Thame United 4 - 4 Stotfold, not for the faint hearted, but great fun for the neutrals

6th February 2025

Thame United were back in Pitching In Southern League Central Division One action on Tuesday night when they welcomed Stotfold to The ASM Stadium for this rearranged match, which had been postponed in December due to a waterlogged pitch. This was Thame's fourth game in 11 days, and manager Ben Williams was forced to make changes to the eleven that started in the victory against Hertford Town on Saturday. Leo Galpin had picked up a knock and was not in the squad, while Tom McElroy was still suspended. As a result, Fin Murray returned to the starting eleven, with Harry Alexander swapping places with Curtis Brown, who moved to the bench alongside Greg Hackett and Jefferson Louis.

Thame got the game underway, kicking from left to right in the first half. In the opening exchanges, Thame looked threatening, with Brayden Daniel breaking down the left-hand side, but he was unable to find a Thame body in the box. At the other end, a long ball was knocked down by the Stotfold centre-forward, and the resulting shot on goal was palmed away by keeper Matty Crowther.

Stotfold opened the scoring in the 5th minute. A free kick from inside their own half was won in the air by the centre-forward, whose knockdown was picked up by Spavins. He took the ball around the keeper and slotted it into the net. Thame pushed forward, with Daniel looking dangerous, but they failed to create a real opportunity, as Stotfold sat deep and frustrated the home side. In fact, it was the visitors who could have extended their lead, with centre-forward Kersey proving to be a handful for the Thame defence. Finding himself unmarked in the box, his shot was straight at keeper Crowther. Minutes later, Crowther was called into action again, this time saving from Spavins.

The visitors were in the ascendancy. Another long-range shot was well saved by Crowther as the ball arrowed towards the top corner. Kersey then had another header but sent it just wide. Thame’s best chances came from Brayden Daniel on the left-hand side, where he was causing the Stotfold full-back plenty of problems—so much so that he was yellow-carded for bringing down the winger. However, Daniel’s final ball into the box failed to find a red shirt.

As the half drew to a close, Thame had their best chance to get on the scoresheet. Jack Tutton cut in from the left, and his shot was blocked. Ty Deacon’s follow-up effort was saved by the Stotfold keeper, who could only parry the ball out to Mark Riddick, whose shot hit the bar with the goal at his mercy. The half ended with the visitors 2-0 up. They looked good value for their lead and better than their lowly league position suggested, while Thame looked out of sorts and far from the side that had won away at Hertford on Saturday.

Thame were forced into a half-time substitution, with Greg Hackett replacing Ethan Lack. Stotfold started the second half as they had finished the first, creating another chance with a cross from the right that found a Stotfold player unmarked in the box, but his shot rebounded off the crossbar. Moments later, another good move resulted in a goal-bound effort saved by Crowther.

At the other end, Harry Alexander had a good chance to pull one back after good work from Brayden Daniel, but his shot went over the bar. Within a few minutes of that miss, Stotfold had a third. Poor defending allowed the visitors to pick up the ball on their right-hand side, drive into the box unchallenged, and fire off a shot that beat the diving keeper to his right.

Thame made their second substitution in the 60th minute, with Jefferson Louis replacing Dan West. However, it was the visitors who extended their lead in the 62nd minute. A long cross-field ball to the left found winger Spavins, who, unchallenged, ran in on goal and slotted his shot past the advancing Crowther. There was a hint of offside, but it appeared that the Thame left-back was just keeping him onside. At 4-0 down, Thame looked finished.

But football is a funny old game, and what happened in the next 32 minutes was nothing short of unbelievable.

In the 64th minute, Thame won a free kick on the right-hand side, just inside the Stotfold half. Jack Tutton stepped up and floated a long ball to the back post. It missed all the defenders, but Jefferson Louis was there to get something on the ball, and it crept in past the keeper at the near post. It looked to be a consolation goal.

Curtis Brown replaced Harry Alexander in the 66th minute. Stotfold nearly had a fifth with another breakaway, but this time, the shot rebounded off the right-hand post. The rebound was put into the back of the net, but the assistant referee's flag went up for offside, and the goal was disallowed.

Finally, with fifteen minutes to go, Thame had woken up. Jefferson Louis was now causing the visitors' defence problems, winning balls in the air that earlier hadn’t been won. A knockdown put in Ty Deacon, who beat his marker, only for his shot to be saved by the Stotfold keeper. Brayden Daniel and Mark Riddick also had chances, but both were saved again.

Although Thame were still 1-4 down, the visitors were hanging on and looking ragged, especially in defence. With eight minutes to go, a long through-ball from Curtis Brown was flicked on by Mark Riddick just inside the box. The ball fell to Ty Deacon on the edge of the six-yard box. Controlling the ball with his chest, he let it drop, turned, and fired home from close range.

As the clock ticked down, Thame’s formation became somewhat unconventional, with six players up front. They laid siege to the Stotfold goal, with the visitors struggling to get out. Chances kept coming, with Daniel, Deacon, Louis, and Hackett all going close in the final stages.

The 90 minutes were up, and four added minutes were announced. Stotfold looked set to take all three points back to Bedfordshire, but in the 91st minute, with the ball in the Thame half, a long hopeful route-one ball from Curtis Brown was superbly flicked on by Jefferson Louis for Brayden Daniel to run onto down the left-hand side. The Stotfold defence was in chaos as he ran into the box, looked up, and squared the ball to Greg Hackett, unmarked at the far post. Hackett met the ball on the six-yard line and steered it into the net. It was 3-4 with three minutes to play, but Thame were not done.

Naïvely, Stotfold couldn’t slow the game down and see out the final moments.

With seconds remaining and the referee checking his watch, Curtis Brown broke down the right, evaded a tackle, and took the ball to the byline. His cross found Mark Riddick unmarked at the back post. Riddick’s header back across goal was cleared, but the ball fell to Brayden Daniel on the left, on the edge of the box. His cross was met again by Riddick, whose header was goal-bound but blocked by a defender. The ball then fell to Curtis Brown on the right of the six-yard box, and with the keeper on the floor, he fired a first-time shot into the back of the net for an incredibly unlikely equaliser.

As Stotfold kicked off, the referee blew the final whistle—it was that close to the end of the match.

Stotfold played well for two-thirds of the game, with Thame really underperforming. However, credit to the home team for fighting back and gaining a point that had seemed impossible after 62 minutes.