Kingfishers progress to cup semi-final

Thatcham beat Woodley to reach the last four of the Berks & Bucks cup

A goal either side of half-time helped Thatcham Town secure a 2-0 win against Woodley United to reach the last four of the Berks & Bucks Cup.

Gareth Thomas fired the Kingfishers into the lead 10 minutes before half-time to give them an advantage at the break.

In the second-half, Ross Cook added a second for the hosts to seal their place in the semi-final of the competition.

Danny Robinson made a number of changes to his side following last Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Windsor as Shane Cooper-Clark and Tom Browne moved to the bench.

There were starts for Harry Grant, Ross Cook, Ekow Elliot, Ashley James and Curtis Angell as Thatcham targeted a 23rd successive game unbeaten.

The hosts started the game on the front foot with Cook causing the Woodley defence a number of problems.

The Kingfishers attacker was impressing the home faithful and had an opportunity to score inside 10 minutes.

After short combinations with Grant, Cook found room at the edge of the penalty area to fire a left foot shot at goal, but the effort did little to test Alex Reed in the Woodley goal.

The goal did come for Robinson’s men after 34 minutes when Thomas got on the end of a Grant corner to strike his effort past the far post.

After the break, Liam Ferdinand couldn’t keep his free header down as Grant’s cross found the unmarked striker.

However, with 25 minutes remaining Cook got the much needed second for Thatcham as he rounded Reed to tap it into the empty net.

Robinson will be pleased with his side as they reach the last four of the competition, and got through the 90 minutes without any injuries.

Next up for the Kingfishers is a trip to Melksham Town on Saturday for a quarter-final in the FA Vase trophy.