Thatcham lose to Mousehole after 520 mile round trip, as three new players arrive
Thatcham Town endured a 520 mile round trip on Saturday, as they lost 2-0 away to Mousehole.
Thatcham’s bus left the Mettal Stadium at just after 7am, as they looked forward to a four and a half hour trek to Cornwall.
An hour into their journey however, they found themselves changing buses as their original coach broke down and a replacement was sent to meet the squad on the side of the road.
They finally arrived at 2pm, with just an hour to go until kick-off on a wet and muddy Mousehole pitch.
Within just eight minutes they were behind, as the hosts clipped a long ball forward and a Mousehole striker rounded James Sharlott to make it 1-0.
They did have chances however, with a goal disallowed for an Andy Matthews push in the 20th minute and Tinashe Gwavava seeing a header sail just over the bar eight minutes later.
Sharlott produced a great double save, as his outstretched boot kept Mousehole out before recovering well to stop the rebound.
Just before half time it was 2-0, as Mousehole hit another long ball and their striker rounded Sharlott in similar fashion to the first before rolling the ball in.
Kyle Daniel-Spray saw a free-kick land just wide of the post as Thatcham aimed to launch a second half comeback.
Newly signed Maidenhead loanee, Jaydn Dundas, saw a couple of attempts blocked and saved, but drew praise for his energetic performance as the Thatcham supporters awarded him Man of the Match.
It ended 2-0, with Thatcham keen to get home after an attritional contest.
They did so just before midnight. If they had travelled the same distance North, they would have found themselves in Middlesbrough.
“It was a little bit of naivety from my guys,” reflected manager Yashwa Romeo.
“It’s about adjusting to the conditions, it was a mudbath.
“The instructions were to go long, be physical, put it into areas.
“We didn’t do that, and got punished pretty early.
“The ball held up and favoured the striker.
“We dominated a bit in the second half, but 2-0 probably killed it to be totally honest.”
Some would assume that spending so long on the road would provide a challenge for Thatcham’s players, but Romeo is not willing to use that as any kind of excuse.
“I’m not an excuse guy, it’s a part of football,” he said.
“It’s all about focussing when you get there, throughout the season we haven’t done that.
“If you go up the leagues then you have to do it, there’s no better learning curve than now.
“In the National League, Maidenhead go to Hartlepool. You have to embrace it and tackle it head on.
“We have been brilliant in some away games, but we’ve not taken our chances.
“We’ve got to be a little bit more sensible away from home, it’s game management at times.”
Thatcham Town welcomed a number of new arrivals last week, with some familiar faces among them.
Firstly, the loan of first choice goalkeeper James Sharlott was extended for a further month from parent club Reading.
Young forward Jamie Davies also saw a one month extension to his loan from Maidenhead United.
“I didn’t have enough attackers, I need options,” said manager Yashwa Romeo.
“Jamie is comfortable on the ball and his left foot is very good.
“He’s trying to knock on the door of the starting eleven.”
Davies has now been joined by two other Maidenhead youngsters, winger Jadyn Dundas and forward Christian Johnson.
Johnson spent half a season on loan at Thatcham last season, scoring six in 19 games, and has previously won the Young Berkshire Footballer of the Year.
“Christian played on the wing [against Mousehole], he’s a threat going forward with his pace.
“Jadyn was good, very combative, very composed on the ball, I think there’s a lot to come.”
Finally, 24-year-old striker Ben Anderson arrived from Woodley United, moving from Step 6 to Step 4 of non-league.
“We played Woodley in a friendly and caused my centre-halves some problems, scored two goals.
“He’s big and strong, pretty quick, he just caught my eye.
“He’s glad to be given the opportunity, that’s the type of character we need.
“He fit the mould.”
