Despite taking the lead and going into half time ahead, Thame United went on to lose 2-1 to Cheltenham Saracens on Saturday.
Missing Alex Stuart, Luke Ricketts and Matt Willet, Thame gave a first start to new signing Matt Hall on the left wing. Thame took control after 11 minutes. Ben Connelly collected the ball on the halfway line and broke forward before crossing for Dan West who made no mistake with a header from six yards.
United created several more chances, with Aaron Rogers shooting wide and Lewis Dean having a goal ruled out for offside. Both Sam Cowan and Connor Hayes also forced good saves from the visiting keeper while Nick Bennion, in the Thame goal, was hardly tested.
Cheltenham made three substitutions at the break and equalised on 50 minutes. A long ball over the top caught Thame on the hop and Jamie Hammond had time and space to finish from 15 yards.
Hayes had a shot blocked for Thame, while West beat two men and broke into the box only to slip as he went to shoot. The visitors took the lead in the 85th minute from a corner when Bennion lost control of the ball and it crossed the line.
The home side bombarded the away goal for the remainder of the game but the best chance fell to Martin Brown, who headed wide.
