The Red Kites showed tremendous fight & determination to come from 2-0 down and earn a point against much-fancied Berkhamsted at the ASM Stadium tonight.
This fixture was always going to have an extra bit of interest to it after the visitors bigger budget attracted four former Thame players away in the summer.
And it was the hosts who started the brighter of the two sides this evening, first taking the lead after 17 minutes when a defensive mix-up allowed a Berko player to fire into an empty net and then extending their lead after 24 minutes when a corner wasn't dealt with.
Despite trailing 2-0, Thame had shown that they could threaten the visitors with Dave Pearce firing an early effort against the bar and Greg Hackett threatening down the Thame left.
However, 2-0 down against a promotion-chasing side is dangerous so credit has to go to the players for the way in which they grew back into the game.
An important moment came after 43 minutes when excellent play from Jack Tutton saw him reach the goal line and square a ball back for Jack Gardner to fire home from close range.
Encouraged by this, Thame started the second half brightly but were unable to create too much in the way of clear chances. Berkhamsted then started to assert a level of control as they forced Thame back but again they were unable to threaten Hill in goal.
A nice move then saw Thame go up the other end, Ferguson picked the ball up and drifted inside before allowing the on-rushing West to fire the ball goalwards and bring the sides all square.
Both sides sensed a win but with Thame perhaps the happier to defend a point. The challenge became slightly harder with 5 minutes left as Ferguson saw red for a second booking. Then, on 94 minutes former Red Kite Ryan Blake also received his marching orders after he received a second booking for a late challenge on Josh Hill.
In the end the points were shared and this will certainly go down as a positive result and something to build on after recent defeats.
