Thame U12 Buzzard Boys triumphant in undefeated blitz

Today saw Thame Under 12 Boys in a 4-way tournament against Wycombe, Amersham and St Albans. A bright sunny start to the games saw an earlier downpour all but forgotten and this provided the Boys much encouragement.

First up, Wycombe. Thame having push-back, saw immediate pressure from our team, resulting in a free hit and an attempt on goal by Jake, some reverse stick action. With momentum on their side, Thame continued their pressure and were sturdy in defence, seeing the ball passed around well and into the opponents D, with Sam then scoring (1-0). Shortly after a restart, the ball was pushed out to Saketh who provided a long pass to Hugo, who saw his shot on goal saved, only to see Will pounce on it and score (2-0)! The 2nd half started as the first finished, with Thame dominating possession and providing a repeat of the first goal, with a long cross-field pass by Saketh followed by a shot from Hugo and a brave save from the Wycombe Keeper only to see Will again right on it and score for another Thame goal (3-0)! Some great passing between defence and midfield, then midfield to attack, saw Hugo with a first time sweep just go wide. This was shortly followed by more pressure from Thame and great stick work from Jake, and a strong shot which left the Wycombe Keeper no chance (4-0)!

The second game against Amersham had Thame push-back again and apply immediate pressure on our opponents, to score an early goal from Will. St Albans fought-back with a quick restart and forced a short corner, which did not threaten the mighty Thame defence. Some fantastic 3-way quick-touch passing from Max to Maurits, who then speedily helped the ball on to Hugo, who just shot wide. With St Albans hanging-on, the 1st half finished 0-0. Thame were straight on the attack after the 2nd half started, forcing a short corner. This was pushed-out by St Albans, to see Will then with a determined run back towards their goal and score (1-0)! St Albans upped a gear and attacked the Thame goal, but were no match for Rory, Sam (followed by a quick substitute) Tijmen, Max and Barney defending the Thame goal. Tight game, however, fair to say that the stronger team won.

The third and final game was against St Albans and again Thame had the push-back. Maurits forced his way with a strong run down the right-wing and crossed for Will to shoot just wide of the goal. More Thame pressure and a goal-line scramble had St Albans panic and put the ball out for a long corner. With continued pressure on St Albans, their defence saw wave after wave of Thame attacks, which unfortunately did not result in a goal. 2nd half started with another strong Maurits drive towards goal, who then pulled the trigger and scored (1-0)! Several more balls played-out wide to the wings had Thame attacking and really testing the St Albans defence. A monster of a pass from William had Rory chase the ball down and rescue it from going out of play, to then drive it into the D only to see some desperate defending from St Albans. The game finished in a nail-biting 1-0 to Thame.

Thanks go to all the parents who stood and supported Jason Bekker and Shelley Bekker for managing the team Robert Broadhurst and the 2 U16's for umpiring. Thanks to Domenico Gabriele for writing this match report.