Ferguson's men stay in hunt
Newbury's first team collect maximum points at Reading
NEWBURY & Thatcham men’s 1st XI captain Mark Ferguson was thrilled with his side’s performance as they beat Reading 4th 3-0 away.
The win saw Newbury maintain third place in the Regional 2 division of the Mid, Berks, Bucks & Oxon League.
As a result, they are now level on points with Oxford and just three behind leaders Aylesbury.
“It was an excellent performance from the whole team, including two young debutants,” said Ferguson.
“We took control of the game early on with two quick scores then, in contrast to the last couple of weeks, we maintained the pressure and closed out the game with a third goal in the final quarter.”
Ferguson was also pleased with goalkeeper Pete Asher, who made a number of significant saves to keep them near the top.
“The most satisfying part of the victory was the clean sheet, with Pete in goal making crucial saves and the win keeps us in the hunt to challenge for the title,” added the Newbury captain.
Alex Jordan, Christian Randall and Jamie Bairstow were all on target for Newbury.
Newbury & Thatcham 2nd 4-2 Henley 2nd
The second team picked up their fourth successive win in Division 1 as they beat Henley 2nd.
John Farmer, Mike Dutfield, Mike Salmon and captain Nick Barrett all scored.
Salmon and Farmer gave Newbury a 2-0 half-time lead and they went further ahead when Barrett nutmegged the goalkeeper with a reserve strike.
Henley struck twice in quick succession, but Dutfield made sure of the win as he scored the decisive fourth.
Banbury 3rd 1-0 Newbury & Thatcham 3rd
It was a second league defeat of the season for the 3rd XI as they fell to a narrow loss at Banbury.
The only goal came on the stroke of half-time when Banbury reacted to a loose ball after keeper Kenny Coventry made a save.
Despite the best efforts of the visitors in the second half, they lost for the first time in six games.
Newbury & Thatcham 4th 4-2 Ashford 3rd
Newbury's fourth team ended a run of three defeats as they beat Ashford at home.
A brace from Neil McCullen and one each from captain James Mitchell and Micah Cooke, helped the hosts to a fifth win of the season.
As a result of this win, they have moved up to fifth in Division 6.
Eastcote 5th 0-2 Newbury & Thatcham 5th
The men’s fifth team collected their second successive victory with an away win at Eastcote.
Goals from Jim Ross and Paul Fowler were enough to see Newbury secure the points and move up to fourth in Division 7.
Newbury & Thatcham 6th 3-1 Witney 3rd
Newbury 6th XI chalked up their first win of the season to give them hope of beating the drop in Division 8 West.
Blue Nolan, Jonny Ludlow and Simon Hannam scored the goals to earn the home side maximum points.
Salisbury Striders 3-0 Newbury & Thatcham Vets
The men’s veteran team suffered their fifth defeat of the season as they lost away to Salisbury, leaving them sixth in the Wessex Division 1.
