The under 17s slipped to a defeat against a decent Chalfont side on the Southern Road Rec.

At last able to field 11 players, Thame battled hard in the first half despite the heat and a bobbly pitch. Chances were at a premium but Thame keeper Alex Clarke made a couple of saves to keep the clean sheet intact.

Perhaps a two week lay-off started to tell as Chalfont opened up a 2-0 lead but the boys hit back immediately as Ollie Williams picked himself up after being fouled in the area and calmly played an unorthodox one-two off the keeper from the spot to bury the rebound and make it 2-1.

Although Clarke made one further outstanding save it was Thame who were pressing for an equaliser until Chalfont made it 3-1 as the game opened up late on.

Hard work all round but there are always lessons to be learnt. One is to cut out the backchat and ill-discipline at times, especially with such a small squad who cannot afford more suspensions.

Just Prestwood, home and away, to come. Hopefully we can finish the seaosn on a high.