Hoath strikes deep into injury time to sink Binfield

HARRY Hoath grabbed a 97th-minute winner as Thatcham Town secured a dramatic 3-2 victory over lowly Binfield in the Isthmian League South Central Division.

The Kingfishers looked to have thrown away the points as Binfield levelled at 2-2 six minutes into stoppage time.

But Thatcham went on the attack straight from the restart and Hoath headed home to keep his side in ninth place.

Town boss Yashwa Romeo was a relieved man afterwards.

He said: “It was a tough one because it’s not the same Binfield as earlier in the season when they were giving away a lot of goals.

“They have a new team who are hungry to stay up and they are much improved.

“We were much the better footballing team, but Binfield were very direct and scored from two set pieces.

“Credit to my players because they kept fighting and showed a lot of spirit.”

The Kingfishers beat Binfield 5-3 in November, but this time it was a much closer contest.

Thatcham went ahead after a quarter of an hour through Harvey Harry, but the Moles levelled seven minutes later when Tyler D’Cruz struck.

The hosts regained the lead in the 78th minute through Mo Ceesay, but deep into added time it looked like the visitors had grabbed a point as Ben Stallard made it 2-2 before Hoath’s dramatic winner.

Thatcham now face a run a tough run of three games against sides around them in the table.

On Saturday they face Hartley Wintney knowing a win will take them above the Hampshire side before they take on Raynes Park Vale and Hansworth Villa.

Romeo said: “The play-offs may be a bit of a stretch now, but we want to finish in the top 10 at the very least.

“It has been tough this year because we have lost several key players.

“We have a young side, sprinkled with a bit of experience, and they have done very well.

“It’s going to be another difficult game against Hartley Wintney.

“We beat them 2-0 last time out, so they will be out for revenge, but we will give it everything again.”