Thursday 2nd August 2012 ko 7.30pm

Pre-Season Friendly

THAME UNTED 2 (West 34 Lagan 88)

OXFORD UNITED 1 (Marsh 25)

Att 105 (h/c)

Entry £5

No Programme (‘e’s on holiday!)

Tea £1

With Thame United now happily esconced back home, at the ASM Stadium, friendlies between Oxford United the club are becoming quite frequent. You can see why, the pitch is excellent, the club welcoming, and the facilities very good. A bugbear is the main stand, with the seats set a fair distance from the pitch. The idea of this is that, as the club progresses up the pyramid the seating block can be replaced with a larger one.

One thing that comes across to all visiting, is just how keen the club is to escape the confines of the Hellenic League. It was made abundantly clear that there is no love lost between the managements of club and league. That, I suspect is a story that will run and run.

There was the usual vexed question of which Oxford United we would be watching. OUFC had made it crystal clear on their website, the youth team plus first year professionals Tyrone Marsh and Max Crocombe. Nevertheless the signage outside stating “Oxford United” made me slightly uneasy.

Still the hundred or so got a decent game for their money. A solid tackle from Duran Martin in midfield released left back David Lynn. His parallel pass found Tyrone Marsh who showed why he was awarded a contract by slotting home neatly across Lee Farrar is the Thame goal. The lead didn’t last long, as Nick Rhodes pass found Dan West. He thumped a 20 yard drive that OUFC keeper Harry Palmer got a palm to but was unable to stop going in.

The 2nd half saw Crocombe replace Palmer, and as the substitutions mounted the game lost its way. The OUFC press area contented themselves by spotting West Ham’s Rob Hall (an ex OUFC loanee) quietly watching his brother Matt playing for Thame, but I think all watching had written this off as a draw. That changed with a Thame corner that the defence could only scramble out to substitute Cameron Lagan who stabbed home for the win. The final act was a nasty challenge on young keeper Max Crocombe, who took a heavy challenge on his ankle. Harry Palmer was readied to come back on, but their was insufficient time to make the change.