Romeo makes sacred Hoath that Thatcham will improve as Harry’s spectacular strike not enough for slow-starting Kingfishers

Thatcham Town boss Yashwa Romeo lambasted “20 minutes of madness” after two early goals cost his side in a 2-1 defeat to Westfield at the weekend.

Romeo bemoaned his side’s “shambolic” start as the Kingfishers found themselves two down inside 10 minutes as Greek midfielder Manolis Gogonas twice capitalised on lacklustre defending from the visitors.

Thatcham responded well and pulled one back when Harry Hoath’s venomous strike beat Westfield goalkeeper Sonny Wheeler from some 20 yards.

The Kingfishers had chances to equalise but both David Nyarko and substitute Jordan Alves spurned good opportunities when bearing down on goal, leaving Romeo frustrated with his side’s slow start to the game.

“It was more than a slow start, it was calamitous,” he said.

“We switched off after two minutes and were punished. Seven minutes later they scored again, and to be fair it was a good goal. We conceded two goals from throw-ins, and that shouldn’t happen.

“Last week I spoke about how much the change of shape helped, but this week was the opposite. A few of the lads were like rabbits in headlights.

“The first 20 minutes were shambolic. We changed the shape back to a 4-2-3-1 and from there we controlled the game.

“We had some very, very good chances but we didn’t take them. We piled the pressure on but we gave ourselves too much to do.

“We’ve got a lot of young players and it’s not going to happen overnight, but I’m convinced it will happen.”

One of the brightest sparks in recent weeks has been goalscorer Harry Hoath. The former Maidenhead man has impressed Romeo with his industry, willingness to learn and ability in the air – and the boss feels there’s more to come from the young forward.

He said: “I’m very happy with Harry.

“He’s a great lad, he wants to learn, he listens and he shows a lot of promise.

“Could he have scored more this season? 100 per cent, but he’s only 19 and he’s still a work in progress.

“He competes, he wins his headers, we use him as a target and he’s been a great addition. He’s a pleasure to work with.”

Thatcham travel to bottom side Binfield – who are winless and have just four points this season – on Saturday, and Romeo is calling the game a “must win”.

“It is a must win, not in terms of points, but looking at where Binfield are, we have to win,” he said.

“It’s as simple as that. No disrespect to them, but we can’t allow dropped points against a side in their situation.”