VWFC vs Thame Rangers
28/04/2018 Virginia Water 5-1 Thame Rangers
Hellenic Division One East
Report by Ceri Jones
It was an excellent way to end a memorable season with a good win against an entertaining Thame Rangers side, that, to be fair, deserved more for their footballing style and play.
Virginia Water made a number of changes to the starting line-up, and after a slow first quarter, where the visitors deserved to go ahead (thwarted by two terrific saves by Matt Jones and the crossbar), the home side got into their rhythm when Steve Williams headed home from a corner on 21 minutes.
A few chances came and went for both sides, but the important second goal came on 43 minutes when Ryan Curtis put Adam McNamara through on goal, who hit home a great first time shot into the bottom corner.
The second half was as open and as quick as the first, with Thame constantly threatening to spoil the party, with their numbers 7, 9 and 10 particularly impressive. Against the run of play on 63 minutes, McNamara scored his second with a long shot from the edge of the area. Soon after Curtis got in on the act with two well taken goals of his own.
To Thame’s credit, they refused to lie down, and after hitting the bar once again, got their consolation late on through George Ashworth, which is the least they deserved for such an excellent contribution to a good game of football.
The result rounded off a terrific season for the home side, which saw them win back-to-back titles and reach the quarterfinals of both the Perpetua Press Floodlit and Bluefin Sports Challenge Cup.
Manager Ceri Jones and his team can all look forward to a short break before it is back to the daunting business of competing in the Hellenic Premier League next season.
Well done and thank you to all who have supported Waters this season.
Team:
Matt Jones
Liam Hill
Finn Evered
Steve Williams (c)
Max Samyint
Jake Baker
Richard Bond
Dan Whatford
Sam Devoil
Ryan Curtis
Adam McNamara
Subs:
Dan Stevens
Harrison Duff
Joe McBride
Josh Hill
Louis Sanders