The Kingfishers led twice thanks to strikes from Alex Miller and Antonio Dembele, but were fortunate Chertsey didn’t have their shooting boots on, as the hosts missed a number of chances and hit the woodwork three times.

Thatcham set up with the hardworking midfield trio of Ben Holder, Lewis Chapman and Eric Macharia giving protection to the back four. Miller was the sole front man and the youngster caused problems for the Chertsey defence all afternoon with his energy and work-rate.

There was an early let off as a Chertsey striker bore down on goal and fired against the inside of the post. But then Miller had a great chance as he latched on to Josh Edwards’ forward ball, rounded the goalkeeper and shot from an acute angle, only to see the keeper gratefully divert it for a corner.

However Miller did give Thatcham the lead on 25 minutes when he raced on to Holder’s ball forward and lobbed the advancing keeper from 30 yards with a first-time shot.

Unfortunately Chertsey were soon back on level terms when a loose ball fell to Ashley Lodge who shot home through a busy penalty area.

Thatcham’s two wide men Lamin Ceesay and Brad Pagliarioli then combined, with Pagliaroli creating space for a shot which was blocked by a defender’s legs. After Chertsey failed to clear the corner, Andy Gunn had a great chance at the back post but side-footed wide. Thatcham then had appeals for a penalty turned down shortly before the interval when from Miller’s lay-off Chapman was impeded as he shot at goal.

Thatcham were forced into a change at half-time when Tinashe Gwavava suffered a recurrence of a foot injury and was replaced by Shemar Pettet, while in a tactical switch Kieran Jordan replaced Ceesay.

Although the first half was evenly-matched, Chertsey took control from the start of the second half, forcing a succession of corners and near misses, as Gunn and Will Edwards made vital blocks.

The Curfews’ best chance came from a penalty after Josh Edwards was adjudged to have handled when charging down a shot, but the spot-kick was blasted against the crossbar. Chris Rackley then got his fingertips to a long range strike as the ball thudded against the Thatcham bar once again.

Thatcham then silenced much of the 414 crowd at Alwyns Lane by scoring with their first real attack of the second half. Antonio Dembele had only just replaced Pagliaroli when he latched on to Chapman’s through ball and fired it coolly past the keeper in the 71st minute.

Dembele then shot over after being fed by Macharia as the Kingfishers suddenly became a threat on the counter-attack, though Chertsey continued to cause nervous moments at the other end with a flurry of corners.

However the home side did equalise after 89 minutes when Magnus Abisogun found space down the right, raced into the area and shot firmly into the bottom corner.

The Kingfishers almost sneaked a win right at the end after Holder fired a free-kick into the wall. With Thatcham still in possession, Dembele played a slick one-two with Gunn, but from a similar position to where he scored from, he placed this effort fractionally wide of the far post.

TEAM : Chris Rackley, Tinashe Gwavava, Josh Edwards (c), Andy Gunn, Will Edwards, Ben Holder, Lewis Chapman, Eric Macharia, Brad Pagliaroli, Lamin Ceesay, Alex Miller

SUBS ON : Kieran Jordan (for Ceesay), Shemar Pettet (for Gwavava), Antonio Dembele (for Pagliaroli).

SUBS UNUSED : Lamar Koroma, Harvey Harry