Oxford City 2023/24 Season Review

April 21, 2024

Oxford City’s first ever season in the National League ended as many people expected with a last placed finish and relegation, having reportedly by far the lowest budget in the division. With Banbury United, Gloucester City and Bishop’s Stortford all being relegated from National League North, and two other “Southern” sides being relegated from the National League, there is a high risk that Oxford City may be heading North rather than South next season.

The Hoops had punched far above the weight to get promotion from National League South, with allegedly one of the lower budgets in that league too. Third place in the regular season gave them a home play-off semi-final against Worthing and first half goals from Zac McEachran and Alfie Potter in front of a record-breaking crowd of 2,017 and the BT Sport cameras took Oxford City to a home play-off final against St Albans City.

Somehow, an incredible 3,100 packed into Court Place Farm, and they and BT Sports viewers were treated to a scintillating first half performance as goals from Reece Fleet, McEachran, Josh Ashby and Josh Parker all but wrapped up promotion by half-time. The final score remained 4-0.

Oxford City were able to hold onto virtually all of the squad that earned promotion, with the only significant departure being striker Klaidi Lolos, who joined League 2 Crawley Town.

The fixture computer wasn’t too kind to Oxford City, with their opening 4 matches being against former Football League clubs. An opening day 2-5 defeat at Aldershot Town brought home the reality of playing at this level as although The Hoops looking capable of scoring, every small defensive mistake was punished.

A close fought encounter at home to Rochdale ended in a 0-1 loss, then title favourites Chesterfield were pushed all the way and only triumphed with a goal in the 87^th minute. Late goals conceded were to become a recurring theme as the season progressed.

After zero points from three losses from three games, City’s first point arrived in a welcome draw at Halifax, when Pierre Fonkeu’s equaliser earned a share of the spoils, but City felt aggrieved when Canice Carroll’s late header appeared to cross the line, but the officials were unsighted and failed to award a winning goal.

Another point was earned on the road with a battling 0-0 draw at Maidenhead, which was most notable for striker Olly Sanderson returning on loan from Fulham, and a great performance from referee Kirsty Dowle, who wasn’t fooled by all the play acting and let the game flow to such an extent that the trainers never needed to come onto the pitch.

The Hoops first win of the season then arrived on August Bank Holiday Monday in remarkable circumstances at home to Boreham Wood. After being outplayed for 65 minutes, Nya Kirby, who had been part of the England Under 17 squad that won the 2017 World Cup, drilled home from 20 yards and the floodgates opened as City romped to an unlikely 4-0 victory. The icing on the cake was McEachran scoring less than a minute after coming on for a cameo in his first appearance of the season after illness.

A visit to top of the table Solihull Moors was next, and an opportunist late finish from Josh Ashby gave City a highly respectable 3-3 draw, after which Hartlepool were embarrassed by a 5-2 thumping. Two more draws followed, 0-0 at home to Dagenham & Redbridge and 2-2 at Eastleigh after being 0-2 down, which took the unbeaten run to 7 matches, and mid-table safety of 14^th.

Unfortunately, that was as good as it got as the influential Josh Ashby was injured and four consecutive losses followed, two of them 0-4 ( at Oldham and at home to Gateshead ), and another late defeat, 1-2 at the hands of Altrincham was screened by TNT Sports. A comfortable 3-0 win over bottom of the table Fylde though again took the Hoops out of the bottom 4.

Injuries to a small squad were starting to mount up, and three more losses were suffered but a 3-2 win over Woking, and a first away victory, 4-0 at Ebbsfleet took Oxford City out of the relegation places again, and with a run of fixtures against sides around them in the lower region of the division, hopes were high that a few wins could be secured to stay away from the danger zone.

Eight defeats in ten matches against relegation rivals showed this to be wishful thinking as the only points accrued were a 2-2 home draw with Kidderminster Harriers, after being 2-0 up, and a Boxing Day 2-0 win at Dorking Wanderers.

A double was achieved over Ebbsfleet with a 1-0 home win at the end of January, but the only other points in 2024 came from a 0-0 home draw with Southend United, a 2-2 draw at Rochdale, a 1-0 home win over Wealdstone and a 0-0 home draw with Oldham Athletic ( who 30 years earlier had been 9 levels higher than City ! ). Since the win at Ebbsfleet in November, City lost 18 out of 26 matches.

Overall, City won only 33 points from 46 games, and although they found the net 54 times, they let in 94 goals.

Antiguan International Josh Parker was the top scorer with 14 league goals, whilst Olly Sanderson contributed 9 from 23 appearances before being recalled from loan by Fulham.

As an indication of the injuries affecting their squad, plus international call-ups for Josh Parker and Andre Burley, 38 players were used in league games during the season and no-one came close to playing in all 46 league games. Lewis Coyle and Reece Fleet lead the way with 40 appearances, whilst Josh Parker featured in 39 matches, followed by Andre Burley on 37 appearances.

Performances in the Cup competitions were disappointing. A late equaliser was required to obtain a 2-2 draw at National League North Scarborough Athletic in the FA Cup 4^th Qualifying Round, but a 2-3 home loss in the replay, after fighting back from 0-2 down only to concede in the 91^st minute, meant it was Scarborough who proceeded to meet Forest Green in the First Round Proper.

A dismal display at home to Chelmsford City resulted in a 0-1 loss and an exit at the first hurdle in the FA Trophy.

Further embarrassment followed in the Oxfordshire Senior Cup when a side including 10 players who had featured in National League fixtures lost 1-2 to Thame United, who were bottom of Southern League Division One Central at the time ie three divisions below Oxford City.

Player Performances

Goalkeepers

Chris Haigh – 6 : Re-signed on loan from Ebbsfleet after some solid performances at the end of the 2022/23 season. Started the season the number one keeper until being dropped for new loan signing Bycroft. Mysteriously made just one appearance after Bycroft departed and ended the season playing for Ebbsfleet in the Kent Senior Cup.

Jack Bycroft – 4 : Signed on loan from Southampton and immediately replaced Haigh as the number one keeper.  Looked poor on crosses and didn’t always seem comfortable with the ball at his feet, so it was a huge surprise when his loan ended as Southampton sold him to Swindon, where he is their first choice keeper !

Marcin Brozozowski – 5 : Made his debut against Barnet as a stop-gap between Haigh and Bycroft and showed himself to be a decent shot-stopper. Possibly at fault for the two goals against Halifax but made up for it with a string of top saves to keep the score down. Odd that the management failed to show more confidence in him.

Tom Watson – 6 : Signed on loan from Wigan after the departure of Bycroft and the non-selection of Haigh. Made a number of outstanding saves but like Bycroft not the greatest on crosses or playing out from the back.

Defenders

Andre Burley – 7 : Consistently solid on the right-side of the defence and missed when on International duty for St Kitts and Nevis. Scored the winner against Ebbsfleet. One of the candidates for player of the season.

Canice Carroll – 7 : Prone to the occasional clanger but his defensive aerial ability and braveness in putting his body on the line was sorely missed after injury at Woking in early February which ended his season. Score the second equaliser in the fabulous 5-2 win over Hartlepool.

Tafari Moore – 5 : Signed from St Albans City in the summer after playing against The Hoops in the Promotion play-off final. Unavailable from Christmas to mid-March. Showed versatility when selected, capable of playing at right-back, right midfield as well as left-back.

Giles Phillips – 7 : Ex-Wycombe and Aldershot US born centre-back, joined in February from Irish side Waterford. Became a regular starter after the injury to Carroll, and after a slow start became an accomplished member of the defence. Scored in the home debacle against Eastleigh.

Mitchell Roberts – 5 : Joined in early October after being released by Birmingham City and looked very useful on debut at left-back in the comfortable victory over Fylde. Subsequently moved to centre-back, but rarely played after the defeat at Woking in early February.

Jacob Roddy – 6 : Signed on loan from Charlton Athletic in December for one month, which was subsequently extended to the end of the season. Played at left-back, centre-back and left midfield and looked lively going forward. Scored the consolation goal in the 1-7 mauling the threadbare side received at Dagenham & Redbridge.

Midfielders

Josh Ashby – 7 : Was in superb form at the start of the season which coincided with the unbeaten run. Out injured from mid-September to the end of January and was badly missed. Back to his best in the last month of the season.

Lewis Coyle – 6 : Hard working and energetic performances, making up for a slight lack of quality for this level with effort. One of the few players to remain injury free, and scored twice during the season, including a fabulous finish at home to Aldershot. Topped the yellow card table with 13.

Reece Fleet – 7 : Mr Dependable, although without Ashby & McEachran, and even Kirby alongside him in midfield, naturally failed to make as much of an impact going forward than in previous seasons. Was usually the fulcrum for starting the build-up play.

Latrell Humphrey-Ewers – 7 : A revelation ! Loaned out to North Leigh last season, he took his opportunity with all the injuries to first choice midfielders and was often was the standout player. Probably should have scored more than the one goal against Maidenhead.  

Nya Kirby – 6 : Signed in the pre-season after being released by Crystal Palace. Was in impressive form early in the season when City were on their good run and his ability to retain possession and his willingness to shoot from distance were ideal for City’s blueprint. Struggled to regain those levels after returning from injury.

Zac McEachran – 5 : Missed the start of the season with a virus and then mostly played as a substitute whilst trying to regain full fitness. Appeared to be getting back to his best before getting injured in December and missed the rest of the season until the second to last game. Still manged to be third highest scorer despite a curtailed season with 4 goals, with the highlight being the goal against Boreham Wood in the closing stages of the match, and less than a minute after coming onto the pitch for his first appearance of the season.

Renny Smith – 5 : Signed in September after having played two seasons in the Austrian Bundesliga for WSG Tirol Innsbruck. Initially played as a forward but didn’t really look the part but was much more effective after being moved back to midfield. Scored the clinching second goal in the 2-0 win at Dorking. Didn’t feature in the last 8 matches of the season.

Aaron Williams-Bushell – 6 : City always looked a better side with AWB on the right-hand side of midfield but he was often left out of the starting line-up for new signings. He made just 17 starts but came off the bench on 14 occasions. Only scored once, at home to York, and probably should have scored more.

Forwards

Pierre Fonkeu – 3 : The Cameroonian scored three times in September but strangely rarely featured thereafter, playing just 5 minutes after the end of October, and ultimately joined Hemel Hempstead on loan late in February.

Harvey Greenslade – 4 : Signed on loan from Bristol Rovers at the start of February. Initially didn’t look ready for this level but worked hard. Improved as the season approached its conclusion and scored three goals and could be useful next season if Rovers agree to loan him out again.

Josh Parker – 7 : The veteran Antiguan was often left to plough a lonely furrow up-front, getting little support from referees as outnumbered and no-nonsense defenders pulled him from pillar to post. Had a short spell wasted on the left wing when Sanderson was played as the sole striker. Despite this still managed to find the back of the net 14 times to be the top scorer.

Alfie Potter – 4 : Was in and out of the side for most of the season, often being an unused substitute. Failed to make an impression at this level.

Olly Sanderson – 7 : Nine goals in 14 starts and 9 appearances from the bench before being recalled by Fulham and sent to Sutton United early in January. His direct, pacy running caused problems for all National League defences and he was sorely missed when he departed. Had he stayed until the end of the season there was a fair chance City might have stayed up.

Other

Harry Birtwistle – Young Singaporean born full-back signed on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers. Showed some promise in his 7 appearances.

Phil Croker – promising youngster drafted in for a full debut in the injury ravaged side that got hammered 1-7 at Dagenham & Rebridge but also made a substitute appearance in the win at Dorking. Made two starts in the Oxfordshire Senior Cup before going out on loan at Bracknell. One for the future.

Alex Fisher – returned on loan from Yeovil, having been a teenage goal scoring hero as an 18 year-old on loan from Oxford United in 2009. It was apparent why a National League South side were prepared to let him go out on loan. Made 3 league appearances without making any impression.

Tom Harrison – rugged, hard working centre-back made 9 league appearances before being allowed to leave and join Truro. Scored in the FA Cup replay against Scarborough.

Brooklyn Kabongolo – had played earlier in the season for Southend United and made an excellent debut in the 0-0 home draw against his former side. In and out of the side after that. 9 appearances.

Cole Kpekawa – 28 day loan signing from Bromley in November and looked a competent centre-back. Played 4 games in which City won two and drew one.

Ernaldo Krasniqi – signed in March after leaving Huddersfield. Had a very good performance in the win over Wealdstone but was in and out of the side. 6 appearances.

Levi Lumeka – pace winger signed in January after leaving French side Troyes. Scored a consolation goal against Eastleigh but wasn’t given a decent run in the side. 6 appearances

Alex McQueen – signed in November after returning from playing in the USA and with 14 caps for Grenada. Scored in the 4-0 win at Ebbsfleet on debut but only made 5 appearances before disappearing.

Lewis Miccio – made 12 starts in the first part of the season, including most of the unbeaten run, before being allowed to join Braintree on a permanent basis.

Charlie O’Connell – defender signed on loan from Peterborough United towards the end of the season and was appalling at left-back against Halifax, but looked a much better player at right-back against Wealdstone. 10 appearances

Claudio Ofusu – made two starts and came off the bench twice in November as a pacy but headless winger, having signed after playing for Hungerford Town last season. Then disappeared, but Transfermrkt shows he is now playing for FK Alfa Modrica in the Bosnian second division.

Rafferty Pedder – made an immediate favourable impression after signing on loan from Queens Park Rangers as an attacking left-sided midfielder. Made just 4 appearances before being recalled by his parent club.

Seydil Toure – Signed on loan from Charlton Athletic at the start of January and looked to be a very promising right-back. Strangely recalled by Charlton after two games but didn’t seem to go anywhere else or play for their first team.

Joe Wilson – signed at the end of the previous season from Ilkeston and made just one start and a handful of appearances from the bench before being shipped out on loan to Bracknell in December. No idea if this has been made permanent or whether Joe will return next season.

 

Thame United 3-0 Kings Langley ( att : 124 ) - 2023/24 Southern League Division One Central

April 20, 2024

Thame went into their final home game of the season knowing that they needed to win their last two games of the season and hope other results went their way if they were to avoid relegation after a difficult season. Although only two sides are relegated from the 20 team Division One South, two sides are also due to be relegated from the 19 team Division One Central.

Thame started the day with 34 points, five points behind Aylesbury United and six points adrift of Kidlington, with all three sides having two matches left to play. Thame also had an inferior goal difference although not beyond the realms of possibility to make it up with two convincing victories. However, there were unsubstantiated whispers that North Leigh might voluntarily request to be relegated as they seek to save the club amidst their financial difficulties, so the side finishing 18^th might be reprieved. However, that was all speculation at this point.

Since these diaries covered Thame’s 1-3 home loss to Ware, they rebounded with a 2-1 comeback win at Aylesbury United, and then scored two goals in the last 8 minutes to snatch a 3-3 home draw with AFC Dunstable. A 3-0 home win over free-failing North Leigh gave them 7 points from three games, before going down to a heart-breaking 0-1 defeat at league leaders Biggleswade Town, with the winning goal coming in the 93^rd minute.

Kings Langley Background

Kings Langley is a village in Hertfordshire between Hemel Hempstead and Watford, with a population of just over 5,000.

Its football club were founded in 1886 but only recently made some headlines with a record equalling three consecutive promotions, going from the Spartan South Midlands League Division One to the Southern League Premier Division between 2013/14 to 2015/16. They stayed at step 3 for 7 seasons, flitting between the South and Central Premier Divisions until being relegated last season after finishing fourth from bottom in the Central Division.

Their season back at step 4 had been rather ordinary, and they started the day in 10^th place with a 13-9-13 record, and today was their last league match of the season. Away from The Orbital Fasteners Stadium they possessed a 5-3-8 record. With 71 goals scored they were the league’s third highest scorers, but only bottom of the table Kempston Rovers and Welwyn Garden City had conceded more than the 71 goals Kings Langley had let in.

King’s Langley began the season with an unbeaten run of 8 matches in the league but soon settled into mid-table shortly after. Their last two matches had been wins, 6-2 at home to Kempston Rovers and 1-0 at Leighton Town. However, prior to that they lost 1-6 at Welwyn Garden City and 0-3 at Ware.

Attacking midfielder Louie Collier looked to be a player to watch, having scored 21 goals this season whilst ex-Tottenham Hotspur Under 23 winger Rayan Clarke had found the net 13 times. Ex-Peterborough, Torquay and Newport striker Rene Howe had scored 9 times, and featured in these diaries whilst playing for Bedford Town at Thame in September 2020, but was missing today.

17-year-old keeper Gabriel Ortelli was on loan from Watford and centre-back Matt Hall won 3 Under-20 caps for Antigua. Player-manager Jordan Parkes played for Watford and Barnet in the Football League before being a free-scoring midfielder for Hemel Hempstead.  

Midfielder Sonny French was the one connection between the two sides, having played the odd game or two for Thame in the Hellenic League as a dual-registered player when playing for Aylesbury United. Long serving captain Jorell Johnson was playing his last match for Kings Langley before emigrating to the USA in the summer.

When the sides met in the reverse fixture in December, Kings Langley were victorious by 3-1.

Matchday Information

The journey from Kings Langley is 31 miles along the A41 and should normally take around 45 minutes. Around 20 fans had made the journey and they had a banner which read “Small Village, Big in Hearts” which I thought was quite amusing !

The weather at the 15.00 kick-off time was cloudy and dry, with the temperature around 12 degrees but a chilly breeze made it feel colder than that.

Thame made three changes to their starting XI at Biggleswade, with Oliver Hogg, Matthew Harriott and Finlay Murray dropping to the bench with evergreen Jefferson Louis, Dani Lucas and Mark Riddick coming into the side. The team-sheet showed Lucas wearing both the number 3 and 7 shirts so in for a busy afternoon, but Oscar Lucey was actually in the number 3 shirt !

Kings Langley made two changes from their last match with Shaun Keane replacing Lorenzo Johnson at left-back and Rayan Clarke coming in for Hugo Odogwu-Atkinson

Kings Langley were playing in white shirts with black sleeves, red shorts and black socks. Thame were in their usual red and black stripes.

Like the match against Ware, it was eerily quite prior to kick-off with no pre-match music or tannoy announcements until some god-awful racket from one of the dressing rooms as both sides gathered in the tunnel before entering the pitch.

 

Matchday Report

Like the build-up, the match started in a very low-key manner with the only early action of note occurring in the fourth minute when Kings’ Ball attempted a defence splitting pass but it was well shielded by Ebondo, allowing the ball to run through to Thame keeper Davis.

Out of the blue the home side opened the scoring in the 8^th minute. Louis punted the ball forward to clear his lines and with the Kings Langley centre-backs slow to react, Knight ran forward and with keeper Ortelli strangely standing close to his right-hand post, the Thame striker struck the bouncing ball with a left-footed volley from 25 yards which nestled into the far corner. 1-0 to Thame after 8 minutes.

With a lead to hold onto Thame looked much more up for the challenge than the visitors, winning most 50/50 tackles, and the veteran Louis was effectively marshalling his side and making sure they remained calm and didn’t rush into giving away possession. He was to be by some distance the best player on the park today.

Kings response was for Keane to attempt to play in Clarke behind the right-back but McNamara managed to get an outstretched  foot to the ball, which diverted to the Thame keeper. Thame’s Lucas then skipped past Ball down the left touch-line before jumping out of the way of a wild swing by Gabbiah. Fortunately, there was no contact, otherwise it could potentially have been career ending, but to the disbelief of the Kings Langley centre-back the referee rightly awarded a free-kick. “I didn’t touch him” was the defender’s defence, but Gabbiah was very fortunate not to be shown at least a yellow card.

A long-throw for Kings Langley was headed out as far as Ball on the edge of the penalty area, but his header went well wide.

Thame nearly found the back of the net in the 18th minute. Lucey’s free-kick saw Riddick slide in 6 yards out but he failed to make a proper contact and the ball trickled through to the keeper. However, the linesman’s flag was raised so it wouldn’t have counted anyway.

Thame then produced a nice move which saw Lack chip over a square back-line for Alexander to head into the centre of the visitors’ area, but Ortelli was alert and came off his line to claim before Lucas could reach it.

Akinbusoye became the first player to be shown a yellow card after a bad foul on Lack near the half-way line. Keeper Davis took the free-kick which found Riddick unmarked on the left-hand side of the Kings’ area, but his header looped up gently for the keeper to easily catch under his crossbar.

Lack then saw Ortelli off his line, but his effort from 40 yards sailed a few feet over the bar. The game then became scrappy, as a bad foul on Thame’s Knight led to a bit of scuffle and shortly after Goueth became the first Thame player to enter the referee’s notebook.

Kings Langley were starting to enjoy some possession but were unable to create any danger. Akinbusoye did well to get to the right byline but his low cross was comfortably cleared. Pedro then sent a long cross-field ball over right-back McNamara enabling Clarke to get to the left by-line, but his ball into the middle only went as far as the first defender.

As the game approached the interval Pedro then became the next player to be shown a yellow card, bringing down Knight just inside the Kings’ half, but Lucey’s free-kick was sent too long and bounced harmlessly off for a goal-kick. In added on time, a great dummy by Goueth allowed Lucas to run clear on the left, but his attempted left-footed cross was weak and poorly directed, and Ortelli made an easy catch.

Kings Langley won the first corner of the match in the second minute of added time but Murphy’s delivery was headed away by Louis. Ball became the third Kings Langley player to see yellow after a foul on Lucas. Centre-back Hall then allowed the free-kick to go over his head, expecting it to go out of play, but Alexander managed to get to it, but his control let him down and he only succeeded in kicking it off for a goal-kick.

It remained 1-0 to Thame at the break, but there had been very little goal-mouth action and apart from the goal, neither keeper had been unduly troubled.

Thame started the second half well and Lucey’s cross-field pass found Alexander in space on the right-hand side, but the winger was unable to get past Keane, and ultimately had to lay-off for Goueth, whose cross was poor and easily intercepted.

Goueth was seeing a lot of the ball but on three separate occasions his attempted pass lacked quality and the moves broke down.

Thame made their first substitution in the 50^th minute as Fountain replaced Lucas and he nearly created a goal with his first touch, deftly heading on a cross from Knight, but Ortelli managed to kick the ball away from Goueth.

A minute later it looked like the visitors had equalised. Clarke was put in space on the left wing and his low ball across the goalmouth was met by Collier at the back post who tapped into an empty goal. Fortunately for Thame the linesman’s flag was raised for offside and the goal was chalked off.

Thame made the most of the reprieve as they doubled their lead shortly after. Knight ignored a through pass from McNamara from the half-way line, enabling Alexander to run past the central defenders onto the ball, and faced with the advancing keeper, calmly slotted left-footed from just inside the area into the keeper’s right-hand corner for a splendid finish, and the 10^th goal of the season for the 19 year old. Hilariously, Kings’ full-back Keane remonstrated with the linesman that it was offside. 2-0 after 60 minutes.

Kings Langley responded by bringing on Sonny French but interestingly at left-back. Jefferson Louis then spoilt his copybook by bringing down Akinbusoye as he attempted to speed down the right-wing to add to the list of players on a yellow card.

Kings Langley created their best chance of the match in the 68^th minute. Clarke again did well on the left and his cross to beyond the far post found Murphy unmarked, who had time to control, take a touch but only to blaze wildly over the bar from around 8 yards.

Thame should have increased their lead in the 69^th minute. Ball carelessly gave the ball away, Alexander raced into the left-hand side of the Kings area and his ball across the 6 yard line reached Knight at the back post but he was denied by a fabulous close range save by Ortelli.

The visitors were becoming increasingly desperate and after a quickly taken free-kick Collier strode forward only to shoot from long range onto the ring-road.

The main moment of controversy arrived in the 72^nd minute. Knight deliberately stood in front of the ball to prevent a Kings Langley free-kick from being taken, leading to Pedro running over and pushing the Thame player to the floor. After order was restored after some handbags, the referee showed a yellow card to Knight but incredibly gave no sanction to Pedro. It seems deliberately pushing a player to a floor is no longer a yellow card offence, and Pedro was very, very lucky to remain on the pitch after his card earlier in the game. Frankly, the referee, who otherwise had a pretty good game, appeared to bottle making a major decision.

Kings player-manager Parkes then entered the fray and produced a lovely through ball for Johnson, now playing much further forward, to run onto but unfortunately for the visitors his first time left-footed attempt was poor and went several yards high and wide.

Parkes next contribution was to gift a third goal to Thame. With plenty of time to choose his pass from mid-way inside his own half, he completely missed his kick. Knight robbed him of possession and ran clear, easily rounded the goalkeeper to side-foot into an empty net. 3-0 with 82 minutes on the clock.

Riddick then shot over from 30 yards for Thame, after which Kings missed another reasonable chance, when Tibbetts blasted over after a good run from Parkes.

As the game drifted into added on time, a Kings’ corner sailed over everyone for a goal-kick but there was an off-the-ball incident with keeper Davis and Johnson scrapping on the floor on the goal-line. After another skirmish between a number of players on each side, the referee showed yellow cards to both the culprits.

The last action of the match saw Lack make a good run, but a Kings defender intercepted a pass intended for Fountain and played the ball back to his keeper, who picked the ball up. The referee awarded an indirect free-kick to Thame inside the Kings Langley area, and after three encroachments from Kings defenders, who seemed to think they could approach the ball as soon as the whistle was blown rather than when the ball was played, Louis tapped to Harriott, who shot inches wide.

Thame fully deserved their win and improved their goal difference. However, the other results did not go in their favour. Kidlington achieved a 1-1 draw at table-topping Biggleswade Town to ensure their safety for another season, and Aylesbury United scored a 90^th minute penalty from ex-Thame player David Pearce to earn a 3-3 draw at Welwyn Garden City. Consequently, the Ducks were now three points ahead of Thame and with a 4 goal better goal difference and had scored more goals.

Thame now have to win at Waltham Abbey next Saturday, who are already assure of a place in the promotion play-offs, and hope that Aylesbury lose heavily at home to mid-table Biggleswade FC to reverse the margin in the goal difference.

As an aside, North Leigh lost their 13th consecutive match after their players left en-masse in February, to continue the serious doubts as to their ability to compete at this level next season.

Link to Online Matchday Programme : https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/files.pitchero.com/clubs/13461/4W8axtg3QCy1zOqjr2Zu_Match%20Day%20Programme%20Kings%20Langley.pdf

Thame United : Davis – McNamara, Ebondo, Louis, Lucey –  Alexander ( Ransby ), Lack, Riddick, Goueth ( Harriott ), Lucas ( Fountain ) – Knight

Kings Langley : Ortelli –  Hall, J.Johnson, Gabbiah, Keane ( French ) – Ball, Pedro, Murphy – Akinbusoye ( Tibbetts ), Collier, Clarke ( Parkes )