flying Hill. In the increasing darkness it was impossible to see the white numbers on the green Kidlington shirts so I couldn’t tell whose header it was ! A minute later though I was able to identify Hercules as the player who headed over from a corner.
The closing stages of the game were mostly Thame keeping the ball in the corner, with Kidlington unable to regain possession. There was still time for a near comedy own goal though, when Flanagan headed over his advancing keeper who had failed to make a call, but his header went just wide.
Despite winning, Thame remained in 7th place in the table, although the gap to a play-off place had reduced to 4 points. Kidlington stayed in 16th place.
Thame United : Hill – Thorne, Gilmore, Lynn, Peake-Pijnen – Hackett ( Scott ), Tutton ( Sturgess ), West, Pearce ( Gledhill ) – Goss, Blake
Kidlington : Way – Quarterman ( Knight ), Hercules, Gilbert, Flanagan – Wells, Griffiths, Creed ( D.Stokoe ), Gillett ( Mattimore ) – L. Stokoe, Robertson
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