Three goals by Simon Shipley were not enough to give Chalfont victory in a fluctuating Nastro Azzurro league match, the last before the mid-winter break, on a grass pitch at Cowley on Satruday. Martin Haywood fired Cowley into a fourth minute lead but Chalfont levelled within three minutes.
A searching pass by Andrew Earnshaw gave David Galletly the opportunity to break into the circle. Although goalkeeper Chris Dipple spread himself bravely, Galletly was able to pull the ball back for Shipley to score.
Cowley took the lead again in the fifteenth minute through a crisp penalty corner conversion by Haywood and with Kevin Wharton enjoying a formidable performance in mid-field they hung on to it until the eleventh minute of the second half when Shipley touched in an astute switch by Giles Payne at a penalty corner.
Chalfont went ahead for the first time with twelve minutes remaining, Shipley tucking away a penalty corner rebound after Dipple had done well to save from both Payne and Earnshaw. The lead was short lived, Philip Evans, the Cowley captain taking advantage of a weak clearance by the otherwise immaculate David Dunford, to shoot into the unguarded goal.
Chalfont suffered an unexpected setback in the Nastro Azzurro South League losing to the Brunel University students who scored two goals in the last ten minutes to gain their first win of the season at Beaconsfield High School on Saturday.
In a goalless first half Chalfont squandered several chances, the worst of which being when Neil Turner and Simon Shipley collided at the far post missing the easiest of tap ins from Mark McCree's pass (are you sure, a pass from Mark- Ed). Giles Payne eventually broke the deadlock in the fiftieth minute with a low and powerful penalty stroke which gave Brunel goalkeeper Anthony Healey no chance.
Within a minute Brunel had equalised. Revan Jones, their captain and Welsh centre forward, bundled his way through a fragile Chalfont defence. With their Dutch defender Vincent van der Heijden making his presence increasingly felt, Brunel clinched the match with two late goals from Tim Rotter and Jones.
Two goals in the last 15 minutes gave Chalfont an exciting draw in this Nastro Azzuro League game at Cooper's School in Bicester on Saturday.
Neil Turner put Chalfont ahead with a smartly taken volley, his first goal for the club, after Mark McCree had created the opening in the 28th minute. Bicester hit back with two well taken goals before helf time.
Wayne Dobbins wriggled through for the first and after a poor free hit from Alistair McCulloch, Philip Dudley intercepted and exchanged passes with former Slough and Worcestershire defender Steve Partington before scoring. Martin Turbayne put a penalty well over the Chalfont bar but when he struck from a penalty corner, it looked all up for the visitorss.
They had other ideas, and with Partington temporarily suspended, Giles Payne crashed in a penalty corner and Simon Shipley's reverse stick flick was the deftest of levellers.
Chalfont's men suffered their worst defeat for two years in the Nastro Azzurro South League at High Wycombe on Saturday. Ramgharhia were almost unrecognisable as the side who obtained a somewhat unfortunate 1 - 1 draw in the corresponding match last year.
Starting promisingly with some fine moves down the right wing involving Andrew Earnshaw and Neil Turner, Chalfont failed to take advantage of a barrage of penalty corners and were caught horribly square when Shabir's astute pass set up Ibad Mir whose shot gave goalkeeper Clive Bearman no chance in the 28th minute.
Ramgarhia went further ahead when Mota Singh converted a penalty corner on the stroke of half time but teh decisive strike came jus tafter the interval. Toni Singh slipped two defenders and beat Bearman from the edge of the circle with a spectacular shot.
Chalfont conceded a further two goals while Mark Pearce, their captain, was serving a temporary suspension, Dipu Singh and Toni Singh, with his second, taking advantage of the disarray in the Chalfont defence. Amerjit Singh completed the rout with Ramgarhia's sixth goal just before the end.
Chalfont: C Bearman, G Payne, A Earnshaw, D Dunford, C Blamey, M McCree, M Pearce (Capt), S Shipley, N Turner, B Pearse, D Galletly Sub used P Stewart