Thame United’s Ten Man Battle At Milton

Thame United 1, Milton United 2; 27/10/07 SBJ Cup

THAME faced Hellenic Premier Division club, Milton United, in the first round of the league cup last Saturday, losing 2-1. Thame met Milton three times last season with Milton winning all of those encounters by the same 2-1 score line.
The turning point of this entertaining match came after 15 minutes when Thame were reduced to 10 men. At the time they were winning 1-0 and looked as if they could win the match, but from there on Milton?s one man advantage showed and they narrowly won.
Thame?s goal came in the second minute when an Adam Rhodes free kick eluded the visiting defence and the ball bounced, before Nathan Jack headed it in from close range. A few minutes later Jack was unlucky to see a strong goal bound shot from the right turned away for a corner.
Then came the sending off. A long clearance was met by Thame defender Dave Hocking. The normally dependable Hocking mistimed his ?trap? and the ball fell to Milton striker, Jemel Johnson who was through on goal, but as he closed the distance he was pushed over by Thame?s Matt Higgs. The referee strictly applied the law by awarding a penalty and then dismissed Higgs. Milton?s Vince Rusher buried the penalty, giving Searl no chance.
Milton increased their lead in the 37th minute when a long cross from the right found Rusher in a space. The impressive striker controlled the ball well and fired home from eight yards.
Not surprisingly the visitors had slightly more second half possession. Thame goalkeeper, Paul Searl, made a fine save when, following a corner, he tipped a goal-bound header over the bar.
Thame were dangerous on the break and the Milton keeper did well to stop shots from both Jack and Adam Rhodes.
On 70 minutes Rusher was unfortunate not to get his hat trick when a strong shot hit the bar with Searl beaten. Thame forced 2 successive corners in Injury time, but Milton held out to progress to the next round.

Thame United: Searl, Thompson (Graves), Ansell, Higgs, Hocking, Boult, Connelly, Rhodes, Marshall (Swafford), Jack (Catlin), Ricketts.

Thame are away to Marlow United next Saturday (3rd Nov) whilst the reserves face Penn and Tylers Green reserves at Lord Williams School.