Athletic Scrape Past Chesham

Buckingham Athletic’s Under 18’s continued their 100% record in all competitions as they just saw off Chesham in their second league game of the season. The win takes them up to fourth in the Allied Counties Central Division, only behind leaders Bicester Town by three points, but with a game in hand. The win may not have been as comfortable as against Wantage but they still sit on 6 points.

The first half was comfortable for large periods for Buckingham as they controlled the play for a large sum. The only negative was that there was a lack of penetration from the hosts as they couldn’t open the scoring despite having the majority of the play. The goal finally came when Rory Busby completed a solo run down the wing by firing a powerful shot at the near post.

The second quickly came when Nathan Tshikuna gave the keeper no chance with his strong effort from the edge of the box. The lead was halved when Chesham got back into the game just before half time, giving Buckingham a little less room to breathe.

The second half saw a shaky start for Athletic as they conceded an early penalty to give the visitors a chance to equalise, however Laurence Mills went the right way and saved his side from losing their lead. They were able to extend their lead though when Samuel Olawale scored a fantastic solo goal by running down the wing and beat his man with an elastico and finished at the near post.

The lead then extended to 3 when Sam McCarthy scored a header from a corner which was his first goal for the club since joining in the summer of 2015. With the lead at 4-1, Chesham were given a lifeline when Buckingham gave away another two penalties, which were this time converted. They couldn’t threaten Buckingham enough though as Athletic managed to secure the 4-3 victory.

Again Laurence Mills was given praise for some fantastic saves and stopping his side from dropping points, but the whole squad need to perform slightly better if they’re going to go all the way this season.

Sam Olawale scored Buckingham Athletic's third