Johnstone leads the way as Newbury & Thatcham stay in the running for promotion
NEWBURY and Thatcham Men's 1st XI stepped up their South Central League Division 1 North promotion challenge with a thumping win over Yateley.
Man of the match Harry Johnstone led the way with a hat-trick and Doug Clayton, Rob Haimes and Zach Pool were also on target in an impressive 6-3 win.
The result kept Newbury fourth in the table – just two points behind second-placed Amersham & Chalfont 2nd – and they will be looking to maintain their charge away at sixth-placed Aylesbury on Saturday.
Newbury 2nd prove too strong for Division 2 North basement side Oxford University 3rd, cruising to a 2-0 victory.
Matt Hall capped a man-of-the-match performance with one of the goals, while Piers Cunliffe added the other to keep Newbury safely in mid-table.
Newbury’s 3rd XI, though, had to settle for second best against Oxford 3rd in Division 3 North.
They slipped to a 2-0 defeat, despite an excellent display from star man Edward Cawley.
Newbury 4th’s fightback proved all in vain against Eastcote 5th in Division 1 Thames.
Eastcote stormed into a 2-0 lead, but Newbury hit back to level through Chris Obin and Matt Wylie.
Eastcote regained the lead early in the second half and then defied everything Newbury threw at them to hold on for victory.
Lawrence McCabe was on target for Newbury 5th, but they still went down 3-1 to high-flying Amersham & Chalfont 6th in Division 2 Thames.
And goals from Andy Whorton and Scott Bevan earned Newbury 6th an impressive 2-0 win over Wycombe 5th in Division 3 Thames.
Newbury Masters, though, were beaten 2-1 by Sonning Sundowners, despite a goal from Neil McCullen.
n Newbury women’s 1st XI packed far too much punch for bottom club South Berkshire 2nd, cruising to a 4-0 win in Division 2 Thames.
Gemma Goss was Newbury’s stand-out player with two of the goals, while Rhiann Simm and Alice Lane were also on the mark.
Newbury 2nd stayed on course for promotion from Division 1 Thames, despite being held to a 2-2 draw by Wycombe 3rd.
And, in the same section, Newbury 3rd missed the chance to earn themselves some breathing room as they drew 1-1 with relegation rivals South Berkshire 2nd.
Mary Cavanagh grabbed Newbury’s goal, while Jess Allen was player of the match as Newbury stayed just a point ahead of their rivals.
Bethany Whorton was Newbury 4th’s star player in their 4-0 defeat at the hands of Marlow 6th in Division 3 Thames.
And Newbury 5th also lost, going down 2-0 to Wallingford 5th in Division 4 Thames, despite a fine display from Charlotte Evans.