TOOZE CAUGHT UP IN REF RAGE
TEN MAN Thatcham Town continued their charge towards the top of the Southern South Division One with a hardfought 2-1 victory away at Paulton Rovers.
The hosts began proceedings on the front foot, and Ed Butcher was first to test Thatcham goalkeeper Paul Strudley, whose side had only conceded once in the league this season ahead of their visit to the Athletic Ground.
But further pressure from Jacob Sloggett eventually told, and his welltimed pass landed at the feet of David Sims-Burgess who calmly slotted home to put Rovers ahead in the 14th minute.
The visitors responded quickly, and home stopper Joe Perry was called into action to deny Adam Kelly as they looked to weather the impending Thatcham storm.
But the defence couldn’t hold out for long and Kingfishers attacker Kyle Tooze broke on the counter attack, before teeing up Joe Selman for the equaliser on 34 minutes.
Tooze quickly went from hero to villain however, when shortly before half-time he received a yellow card for a badly-timed tackle on Charlie Hitchings.
On receiving the caution, Tooze responded by pushing the referee which resulted in him being giving his marching orders.
But despite the one-man disadvantage, Thatcham remained in the game after the break as both teams enjoyed spells of pressure.
And it was the away side who got their noses in front with 16 minutes to go as Jordan Williams’ cross evaded Perry, who was left stranded in the Rovers goal.
The victory leaves Thatcham second in the table, while Paulton lie one point outside the playoff places in seventh.
Slimbridge got their season firmly up and running, recording a 2-0 win over Basingstoke Town to claim their first three points of the season.
After an even opening 20 minutes, the Swans took the lead when skipper Dean Turner pushed the ball through the defence for Adam Bloomfield to slot past Basingstoke keeper Christopher Rackley.
The hosts doubled their advantage just three minutes later when Sol Wanjau-Smith floated a freekick over the wall and into the net, despite Rackley getting his hands to the ball on its way through.
Just 17-years-old, home goalkeeper Joe Wright put on an assured display throughout and was at hand to deal with a battery of second-half Basingstoke efforts.
He pulled off a pointblank save to deny Ben Wright on the line, before touching Riccardo Andray’s late shot onto the bar to seal the victory.
Elsewhere, Larkhall Athletic and Bideford played out a 2-2 drawwhich leaves both sides on the cusp of the playoff places.
The Larks took the lead in the sixth minute through Lewis Powell, and the striker grabbed his second in first-half injury time to give the home side the momentum ahead of the second period.
The Robins weren’t ready to lie down though and responded in perfect fashion when Charlie Lawrence netted his first Bideford goal on the hour mark.
There was more beginner’s luck to hand for the visitors when substitute Jack Rice-Letharby scored a debut goal five minutes later to level terms, helping his side leave Plain Ham with a share of the spoils.
In Portsmouth, it finished 1-1 between Moneyfields and Cinderford Town.
Lewis Fennemore grabbed a 76th minute equaliser for the Moneys, after Cinderford had taken the lead shortly after the hour.