Match decided on refereeing decisions

MATCH REPORT By Jake Collinge: Monday, September 6, 2010 – BINFIELD 2, THAME UNITED 0

WITH both sides cancelling each other out in the opening half it was somewhat inevitable that the outcome of the match would rest on refereeing decisions and so it proved in the second period.

Thame had started the stronger of the two sides in the first half, testing the home defence with a number of crosses without forcing an opening. As the half progressed, Binfield came back in to the game, but with the centre back pairing of Martin Brown and James Saulsbury marshalling the Thame defence well, Binfield failed to create any goal scoring opportunities. Indeed, the best chance of the half came a minute before the break when Luke Ricketts crossed to Ben Connelly 10 yards from goal who had time to chest the ball down before seeing his effort clear the cross bar.

Five minutes in to the second half came the first controversial decision. Aaron Rogers played a first time ball through to strike partner Tom Hoskin who sprinted clear of the defence and, as he was about to shoot from inside the penalty area, was caught from behind by the chasing defender. As the vociferous Thame following called for a penalty the referee, much to the surprise of the majority in the ground, simply waved play on. A short while later Hoskin, following a goalmouth scamble, saw his initial shot cleared and as he went to hit the rebound he was pulled to the ground. Again, neither the referee nor the assistant saw fit to award a penalty.

This proved costly for Thame as five minutes later Binfield were awarded a penalty of their own when Steve Newell was adjudged to have pulled back the home striker. Carl Davies confidently beat Paul Searl with the spot kick. Thame were now chasing the game and pushed bodies forward in a bid for an equaliser. From a Thame attack, and with the ball ricocheting around the Binfield penalty area, Binfield broke quickly down the Thame left and crossed to Davies on the edge of the penalty area whose strike hit the post and, unfortunately for Thame, rebounded straight to Jamie Suarez who placed the ball beyond Searl. Thame continued to press forward in search of a goal but ultimately failed to penetrate the home defence, and were left ruing two refereeing decisions that influenced the outcome of the game.

Thame United: Searl, N.Rhodes, Newell, Saulsbury, Brown (Barr), El-Kassir (Jones), A.Rhodes, Connelly, Rogers, Hoskin, Ricketts.

United have their biggest game of the season this Saturday as they travel to Southern League side Thatcham Town in the FA Cup. Thame, who have already beaten Shrivenham and Lydney Town to progress to this stage, will have top scorers Alex Stewart and Stuart Braun back in the squad as both have been unavailable, and will be looking to cause an upset against higher league opposition. Kick off is 3pm at Riverside Park, Thatcham.

PHOTO: Courtesey of www.getbracknell.co.uk
Binfield player, James Rogers, fires in a shot in the lead up to the second goal against Thame on Monday night