Kingfishers round off season with away win

Thatcham ended the 2025-26 campaign with three points from their visit to Chipstead.

Town had the better of a game with little at stake, and were gifted a 90th minute winner. Rowan Clark’s ball forward down the right flank was misjudged by the home goalkeeper, who allowed the ball to bounce over him, and Nasser Southgate pounced to knock the ball into an unguarded goal.

The bobbly pitch and blustery conditions made for a scrappy contest, though Town created plenty of chances as the game progressed.

In the opening minutes Levi Heholt’s back-header from Callum Winchcombe’s cross ended in the keeper’s arms, before Maciej Wieczorek got down to push Evan Kelly’s shot around the post.

Kye Williams took the ball past the keeper but was unable to make anything of the opportunity while Heholt failed to convert two half-chances, before the players trooped off after a goal-less and largely uneventful first half.

In the second half Wieczorek again denied Kelly, while at the other end Williams saw a shot saved after latching on to Callum Willmoth’s through ball.

Playing with the wind in the second half, a Winchcombe corner curled against the crossbar, while Town struck the woodwork for a second time when Jacob Bennett tipped Willmoth’s shot onto the post. Thatcham continued to press with Williams shooting over after picking up Heholt’s through ball, then Bennett saved from Curtis Angell, from Charlie Knight’s free-kick, and tipped over Fin Tombs’s far-post strike.

The Chips still posed a threat, and Heholt made a vital block as space opened up for Tijani Eshilokun to shoot on goal.

But with time running out, two of the substitutes Clark and Southgate combined to provide Thatcham’s late winner.

The Kingfishers are currently in 14th place but will slip one position in the final standings should Epsom & Ewell avoid defeat in their home game with Tadley Calleva on Tuesday.