Ferguson double seals Newbury’s survival
MARK Ferguson struck twice as Newbury & Thatcham 1st ensured their survival in South Central Division 1 North with a 5-3 win at mid-table Wallingford.
Luke Barrington, Rob Haimes and Sebastian Chapman were also on target as Newbury pulled clear of a tightly-contested relegation battle.
There was no joy, though, for Newbury 2nd, who lost 4-0 at runaway Division 2 North leaders Bicester.
The 3rd XI stayed on course for the Division 4 North title after beating Oxford 4th 3-2.
And now the title race goes down to the final game.
Newbury are away to fourthplaced Witney 2nd, while
Oxford 3rd – who are level on points with a superior goal difference – visit lowly Staines.
Newbury stormed into a 2-0 lead against Oxford through Dom Tough and Henry Durie.
Oxford pulled a goal back against the run of play before Ben Cook made it 3-1.
Oxford added a second, but Newbury then missed several good chances to put the result out of sight.
Newbury 4th’s Division 1 Thames promotion hopes were ended as they slipped to a shock 3-1 defeat at the hands of lowly Eastcote 5th. Chris Obin grabbed their lone goal.
Newbury 5th were back to their best as they beat Windsor 3rd 5-3 in Division 2 Thames.
Colin Irvine led the way with two of the goals, while Jonathan Steward, Seth Smit, Toby Walters also scored.
The Masters lost 1-0 at home to Bournemouth. n Newbury women’s 1st XI won 2-1 against Milton Keynes, but it was not enough to save them from the drop in South Central Division 1 North.
Neither side managed to break the deadlock in the first half, but a good move led to Tegan Murray opening the scoring from close range early in the second half.
Newbury doubled their lead through Ellie Hannam and although Milton Keynes pulled one back, they held on for just their third win of the season.
Newbury 2nd, though, clinched a promotion spot in Division 1 Thames after beating rivals Staines 1-0 in their crunch clash.
Katy Hall hit the goal to clinch second spot behind champions Windsor 2nd.
Newbury 3rd beat Sonning 4th 5-0 to make it 19 wins from 21 games for the Division 2 Thames champions.
Becci Morley, Elin Bartonwood, Emma Boyd, Sophie Rothwell and Tamaryn Lang were all on target.
Newbury 4th won 2-1 away at fifth-placed Windsor 3rd to ensure survival in Division 2 Thames, thanks to two goals from Gillian Kearins.
And Nicky Hanson struck twice as Newbury 5th ended their campaign with a 2-0 win over Wycombe 6th.