FLASHBACK... SPARTAN LEAGUE 2, 2016-17: THAME RANGERS 3-2 ENFIELD BOROUGH...

Moses Lights Burning Bush To Fire Thame’s Celebrations

Thame Rangers 3-2 Enfield Borough

(Spartan League 2, 2016-17...)

Visitors Enfield Borough arrived at Thame and were forced to thread their way through a sea of parents and daughters who had overspilled the parking-lot at Meadow View Park for a vast girls’ tournament and when the match began, the visitors proceeded to take the game to Rangers, the Champions of Spartan League Division 2. In truth, Borough really should not have lost the game, for their approach was offensive and they were denied by some decent goalkeeping by Ranger Sam Ashmead, who made one fine save from the lean, smiling Enfield striker Ralston Gabriel. The home crossbar also foiled Gabriel, who appeared as no angel to Thame, for he netted a brace of goals, missed a lobbed one-on-one chance too and really could have won the encounter on his own. Ashmead foiled Thomas Opoku and also visiting top scorer Henderson Browne, although hosts Thame missed chances too, to be fair. Borough ‘keeper Ravan Constable saved well twice from home midfielder Denel Thomas and once from forward Daniel Delderfield. However, a soft opener by Delderfield, a sucker punch from Sean Coles just after the guests had equalised and then a late, late winner from Ben Moses, following Gabriel’s second equaliser ended Thame’s season on a high and Enfield’s frustrating afternoon on a low.

ENFIELD HAVE A GROUP PIC TAKEN... 

HE'S NOT THE MESSIAH, HE'S A VERY TALL FOOTBALLER...

Gabriel and Moses? Surely a firm of religious booksellers… 

RED KITE...

ER, RED KITE...

Enfield had an interesting badge, not only carrying a couple of beasts but also what appeared to be an ancient Egyptian symbol, the wedjat eye, otherwise known as the Eye of Horus, a falcon-headed god. Strangely, I had handled a real falcon at Batsford Arboretum on the previous Thursday, before a red kite was flown there and fed on the wing, so although no falcon swooped upon Enfield at Meadow View Park and despite the fact that red kites constantly glided above the pitch, it was in fact the enigmatic Moses who swooped for the killer goal. I saw what is considered to be the original ‘burning bush’ from the Old Testament at Mount Sinai during a visit to a monastery there a few years ago and hilariously, next to the bush lay a fire extinguisher… You simply couldn’t make that up but I have a photo to prove it…

A COUPLE OF PLAYERS MEET THE BODGING...

ISAAC: COOL...

Anyway, back to the match, played on a harsh, solid surface, although surely a game of this importance would have been a good fit for Thame United’s main pitch… No programme was available, leaving a bunch of groundhoppers looking as sour as trainspotters who had just learned that the timetable had been wrong and the Flying Scotsman had departed two hours before… A keen start by the guests, not fielding a 3, a 6, or an 11, instead confusing me with a 12, a 16 and an 18, led to a couple of early chances

RANGERS QUITE LIKE THE SILVERWARE...

Brian ‘Messiah’ Tshibangu was proving a real presence for Enfield, but when the hosts struck a goal, it came as rather a surprise I guess and it stemmed from a free-kick on the right flank, taken by an interesting player, Ranger Kyanan Isaac… The flanker had looked languid in the early stages but that is probably how he plays the game, for some of his neat, often casual touches in the second period proved clever and smart. His delivery was met short by Jeanmal Prosper, whose touch wasn’t quite decisive but the ball rolled into the bottom left corner of the net after an intervention by Delderfield, who rightly claimed the goal, although from the sideline it hadn’t been easy to spot.

1-0...

...AS DELDERFIELD GETS THE FINAL TOUCH...

Half-time was reached, the hosts were no doubt pleased to have taken the lead and having finished the first 45 minutes with some offense finally operating. There was no doubt though that the threat on the Borough left was tangible, involving Jamie Newby-Harris and Tage Kennedy, although in all honesty Henderson Browne hadn’t really contributed a great deal for the visitors on the right thus far. Jamiah Plentie-Lawrence had been lively for the guests, whilst Rangers had not really cranked into a high midfield gear, with Tony Ngogu, Thomas and Mitch Collins not really meshing too effectively.

Borough snatched a deserved second period equaliser when Alex Keozierski’s pass struck Thomas and allowed Abrahams to knock an instant defence-splitting pass forward for Kennedy to latch onto and slip a pass right for Gabriel. The angel shot an easy goal off the base of the right upright. Parity deservedly regained…

KENNEDY IS UNSELFISH...

...& SETS UP GABRIEL TO SCORE...

Incredibly though, within a moment or two, Coles fastened onto the ball 23 yards out in the inside-left channel and he forced his way past Dervon Hurde to poke an innocuous looking right-boot shot goalwards but the accuracy was perfect and the ball entered the net just inside the right upright, leaving Constable helpless.

COLES WOULD POKE HIS SHOT...

...PAST CONSTABLE FOR 2-1 TO RANGERS...

Isaac Stevens then took Browne’s place and the visitors set about getting a second equaliser. And they achieved it… Thomas’ challenge saw the ball bounce to Gabriel and he played a smart and instant one-two with Kennedy into the penalty-area, right of centre and the forward beat Ashmead low into the left corner of goal from 10 yards.

GABRIEL PLAYS A ONE-TWO WITH KENNEDY...

...& SCORES TO MAKE IT 2-2...

Three times Enfield might have secured victory as the game breezed towards its dying embers, so that first Niyazi Yusuf shoved an angled delivery across the goalmouth from the left, then Isaac Stevens cut inside from the left but curled an effort past the far post from 22 yards and finally Gabriel would rue missing the best chance of all. He only had the advancing Ashmead to beat and attempted to lob the goalie but perhaps the following wind took the ball further than he had calculated and it dropped slowly and agonisingly over the target. Rangers’ Ricky Williams had just knocked the ball away with a hand to waste a moment or two and had received a yellow card, before the tricky Isaac then said something to a linesman like, “Oh gosh, my good chap, surely that decision wasn’t quite right…” Maybe. He was booked too. 

And then the hosts took the lead for a third time with only moments remaining, the goal stemming from a loss of possession at the edge of his own 18 yard box by Solomon Nwabuokei. Thomas did the damage and his subsequent pass from inside-right across the penalty-box found Moses on his own, having parted the Red Sea (well, the lime-shirted Enfield defence anyway) and he shot gleefully past Constable, whose canvas was thus spoilt… 

THOMAS CROSSES LOW...

...MOSES STRIKES...

...& IT'S 3-2 TO RANGERS IN THE CLOSING MOMENTS...

An unbelievable finish for the hosts but a miserable end for the unfortunate guests…

Both teams should receive credit for producing a good contest in difficult playing conditions, for the surface and the wind were not suitable for a passing game, yet both teams attempted one. Enfield were not blessed by the best of fortune and Thame capitalised, cruelly. Jack Page and the rather quiet Paul Brown worked well for their team in defence and Prosper was always noticeable, not only for his conversations and commanding yells… Coles grew into the match and Delderfield never stopped working, taking on a load in attack. Ngogu and Thomas became steadier, Collins was often on the fringes of the match through no fault of his own but Isaac… Ah, he appears to be a player who could turn any game…

All of the Enfield players were busy, keen, quick and usually inventive but Kennedy was swift, Newby-Harris supportive, Gabriel a danger and Plentie-Lawrence a willing worker throughout. 

And there was Brian ‘Messiah’ Tshibangu, of course… Great to see him at the back… A warrior… 

A SADDENED CONSTABLE...

TEAMS: 

THAME RANGERS:

SAM ASHMEAD, JACK PAGE, PAUL BROWN (CAPT), DENEL THOMAS, JEANMAL PROSPER, TOM KEEN, SEAN COLES, TONY NGOGU, DAN DELDERFIELD, MITCH COLLINS, KYANAN ISAAC.

SUBS:

ALEX KEOZIERSKI, RICKY WILLIAMS, RYAN BINNEE, BEN MOSES, KIERON SCHMIDT.

ENFIELD BOROUGH:

RAVAN CONSTABLE, DERVON HURDE (CAPT), JAMIE NEWBY-HARRIS, GUY KIANGEBENI, BRIAN MESSIAH TSHIBANGU, TAGE KENNEDY, SOLOMON NWABUOKEI, RALSTON GABRIEL, THOMAS OPOKU, HENDERSON BROWNE, JAMIAH PLENTIE-LAWRENCE.

SUBS:

ISAAC STEVENS, ORLANDO ABRAHAMS, NIYAZI YUSUF, LENNY LABICHE.