Striker marks return to Thatcham with a hat-trick in FA Cup win

KYLE Tooze made a sensational return to Thatcham Town on Saturday.

Tooze, who scored 24 goals in 36 appearances for the Kingfishers between 2018 and 2020, has returned to the club in a bid to bolster their bid for promotion from the Southern League South.

But it was in the FA Cup that he made his mark on Saturday.

With Thatcham trailing 1-0 at half-time at home to Christchurch in the extra preliminary round, Tooze stepped up to convert three second-half penalties and earn his side a 3-1 win.

And now Town manager Yashwa Romeo is hoping Tooze can continue that form when they kick off their league campaign away to Exmouth on Saturday.

Romeo said: "Kyle signed for us last Tuesday which is great because we need the extra experience that he can bring - we have a young side with an average age of 21."

Tooze isn't the only experienced player to sign on the eve of the season.

Basingstoke-born defender Robbie Nditi, who made 67 appearances for Queen of the South and Forfar Athletic in Scottish Division 2, has also joined, along with Aldershot loanee Louis Hutchings.

Romeo makes no secret of the fact that he expects Thatcham to challenge for the play-offs in their first season in the competition, having switched from the Isthmian South Central in the summer.

He said: "Our aims to make the play-offs at least, so we need to get off to a good start.

"We don't want to be chasing the pack - we wanted to be the ones being hunted."

Exmouth finished just one place above the relegation zone last season, but Thatcham will face a long trip to Devon, that could prove to be a nightmare journey considering it is the middle of the school holidays.

Thatcham play their first home league game of the season next Tuesday when they host Shaftesbury before taking on Andover New Street in the FA Cup preliminary round on Saturday, August 17.

Town were made to work hard for their win over Christchurch.

The Dorset side took the lead just before the break from an Addwell Chipangura penalty.

But Thatcham were level early in the second half when Tooze scored from the spot after Shemar Moore was brought down in the box.

Town went 2-1 when Kyle Daniel-Spray was tripped and Tooze made no mistake with his second penalty.

Tooze then set Dontae Hamblin free down the left and the young substitute was fouled in the area and Tooze emphatically fired home his third penalty.