Thame United 4-0 Marlow ( att : 110 ) – 2025/26 Southern League Division One Central

October 7, 2025

Tonight saw a rearranged league fixture which was originally scheduled for September 20^th, but was postponed due to Thame’s involvement in the FA Trophy. 21^st in the table were hosting 16^th.

Marlow had two more points than Thame but had played one game more, but victory tonight for Thame would take them above Marlow.

Following last Tuesday’s 2-2 home draw with AFC Dunstable, Thame exited the FA Trophy on Saturday after a 0-2 home defeat to Step 3 Banbury United in front of a healthy crowd of 190.

Marlow FC

Marlow are one of the oldest clubs in the country and are celebrating their 155^th anniversary this year. They proudly boast of having applied to enter the FA Cup in every season the competition has been organised, although for some reason there was one year when they didn’t actually play a match.

These diaries had visited Marlow’s Alfred Davis Memorial Ground on three occasions, the last of which was in January 2024, when Marlow beat Metropolitan Police 4-0 in the Isthmian South-Central Division. After finishing second in the league, Marlow went on to win promotion to step 3 by beating Westfield and Leatherhead in the play-offs. 

https://fatbearssportingdiaries.blogspot.com/2024/01/marlow-4-0-metropolitan-police-att-220.html 

Marlow were rewarded with a place in the Southern League Premier South for last season but they finished bottom, to return to step 4, and had been allocated to the Southern League Division One Central for this season rather than returning to the Isthmian League.

Last season, Marlow had an average home attendance of 269 which compared to 220 in 2023/24.

Marlow This Season

Marlow arrived at the ASM stadium with a 2-0-5 league record. Their season commenced with a 0-2 defeat at Barton Rovers, but they bounced back to thump Aylesbury United 3-0.  Three consecutive defeats were then suffered, Beaconsfield Town ( H 2-3 ),  Stotfold ( A 0-2 ) and Hadley ( H 2-3 ). Marlow recovered to win 2-1 at Northwood Town but last time out slumped to a 1-4 home loss to Hitchin Town, being 0-4 down at half-time.

In the FA Cup, Marlow beat Binfield 2-1 but exited the competition at the next round with 0-4 hammering at the hands of step 3 Chatham Town.

In the FA Trophy, Marlow unexpectedly lost 0-3 at home to Crawley based Three Bridges from step 4.

Marlow’s average home league attendance to-date this season was 175

Marlow Squad

Only three of the side that played against Metropoliotan Police in 2023 were still at the club, defenders Chris Ovenden and Josh Masters and winger Naheer Nawaf. Long serving defender Alex Salmon was still with the club but missed the Met Police game.

From the team that featured against the Met, star Polish striker Dawid Rogalski was now with step 3 Walton & Hersham, and was currently the leading goal-scorer in their division. Veteran forward Dave Tarpey was forced to retire after an ACL injury, whilst forward Rhys Harper was now with Uxbridge.

Winger Kai Hamilton-Olise was now at South Park Reigate after a spell with Harrow Borough, keeper Arron Watkins was with Hayes and Yeading, as was centre-back Louis Rogers. Defender Elijah Oladunjoye was now with Hanwell Town, whilst Dan Mulley was out with a long-term injury whilst playing for Hanworth Villa.

Marlow’s top scorer this season was ex-Aylesbury United winger Luqman Kassim, who featured in these diaries in a 0-4 defeat at the ASM last season. He would be missing tonight though as he had signed up to be part of the 6-a-side Ballers League UK competition.

Keeper Ryan North was at Leverstock Green last season whilst striker Shaun Moore was with Thatcham Town. Midfielder Kwesi Ntim had experience last season with Risborough Rangers and Harrow Borough, Jacob Wilson was previously with Holyport and Thatcham, whilst midfielder Flavio Gyawu-Kyem was ex-FC Romania and Arlesey Town

Manager Mark Bartley was now in his 14^th season in the Marlow hot seat and numbered Thame amongst his previous clubs as a player.

Previous Meetings

The most recent meeting between the two sides was in the FA Cup in August 2022, in a game which was selected to be live streamed on the BBC website. Fatbear was out of the country at the time but access to the BBC stream was restricted to just the UK, which was perhaps just as well as Marlow won 3-1 !

Despite their close geographical proximity, Thame and Marlow have usually been placed in different divisions, so league meetings have been infrequent. In 2017/18 both sides were placed in the Southern League Division One East where honours were even, with Thame winning 4-0 at home, but losing 1-3 away.

Prior to that the next most recent meetings were in 2012/13 after Marlow had suffered an unexpected relegation and had to play in the Hellenic League. Marlow romped to an immediate return to step 4 losing only one game all season, but one of their 6 draws was a 2-2 draw at home to Thame. Marlow won the return in Thame 2-1.

However, a long time ago Marlow and Thame used to compete regularly against each other. In 2005/06 Fatbear attended a Christmas fixture in Marlow between the two sides when Marlow scored two late goals by substitute, and former Thame player, Colin Simpson to win 2-0.

Prior to that, Fatbear saw an Easter Bank Holiday Monday fixture at Thame’s Windmill Road ground, where they were victorious 4-0. One of the goal scorers was ex-Wycombe Wanders’ legend Mark West, father of current Thame player Dan West. My one memory of the game was the introduction of a Marlow substitute, who was greeted by the travelling Marlow supporters to the chant of Kraftwerk’s “He’s a model and he’s looking good !”. Apparently, he earned his living as a model, but I didn’t note which one of the substitutes he was !

 

 Matchday Information

The journey from Marlow to Thame is 25 miles and normally takes less than 30 minutes up the M40. Around 25 Marlow supporters looked to have made the journey.

The weather at the 19.45 kick-off was dry and the temperature was around 13 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 large cup of tea cost £1.50. An online programme had been produced for the match.

Marlow made three changes to the side that started the loss to Hitchin, with Harvey Maunder, who scored the goal against Hitchin, Cheyce Grant and Charlie Samuel coming into the side in place of Moore, Abdallah Khalil and Gyawu-Kyem.

Thame made four changes to the side that lost to Banbury, with the return of Finlay Murray to the back four, Abu Khan at right-back, Ethan Lack in midfield and Lance Williams upfront. Curtis Brown, Jack Tutton, Jenson Wright and Louis Walsh all dropped to the bench.

Matchday Report

The opening phase of the match was uneventful, with the first piece of action occurring in the 11^th minute when a nice move featuring West, Williams and Greg Hackett led to Lack’s 20-yard attempt being blocked. Khan then went on a promising run but his pass for Alexander was overhit and went off for a goal-kick.

Hackett then played a clever chip over the square Marlow backline but left-back Alfie Agar did well to prevent the ball reaching Alexander.

Marlow were first seen as an attacking threat in the 17^th minute when Maunder swung a free-kick left-footed from close to the right touchline into the 6-yard box but Ovenden could only put the ball over the bar, but the linesman’s flag was raised for offside anyway.

A minute later Maunder shot left-footed from 25 yards but his low effort forced a save from Thame keeper Johnny Pettitt, diving to his left.

Hackett took possession from Enrique Tiamuna but his through ball for West was too heavy and rolled through to North. Hackett then skipped past Ntim and Tiamuna close to the left-hand touchline but was chopped down.

In the 23^rd minute Petitt was almost embarrassed when Nawaf charged down his attempted clearance but the rebound bounced away from danger. Thame centre-back Luke Tingey then did well to intercept a dangerous looking cross by Grant.

At the other end, West played in Lack to run into the Marlow area but his shot was blocked, and Alexander spooned the loose ball high into the air, and it drifted over the bar.

Thame put together another good move when Lack’s header found Hackett, who released Williams. The striker opted to try and tee up Alexander rather than go for goal himself, but the pass struck a Marlow defender, and keeper North was able to change direction and gather the ball.

The best chance of the game to-date came in the 30^th minute. Tingay played a long ball out of the Thame defence to which keeper North decided to leave his area to try and play. Unfortunately for the keeper, Hackett got to the ball first and rounded North, but the attempt to roll the ball into the vacant goal lacked power, and Salmon was able to get back and clear off the line. It was a great chance !

Two minutes later Callum Hall’s shot from 20 yards, after a ball from Murray, was smartly pushed away for a corner by the diving North. Thame’s short corner routine saw Alexander’s shot blocked. In-between the two efforts from Thame, Maunder ran into the Thame penalty area but was stopped by a good tackle by Murray.

With 37 minutes played, a Marlow free-kick was well headed away by West under pressure close to his goal-line.

Agar then did well to intercept a pass from Hackett intended for Alexander and then followed up with a strong tackle to win the ball from Lack. Maunder then ran into the Thame area but went to ground far too easily, and although there were some half-hearted appeals for a penalty, the referee was unimpressed.

Nawaf became the first player to be shown a yellow card when he deliberately prevented Thame from taking a quick throw-in.

Thame then became frustrated with the linesman as Hackett twice, then Alexander, were flagged offside when running clear in a period off less than two minutes. All looked very close from the other end of the pitch !

Alexander then broke clear without the flag being raised, but Agar did well to get back and play the ball off Alexander. Surprisingly the officials gave a corner when it looked a pretty obvious goal-kick. The in-swinging corner was headed goalwards, but Agar, positioned at the far post cleared off the line.

Shortly after, a Thame long throw led to a scramble in the Marlow area and a goal bound shot was blocked by an arm. The referee deemed it to be handball and awarded a penalty. Wilson was shown a yellow card, presumably for his protests against the decision. Alexander stepped up and sent North the wrong way to give Thame the lead. 1-0 with 44 minutes played.

Marlow went on the attack from the restart but Maunder’s shot on the turn took a deflection and Pettitt made an easy save.

A moment of potential controversy occurred moments later. Williams broke clear but was brought down by Ovenden. The ball fell to Hackett who optimistically went from goal from 40+ yards and put the ball well wide. The referee had played an advantage but didn’t come back to show a card to the Marlow player, which possibly might have been red with there being no obvious covering defender.

Pettitt needed to be alert to come off his line and bravely save as Grant was about the run onto a through ball. Thame worked the ball to the edge of the Marlow area and West was able to turn and fire into the bottom corner with North motionless. 2-0 with 45+4 minutes played.

After a poor first 30 minutes, the game had improved in the final 15 minutes. Thame were worthy of their lead, they had scored two goals, and twice saw the ball cleared off the line.

Marlow began the second half brightly with Maunder feeding Nawaf, who sent a fierce shot across the face of the goal and narrowly wide. Thame’s response was for Lack to send an inviting cross towards the far post where Hackett and Ntim dived for it, but both players missed the ball, which went off for a goal-kick. West then spotted North far from his goal-line and attempted to beat the keeper from 35 yards, but his effort sailed just over the bar with the keeper stranded.

Alexander and Lack then combined to release Khan to the byline, but the whipped cross went just over the head of Brown, who had just come on as a substitute.

Brown was in the action shortly after, running onto a long cross-field ball from Tingey, cutting inside past Ntim and sent a shot aiming for the top corner but was denied by an excellent diving finger-tip save from North.

A flowing Thame move ended when Lack was chopped down for a free-kick just outside the Marlow area on the right-hand side. Alexander floated kick was sent towards the back post but Ovenden made an important header to prevent Tingay heading home from close range

Williams did well to keep the ball in play close to the corner flag, getting to it ahead of Ntim and then played it back to Brown, who delivered a fantastic curling cross toward the far post. Riddick got to it and headed back across goal for the ball to nestle just inside the post for a splendid goal. 3-0 after 56 minutes.

Perhaps Thame unconsciously took their foot off the pedal, but after going three down Marlow enjoyed a good spell of pressure. Nawaf ran down the right-wing but Hall did a good job to get back and concede a corner. Nawaf then brushed past Hall and played a square ball towards Gyawu-Kyem but before the Marlow man could side-foot home he was bundled over for a clear penalty in the 67^th minute. Nawaf saw his effort from the spot well saved by Pettitt diving to his left and gathered at the second attempt.

Ntim had a shot deflected off for a corner then Nawaf again got to the byline but saw his low cross put out of a corner. Maunder hit the floor outside the Thame penalty area and thinking he had been fouled put his hand on the ball, only for the referee to give Thame a free-kick for handball ! A few minutes later Maunder then sent a 20 yard free-kick over the defensive wall, but also over the bar.

The one chance for Thame during this period saw Brown’s shot saved by the legs of North after being put in to space by West.

Thame upped their tempo as the game entered its final 20 minutes. A cross from Wright was inadvertently put over his own bar by Ovenden, after which Khan’s long run ended with a foul by Agar. The free-kick was drilled into the 6-yard box and Calvin Gitiba put it over his own bar. The corner was headed towards goal by Riddick and reached Walsh, who turned and shot home from 8 yards through a crowd of players. It was probably Walsh’s first touch after coming and the score was now 4-0 after 83 minutes.

Walsh nearly grabbed his second goal of the evening, but after twisting and turning, his left-footed shot from the edge of the area was pushed away by the diving North for a corner.

As the clock ticked into added time Gyawu-Kyem’s run ended when the was robbed of the ball by Khan, then Brown ran past two Marlow defenders to the left hand byline, but no-one was on hand to put away his pull-back.

Thame’s convincing victory took them up 7 places in the table to 14^th whilst Marlow dropped into the bottom four by virtue of their worsening goal difference. Marlow look to be in for a long season fighting against relegation, whilst Thame can realistically look forward to climbing into the top half of the table.

Thame United : Pettitt – Khan, Tingey, Murray, Hall – Hackett ( Brown ), West ( Tutton ), Lack ( Njogu ), Riddick – Williams ( Walsh ), Alexander ( Wright )

Marlow :  North – Ntim, Ovenden, Salmon, Agar ( Brough ) – Maunder, Wilson ( Popov ), Tiamuna ( Gitiba ), Grant ( Branker ) – Nawaf, Samuel ( Gyawu-Kyem )

 

 

 

Richmond 18-13 Chinnor ( att : 1,100 ) - 2025/26 English Championship

October 4, 2025

The English Championship, or The Champ as it has now been rebranded, finally started its season this weekend, weeks after every other league had commenced, and Chinnor began with a visit to newly promoted Richmond.

Chinnor had played two pre-season friendlies, with a 34-59 home loss to last season’s champions Ealing Trailfinders which was covered by these diaries, and last week travelled to Caldy, and returned with a 17-14 victory. Details of the Caldy match had been scant, apart from a comment it had been bruising !

Richmond had played three warm-up matches, going down 14-33 at National League One Blackheath, 10-71 at Cardiff but last time out were victorious 36-26 against fellow Championship side Cambridge.

Previous Meetings

Chinnor and Richmond last meet in the 2023/24 National League One when Chinnor did the double, with both matches reported on by Fatbear. In March 2024, Chinnor took an important step to winning the league when after being held to just a one point lead, they pulled away in the final 20 minutes for in the end, an emphatic 41-16 victory for their first ever success at the Richmond Athletic Ground ( RAG ). The home fixture in the previous November had seen Chinnor romp to a 55-26 home win, with two late tries for Richmond adding some respectability to the scoreline and bring a 4 try bonus point.

https://fatbearssportingdiaries.blogspot.com/2024/03/richmond-16-41-chinnor-att-918-national.html 

https://fatbearssportingdiaries.blogspot.com/2023/11/chinnor-55-26-richmond-att-800-est.html 

Prior to this Richmond had won all four previous 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 RAG as Richmond finished 4^th in the league and Chinnor were relegated.

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. The match was a lot closer than the scoreline would suggest as Richmond’s greater experience and nous saw them through. Richmond were champions whilst Chinnor were placed 4^th

https://fatbearssportingdiaries.blogspot.com/2020/01/chinnor-5-21-richmond-att-625.html 

Richmond Last Season

A deeper background on Richmond can be found in the report on their visit to Chinnor in November 2023.

Richmond had been relegated from the Championship in 2022/23 in controversial circumstances when tenants London Scottish brought in a dozen or so players on loan from Harlequins to help them avoid relegation after having earlier looked to be doomed. Whilst this was all within the rules and regulations, a lot of observers thought it went against the spirit of the game.

Richmond were many pundits to bounce straight back but ended the 2023/24 season in a disappointing 6^th place, 44 points behind champions Chinnor. However, Richmond licked their wounds and stormed to the 2024/25 National League One title, finishing 11 points ahead of Rosslyn Park, having lost just three matches all season.

Ex-Durham University fly-half/full-back Callum Grieve scored 258 points whilst ex-Cornish Pirates Welsh scrum-half and captain Alex Schwarz scored 12 tries.

Richmond’s average attendance for the season was 947 but this was boosted by two bumper crowds in their final two home games in their procession to the title, with 1,421 turning up for the game against Rams and 1,950 against Blackheath.

Richmond Squad

Richmond had reportedly retained all but one of their players which had achieved promotion, and had announced several signings to augmented their squad for the new campaign.

Two notable signing were South African centre/wing Ronnie Du Randt who had received rave reports at Rotherham last season, and lock/back row forward Luke Frost from Bedford who had relocated to London for work.

Two players had joined from Cambridge, back-row forward Jared Cardew and prop Seb Brownhill, whilst back-row forward Donnacha Byrne had joined from Irish province Connacht. None of the other announced new signings were in their matchday squad for today’s game.

Matchday Information

The journey from Thame to Richmond is around 50 miles and takes just over an hour.

Whilst the weather was dry, there were 40+ mph gusts of winds at the 15.00 kick-off, and the temperature was 13 degrees.

Adult tickets were £20 online for non-members purchased in advance, or £25 on the day. An online programme had been produced for the game.

Chinnor named only two of their summer signings in their starting XV, prop Kai Owen and lock Jamie Campbell. Richmond also had only two of their new players starting, Du Randt and Cardew, although Brownhill and Byrne were amongst the substitutes.

Chinnor’s line-up contained 7 of the players who started the last meeting between the two sides in March 2024, but only three of Richmond’s side that day were playing today.

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

Betway made Richmond 9/20 favourites, with Chinnor at 2/1 and the draw 20/1

The match was live streamed on the Clubber TV. When I took a look the individual game option at £6.99 had disappeared, only the weekly pass for all games at £12.99.

Match Report

Chinnor kicked off into the very strong wind, and Richmond cleared to half-way. Richmond won the Chinnor line-out but knocked on midway inside Chinnor half. Richmond won a penalty at the scrum and opted to go for the posts rather than the corner. Grieve was successful from the tee so it was 3-0 after 3 minutes

Richmond returned the kick-off and Chinnor ran and won a penalty on their 10-metre line. The wind kept the kick to just the Richmond 10-metre line. Chinnor won the line-out through Campbell and worked their way up to the Richmond 22, but a big hit by lock George Nugent on George Stokes halted the attack and Richmond won a penalty, which was kicked to half-way.

Campbell stole the line-out and Chinnor spread to the left then to the right and to the left again until full-back Nick Smith knocked-on. Richmond played on and kicked ahead, and Smith was unfortunate when the ball bounced unkindly to strike him on the arm for a knock on. Richmond had a scrum just outside Chinnor 22.

Richmond were forced into making two early changes in the opening 10 minutes but this didn’t seem to unduly affect them. Wing Chidera Obonna fed full-back Greg Kitson, who was tackled 5 metres short of the line, and ball went forward for a scrum to Chinnor. A free-kick was awarded to Chinnor at the scrum, which they kicked to their 10 metre line.

Richmond secured their ball but Chinnor won a penalty to go to the Richmond 10 metre line. The visitors won their lineout and Grant Hughes broke in to the Richmond 22 but Richmond defended well and were awarded the put in at the scrum. The Richmond scrum was solid and Grieve kicked to just beyond half-way.

Richmond won the Chinnor line-out and won a penalty at the subsequent ruck, and kicked to the Chinnor 22. The throw to the front of the line-out was messy and Chinnor were able to turnover and clear.

Richmond won their line-out and spread the ball wide, but there was a forward pass so Chinnor had a scrum midway inside their half. Number 8 Scott Hall picked up and ran and Richmond were caught offside. The penalty was nudged into the wind up to the Richmond 10 metre line.

Campbell again won the line-out and Richmond guilty off not rolling away at the ruck, enabling Chinnor kick to inside the Richmond 22 with 20 minutes on the clock.

Campbell again rose the highest and Smith went on a mazy run. Campbell was tackled short of the try line and Chinnor went left but a long, floated pass was too high for Keiran Goss and went into touch. However, Chinnor had been playing with a penalty advantage so were able to kick to 5 metres. Again, Campbell won line-out ball but the Chinnor rolling maul was held up, Richmond were awarded a penalty, and with the wind behind them were able to clear to the half-way line.

The Richmond throw went long and Chinnor gathered. Richmond flanker Mile Wakeling then intercepted a pass from Chinnor scrum-half Luke Carter as he was looking to break. Richmond recycled and launched a high kick. Goss made the catch, but Richmond won the turnover. Good hands from Addams released Kitson, who burst past static Chinnor centre James Bourton to run to the try-line. Greive’s conversion slipped wide of far post so the score was now 8-0 after 27 minutes.

Richmond gathered the restart but Grieve’s clearing kick caught the wind and went the length of the field and bounced dead. Therefore, Chinnor had a scrum 10 metres from the Richmond line. Hughes made a break but was illegally stopped. With a penalty advantage, Chinnor pounded the Richmond line but were held up over the line. Chinnor opted for the points and fly-half Nathan Chamberlain had an easy kick in front of the posts to take the score to 8-3 after 31 minutes.

Chinnor were having a good spell and although Kitson caught Carter’s box-kick he was pinged for not releasing. Chinnor kicked the penalty to 10 metres from the Richmond line but Nugent stolen the line-out at the front and Richmond kicked into the Chinnor half. Carter’s kick was charged down and Chinnor conceded a penalty at the breakdown. Richmond again went for the posts and Grieve slotted the kick through the uprights from around 35 metres. Richmond now led 11-3 after 35 minutes.

Richmond won the restart and cleared to half-way. Conor Brockschmidt won the line-out but Chinnor were again tackled in midfield. Carter again saw a kick charged down, but Chinnor were able to win the ball back, but were frustrated by a forward pass when trying to send back-row forward Harry Dugmore down the touchline.

Richmond’s backs went on a good move but Kitson’s pass went behind Obonna and into touch. However, the referee gave a scrum to Richmond but Chinnor were awarded a free-kick at scrum, which was then upgraded into a penalty, possibly for backchat ?

Chinnor were only able to kick to Richmond’s 10 metre line, but Campbell secured line-out possession, and Chinnor won a penalty as a half break was illegally stopped. Chinnor were back to just outside the 22, and from a short throw Carter sniped down blindside but Chinnor then offended and conceded a penalty. After Richmond won their ball, the referee ended the half when the ball was spilled.

Although Chinnor trailed 3-11 at the interval, they would have been encouraged by most of the play having been in the Richmond half despite playing into the strong wind. However, they had rarely looked like scoring, Richmond had defended well, and had looked dangerous on their occasional attacks.

When the second period commenced, the wind had dropped significantly in its velocity so it was not quite the advantage for Chinnor that Richmond had enjoyed. The half began with some kick tennis until Richmond won a penalty midway inside their own half and kicked up to Chinnor 10m.

Chinnor won the Richmond lineout and kicked. Kitson dropped the high ball but it was judged to have gone backwards. Richmond retained possession and a long, floated pass found Obanna but he was tackled by touchline. Richmond reworked and kicked but Obonna knocked on.

Chinnor had a line-out 25 metres from the Richmond line, and although Richmond got hand to the throw, Chinnor hooker Alun Walker caught the ball, from which substitute Will Cave made some yards. Chinnor reworked and Chamberlain’s cross-field kick was caught by Hughes, who stepped inside and went close to the try-line before being stopped. Chinnor spread to the other wing and Goss was given a straight run to the corner from a pass from Smith. Chamberlain superbly judged the conversion with the wind to convert from close to the touch-line. The scored had moved to 11-10 after 47 minutes.

Carter cleared the restart to half-way, but Richmond won a penalty from a scrappy lineout and progressed up to the Chinnor 22. However, Richmond struggled to make a breakthrough and were off their feet at ruck.

A superb kick from the penalty from Chamberlain took Chinnor to within 7 or 8 metres of the Richmond try line. Campbell won the line-out and the rolling maul looked to have been illegally taken down the Richmond defenders, but referee saw it as a knock on and so awarded a scrum to Richmond. Richmond were given a free-kick at the scrum, and kicked to just outside their 22 so it was a throw for Chinnor.

Campbell again won the Chinnor line-out, but Chinnor floundered in their attempts to breach the sturdy Richmond defence and conceded a penalty at a ruck. Richmond were back up to the Chinnor 10 metre line with 54 minutes played.

From the line-out, Obonna made a break to run clear but Cardew had clearly blocked a would-be Chinnor tackler and Chinnor were given a penalty for crossing.  Chamberlain took play back to the Richmond 22.

Richmond stole the line-out but were unable to make any progress with ball in hand so had to kick, and Goss dropped the high ball to give Richmond a scrum on the Chinnor 10 metre line.

The impressive Obonna broke through the gain line and Nugent carried on the move but although Chinnor defended, they were pinged for off-side. Greive took penalty from in front of the posts 25 metres out but surprisingly hit the post. Chinnor just about managed to claim the bouncing ball, and Carter cleared to close to half-way.

Jake Monson won the lineout for Richmond and although Obonna was snagged as he attempted a break, Richmond kept possession but Chinnor substitute prop Ramaz Rukhadze won turnover at the ruck. Richmond defended well and were awarded the put for the scrum following the subsequent ruck.

62 minutes had now been played and although the Richmond scrum was solid, Richmond were pushed back and Schwarz was forced to kick. Campbell made a good catch near half-way and Carter chipped ahead. Kitson gathered, skipped past two tacklers before being brought to ground, and Chinnor conceded another penalty at the ruck.

Richmond were back up to half-way, but Chinnor stole the line-out and Carter kicked. Richmond kicked back to Crowley who ran but Stokes knocked on.

With 13 minutes remaining, Richmond had a scrum close to Chinnor 10 metre line. Kitson and Addams make yards but Richmond were forced into touch. Chinnor scrappily won their line-out 15 metres from their line and substitute scrum-half Callum Pascoe cleared.

Chinnor forced a penalty at a ruck but Chamberlain failed to find touch with his deep kick. Kitson ran across the field until being tackled and Chinnor pinned Richmond to just outside the 22. Schwarz finally cleared, Crowley caught on the half-way line and Pascoe chipped over a flat defensive line. Richmond gathered but Schwarz’s kick didn’t go very far, and Richmond were offside.

With 8 minutes left to play, and with the opportunity to take the lead for the first time in the match, Chinnor decided to go for the posts. The kick was around 35 yards and close to right-hand touchline but Chamberlain’s kick slid narrowly wide of left-hand upright.

Chinnor fielded the Richmond 25 metre drop out but Monson intercepted a flat pass and kicked ahead. Crowley gathered inside his 22 but Richmond forced the penalty to have a 5-metre lineout. Their rolling maul was held up but Richmond made several drives for the line to get a penalty advantage, but more drives were defended. Finally, substitute scrum-half Luke Jones dived over close to the posts. Grieve added the conversion added so after coming close to falling behind, Richmond now had an almost certain match winning lead, with the score 18-10 after 77 minutes.

Desperate Chinnor attacks got nowhere, but after they had dropped the ball, a Richmond kick went straight into touch for a line-out to Chinnor midway inside Richmond half. However, their throw was not straight and Richmond won a penalty at the scrum. It was then Richmond’s turn to not throw straight and then Chinnor were awarded a penalty at the scrum, which took them into the Richmond 22

A high tackle by Byrne saw him receive a yellow card and give Chinnor a penalty in front of the posts. Chinnor opted to take the points to grab a losing bonus point, and Chamberlain duly obliged. The score moved to 18-13 and the referee blew his whistle to end the match.

Overall, it was a deserved win for Richmond, who were defensively very strong and Chinnor hardly made a break.  The Richmond back three of Kitson, Obonna and Addams looked very quick.

Chinnor made far too many errors and gave away too many penalties at the ruck. They would also be disappointed that their rolling maul, which had been so successful last season, was ineffective today 

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

Thame United 2-2 AFC Dunstable ( att : 100 ) – 2025/26 Southern League Division One Central

September 30, 2025

After securing their first league points of the season last Saturday with a dramatic 1-0 victory over Stotfold, Thame had an opportunity to add to that with the Tuesday night visit of AFC Dunstable. After starting the season with just one home fixture in their opening 7 matches, Thame were now playing their third home game in a run of six consecutive home matches.

AFC Dunstable were in 15^th place in the table, with three more points than Thame but from two more games played. Thame were third from bottom.

Previous Meetings

Fatbear was in attendance for last season’s meeting between these two sides, also played in mid-week, when Dunstable came from behind to score two goals in the last 5 minutes plus added time to achieve a 3-2 victory in a thoroughly entertaining game for the neutral.

https://fatbearssportingdiaries.blogspot.com/2024/10/thame-united-2-3-afc-dunstable-att-112.html 

This would be the third time this fixture had been covered in these diaries, with the 1-1 draw on New Year’s Day in 2022 also being featured.

https://fatbearssportingdiaries.blogspot.com/2022/01/thame-united-1-1-afc-dunstable-att-165.html 

Thame and Dunstable have been in the same division since the 2017/18 season and overall Dunstable have had the edge. Thame had won just two of seven home matches, with two draws, and Dunstable had lost only once at home in 6 meetings, with two draws.

AFC Dunstable

Founded in 1981, they are not to be confused with Dunstable Town, the side George Best briefly played for in the 1973, and who are currently in the South Midlands Premier Division. The two sides both play at Creasey Park. Their nickname is the ODs, which stands for Old Dunstablians, their previous name, and not a reference to drug overdoses !

At the time of last season’s visit to the ASM, AFC Dunstable were owned by Varsity Nine, who are described as “a sports management company that specialises in delivering services for high performing players and student athletes”, which explained why everyone in their squad was 23 or younger. In November 2024, ownership of the club was moved to a private limited company, and is now run by a committee, although the focus on young players has continued.

Last season, AFC Dunstable finished in 14^th place, with an average home attendance of 149.

AFC Dunstable This Season

Dunstable arrived at the ASM stadium with a 1-3-3 record. The season commenced with a 2-2 home draw with Northwood Town, which was followed with a 1-0 victory at Welwyn Garden City and another home draw, this time 1-1 against Hadley.

The first defeat came at the hands of Enfield, 2-5 away, then another, 1-2 at home to Milton Keynes Irish after which a 1-1 home draw with Beaconsfield Town was recorded. On Saturday, Dunstable subsided to a 0-1 loss at Hitchin Town with a red card to left-back Carmicheal Uchenna.

AFC Dunstable had been unlucky with their Cup draws, coming out of the hat second on four occasions. In the FA Cup, Harwich and Parkeston were vanquished 4-1 but AFC then exited the competition 0-1 at Tilbury.

In the FA trophy, Maldon and Tiptree were beaten 1-0, after which revenge was obtained over Enfield for the defeat in the league, with a 3-1 win. Dunstable finally had a home draw in the next round, where they will host step 3 Folkestone Invicta.

Dunstable’s average home league attendance this season is 113.

AFC Dunstable Squad

Ex-Holmer Green and Aylesbury Vale Dynamos striker Sean Duodu is now dual registered with step 2 Slough Town, and was the top scorer in all competitions with four goals. Striker Timothy Okwusogu played for Ware last season and had found the net three times this season.

At 23 years old, ex-Newport Pagnell Town defender Ben Lynch was the oldest player in the AFC Dunstable squad whilst centre-back Harry Riley played 11 matches for Thame in 2023/24.

Midfielder Maks Jarzabek had previously played for Beaconsfield Town and Aylesbury United whilst right-back Joshua Clark-Anderson was formerly part of the MK Dons Academy, and attacking midfielder Avtandil Akhsiashvilli hails from Georgia and was with Beaconsfield Town last season.

From the squad that featured in last season’s encounter, midfielders Tali Jallow, George Joyce, Kyle Brooks, and forward Tommy Blennerhassett were also involved tonight. Left-back Khyan Frazer-Williams, who was outstanding in last season’s meeting as a 16 year old, has now signed to be part of Crystal Palace’s Academy.

Matchday Information

According to AA Route Planner the journey from Dunstable to Thame is 26 miles and should normally just under 50 minutes.

The weather at the 19.45 kick-off was dry and the temperature was around 13 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 large cup of tea cost £1.50. An online programme had been produced for the match.

Dunstable made four changes to the side that started at Hitchin, with Sam Carmen taking over between the sticks, Mwita Mgoyo coming in at centre-back and Jarzabek and Bruce Nsang in midfield. Jallow, Avtandil and Shawn Joseph dropped to the bench. Thame made two changes to the side that beat Stotfold, with starts for Ty Njogu and Abu Khan.

Dunstable were in sky blue shirts with white sleeves, black shorts and sky blue socks. The white numbers on the back of their shirts were not easy to see from a distance ! Thame were in their usual red and black shirts.

Matchday Report

Thame kicked off and almost immediately Khan was fouled near the right-hand touchline. Harry Alexander’s in-swinging free-kick bounced near the six-yard line and keeper Carmen fumbled. Dunstable were unable to clear the loose ball and a shot from Louis Walsh was blocked for a corner. The visitors’ defending at the corner was unconvincing, but the ball was eventually cleared.

Walsh then ran past Okwusogu and passed to Alexander, but his curling left-footed effort drifted wide of the far post.

The first on target shot arrived in the 9^th minute. Callum Hall’s long throw was headed on by Mark Riddick, but Alexander’s stabbed shot went into the arms of the keeper.

Dunstable had their first attempt on goal in the 12^th minute. A right-wing cross found Okwusogu unmarked at the far post but the header was totally mis-timed, and headed off towards the corner flag.  It was a great chance wasted.

Play went down the other end and Walsh delivered a fierce cross but unfortunately for Thame, it went behind the two attackers bearing down on goal.

A nice flowing move from Dunstable then ended with Brooks’ cross-cum-shot flying high and wide across the goalmouth.

With 24 minutes on the clock, a suspiciously looking offside Brown ran onto a cross-field pass from Walsh and managed to get a cross in before the ball went out of play. Jenson Wright shaped to volley from 12 yards but completely missed the ball.

Two minutes later Carmen, under pressure from Riddick, dropped an over-hit cross from Khan. Dunstable were able to clear the loose ball but Thame lumped it back to the edge of the area. Riddick, with his back to the goal, held the ball up. Alexander took the ball away from him and burst into the penalty area and with just the keeper to beat, finished smartly. 1-0 after 26 minutes.

Walsh then sprayed another cross-field pass for Brown to scamper to the byline but his cross was put-off for a corner by Mgoyo. Alexander’s in-swinging delivery put pressure on Carmen but the keeper was able to punch away from under his crossbar. Khan sent the loose ball high over the bar from 30 yards.

Thame should have doubled their lead in the 34^th minute. Njogu won possession as Dunstable tried to play out from the back and played the ball to Brown, who played a low ball across the goalmouth. Walsh, 8 yards out, failed to make contract, and a golden chance went begging.

Dunstable’s first serious effort of the match game two minutes later, but a good strike from Jarzabek was tipped over the bar by Thame keeper Pettitt. Thame cleared the corner and Walsh ran onto a long ball out of defence. With Uchenna trying to cover, Walsh spotted Carmen well out of his goal area and attempted to chip into the vacant goal from distance, but the ball sailed a yard over the bar.

Dunstable again attempted to play out from the back from the goal-kick and Brooks appeared to be very fortunate when he fell to the ground when challenged by Alexander, who was then clear on goal with just Carmen to beat. However, the referee judged that a foul had been committed on the Dunstable player.

A couple of minutes later Alexander won possession just inside the Thame half and played down the right-hand channel. Brown got past Uchenna but Mgoyo was covering and forced Brown wide, and good defending saw him block the cross at the expense of a corner. Mgoyo was again in the right place to concede another corner when Thame attempted a short corner routine.

Thame continued to dominate and Walsh went on a mazy run down the left and played the ball across goal from the byline. Wright’s effort was blocked at close range and the rebound fell to Brown, whose attempt from the bouncing ball went back across goal but high and wide. It was another good chance that Thame had failed to take advantage of.

Dunstable enjoyed a brief spell of pressure as the game moved into first half added time. First, a cross from Clark-Anderson went straight to the Thame keeper. Blennerhassett then ran at the retreating Thame backline and fired a foot or two wide of the post from 20 yards, with Pettitt holding a watching brief. The visitors then penned Thame into their area but good defence ensured there were no further chances.

Thame headed to the dressing rooms with a deserved 1-0 half-time lead, which perhaps should have been greater. They had looked physically stronger and won nearly all of the 50/50 tackles, with Njogu catching the eye with his ability to break-up play and calmly offload to a team-mate to launch an attack. Dunstable had looked good in patches but had rarely threatened until the close moments of the half.

Whatever was said in the Dunstable dressing room at half-time seemed to have had an effect, as the visitors made an impressive start to the second period. Okwusogu made a strong run down the left and then cut inside for a 20-yard shot that stung the hands of Pettitt, who gathered at the second attempt. Blennerhassett then spun on the edge of the area, but his effort lacked power and rolled several yards wide.

Walsh showed good vision for Thame to play another splendid cross-field ball in to the acres of space on the right to which Brown ran into, but good defending by Uchenna resulted in a goal-kick. Jazarbek then became the first player to be shown a yellow card after hauling Brown to the floor as Thame attempted to counter-attack from inside their half.

Uchenna continued his good play with a strong run down the left-wing and his pull-back reached Blennerhassett, but the left footed shot on the turn from 12 yards was screwed wide. It was Dunstable’s best chance of the game so far.

Brown was then shown a yellow card for taking too long at a throw in, after which Wright teed up Walsh for a 20-yard drive which was pushed away by Carmen, and Wright was flagged for offside when he tried to latch onto the rebound.

Dunstable thought they had grabbed an equaliser when Okwusogu’s 25 yards swerving effort looked to have deceived Pettitt, who was going the wrong way, but he was able to stick out an arm and deflect the ball over the bar.

Substitute Jallow picked up a loose ball and made a surging run into the Thame area but was stopped by a superb tackle by Dan West, and Okwusogu send the rebound high over the bar. Jallow then selfishly attempted to score from 30 yards, only for it go high and wide, when there were several better options.

At the other end Walsh got past Clark-Anderson but from a tight angle opted to shoot, sending the ball high and wide across goal.

After some scrappy play on the edge of the area, Okwusogu saw another shot blocked. Jallow then attempted another selfish effort from 25 yards, this time nearly sending the ball out of the stadium. Several of his team-mates were not impressed !

In the 68^th minute Uchenna did well to prevent Khan from shepherding the ball out for a Thame goal-kick and passed to Okwusogu, who this time shot wildly over the bar. Another good move from Dunstable ended with another shot from Okwusogu being blocked.

Dunstable were now on top but were looking pretty toothless in attack.

With 77 minutes played another good move from the visitors ended with Blennerhassett shooting a couple of yards over the bar, shortly after which, Jallow ran through two would be tacklers and surprisingly opted to pass rather than shoot, and Okwusogu was the beneficiary, this time turning and shooting left-footed into the bottom corner for the equaliser. 1-1 after 78 minutes.

Dunstable were looking the side more likely to go on to win the game, and Uchenna broke down the left but Jallow’s weak shot from the edge of the area was easily saved by Pettitt.

Thame won a corner, but Riddick’s header at the far post was a routine save for Carmen. Dunstable then took play down the other end, and Avtandil’s chip across the goal from a tight angle struck the crossbar and bounced away to safety.

Avtandil played a pass to Blennerhassett after a probing run, but the shot from the edge of the area was weak and Pettitt had another regulation save to make.

Thame won another corner, which was taken by Jack Tutton, and Riddick rose the highest at the far post to head home from 6 yards. It was against the run of play, but Thame now led 2-1 after 83 minutes.

Avtandil made another good run for the visitors but Dunstable were unable to line up a shot for anyone and Khan was able to clear.

As the game moved into added on time, Clark-Anderson won a corner for Dunstable after good defending by Khan. Thame were desperately hanging on and were hitting it anywhere. When Dunstable had a throw-in midway inside the Thame half, every Thame player was defending inside their area. The ball was thrown short and a Dunstable defender launched the ball high into the Thame penalty. Keeper Pettitt decided to come to claim the ball but hopelessly misjudged it, and was caught in no-man’s land. The ball came off a Dunstable head and looped slowly into the vacant net. Brooks was credited with the goal and it was 2-2 after 94 minutes.

There was still time for one last attack by Thame, but after cutting in from the left Greg Hackett’s blazed effort was closer to the corner flag than to the goal.

At the final whistle a draw probably the right result. Thame were much the better side in the first half, whereas Dunstable were the better team in the second period, and although the equaliser came deep into added time and had a strong element of good fortune, it felt deserved.

With results elsewhere this evening, Thame had slipped to second from bottom. Dunstable moved up a place to 14^th.

Thame United : Pettitt – Khan, Tingey, West, Hall – Njogu ( Monroe ), Riddick, Wright ( Williams ), Walsh ( Tutton ) – Alexander, Brown ( Hackett )

AFC Dunstable :  Carmen – Clark-Anderson, Lynch ( Jospeh ), Mgoyo ( Addy ), Uchenna – Nsang ( Avtandil ), Brooks, Joyce ( Jallow ), Jarzabek ( Lucas ), Okwusogu - Blennerhassett