Southern League: Thatcham Town 5-1 Barnstaple Town

Goals from Felipe Barcelos, Matthew Partridge, Adam Kelly, Lamin Sankoh and skipper Matthew Day allowed the Blues to walk away with all three points on a wet and windy afternoon at the Stacatruc Stadium.

Barnstaple, meanwhile, remain rooted to the foot of the division with only two wins to their name so far this term.

Thatcham almost made the perfect start to the match when James Tennant’s free-kick found Kyle Tooze’s head in the opening minute. The striker couldn’t quite connect and the Barnstaple defence cleared their lines.

The hosts were awarded a penalty inside 20 minutes after Steven Holland brought down Tennant just inside the box. Skipper Matt Day stepped up to take the spot kick and made no mistake in smashing in from twelve yards.

Damp conditions worsened once the penalty was converted as the rain began to lash down on the players. Barnstaple almost seized their opportunity to capitalise on the slippery conditions but Evarito Kitoko close-range effort flew well over the bar.

The away side almost had an equaliser on the stroke of half-time when Yohan Rutty-Smith broke into the penalty area before seeing his right-footed shot tipped away by Archie Matthews in goal.

Thatcham then doubled their lead ten minutes after the restart after substitute Adam Kelly was found free at the back post to poke home his side’s second. Barum players appealed for an offside flag but after correspondence between the referee and linesman, the goal was allowed.

The Blues continued to build on their possession and were rewarded for their hard work when Partridge made it 3-0. The defender was set up well by Barcelos’ flick on before guiding his well-struck effort past Oliver and into the bottom corner to round off the win.

But the scoring wasn’t over for Danny Robinson’s team as Tooze did well to round the goalkeeper and allow Barcelos an open opportunity to slot home Thatcham’s fourth.

Barnstaple did manage to draw back a consolation goal when Javan Wright tapped in from close-range following a defensive blunder from the hosts.

But it was Thatcham that had the last laugh after Tooze’s well-delivered cross was headed in by substitute Lamin Sankoh at the back post.

Teams:

Thatcham Town: Matthews, Partridge, Angell, Alexander, Westlake, Day, Jeacock, Willmoth, Tooze, Barcelos, Tennant.

Substitutes: Barder, Rees, Williams, Sankoh, Kelly.

Barnstaple Town: Oliver, Holland, Gregory, Jenkins, Bettiss, Aghiste, Wright, Kitoko, Bello, Wright-Harper Inniss, Rutty-Smith.

Substitutes: Paul, Short, Hector-Smith.