Highworth Town 4 -4 Thame United
Thame United preserved their unbeaten league record at Highworth Town on Saturday – and in the process showed tremendous character coming back from 4-1 down with half an hour to play.
Manager Mark West stuck with the same starting eleven that had defeated Brimscombe and Thrupp 5-1 in mid-week, and more goals looked likely early on as Lynton Goss saw an effect pushed around the post on 3 mins, before Andy Gledhill turned and shot over a minute late. Luke Ricketts then shot wide of the far post, before the home side took the lead on 11 minutes. The ball found Gleed on the edge of the box whose shot took a wicked deflection up and over Craven in the Thame goal. If the opening goal was fortunate for the hosts, the second for Highworth only two minutes later from Stanners was full of quality, as the winger cut inside a curled a right foot effort in to the top corner from outside the box.
The home side made it 3-0 shortly before the half hour mark, with Corrick racing in to the box before beating a defender and placing the ball through the legs of the advancing Craven. Despite the scoreline United had, throughout this period, continued to create chances and they pulled a goal back on 36 minutes when Ricketts slid the ball in to the path of Goss, who placed the ball wide of Schofield in the Highworth goal. United nearly reduced the arrears further on 43 minutes when a free kick from Dan West was headed goalwards by Nick Harrison, but the ball just cleared the far post.
The second half started with United on the front foot, pressing the home side in to their half, but they were unable to trouble Schofield. And then, in perhaps their first attack of the half, Highworth made it 4-1 on 60 minutes as Corrick crossed for Ashley Edenborough to head home.
With only 30 minutes left to salvage something from the game, United pressed forward in numbers and pulled a goal back on 63 minutes. A ball in to the box was met at the far post by Gledhill who, from an acute angle, side footed the ball in to the back of the net. United then thought they had won a penalty on 71 minutes as a header from Gledhill came back off the arm of a defender. They did so, however, 2 minutes later when Gledhill was felled in the box, with the same player then sending Schofield the wrong way from the spot.
With United firmly on top, Goss then saw two efforts go narrowly wide, before the equaliser arrived on 83 minutes. Gledhill was set free down the left and, from just inside the box, smashed the ball wide of Schofield. Both sides pressed for the winner in the remainder of the match, albeit it was perhaps United who looked the more likely to take the points. As it was, however, both sides had to settle for a point.
The point keeps United fourth in the league, with strikers Andy Gledhill and Lynton Goss increasing their collective goal tally for the season to 43 goals
United are without a game in midweek, before travelling to second-placed Flackwell Heath on Saturday.
United :
Craven, Dugmore, Lynn, Harrison, Feyi, Ashworth, Connelly (Evans), Goss, Gledhill, West, Ricketts
Photo courtesy of Andrew Gledhill (Twitter)
