THE Hellenic League championship trophy was at the ground ready to be presented; the champagne was also on ice, writes Dave Wright.

And an amazingly good-sized crowd of 703 turned up in glorious sunshine expecting to join in the party.

Alas, it didn’t happen, there was nothing to celebrate.

Bracknell Town had thrown away their chance to become league champions and so clinch promotion back to the Southern League.

They slipped up 2-1 to Highworth Town, their first defeat at Larges Lane this season, so handing the title to Thame, who at the same time on Saturday were steaming to a 9-0 win at Henley.

United had started the day trailing Bracknell with an inferior goal difference of seven, but their achievement was no great surprise as a young Henley side had suffered a similar defeat at Binfield the previous week.

But Town manager Mark Tallentire did raise the question “what sort of league are we in when a team concedes 18 goals in two games?” before going off to drown his sorrows.

Sadly, Tallentire was let down by his team on the day.

They have produced some outstanding football for much of the season and had not lost a game on their 3G pitch.

But the Robins failed to shine on the big stage with too many players having an off-day.

Admittedly, Highworth are no mugs, but then they had lost at home to Bracknell in February.

What didn’t help Town was that they were missing two very influential players – skipper Carl Davies and midfielder Jamie McClurg, both suspended following their red cards at Ardley last month.

Winger Seb Bowerman, always a threat to any side, was not fully fit, having tweaked his hamstring in training last week.

And it was one of those days when ex-Highworth star TJ Bohane and Adam Cornell, with 86 goals between them, were not at their sharpest at the business end of the pitch.

Both squandered chances in the first half and it was left to midfielder George Short to put them ahead from six yards following a Carl Withers corner.

Bracknell were below their best, but that had also been the case the previous week when they still managed to defeat Brimscombe & Thrupp.

Highworth, however, boast more quality than the Gloucestershire outfit and that was underlined when Aaron Ferris equalised in the 52nd minute before going on to notch the winner in the 86th.

For both goals, questions could be raised over Bracknell’s defending as they should have been prevented.

On the hour mark Bowerman gave way to Dan Roberts and the youngster nearly scored with his first touch, cutting in from the left before firing just wide of the far post.

His performance was one bright spot on a bitterly disappointing day for Bracknell.

With ex-Highworth star Bohane taken off, centre-back Callum Whitty was pushed up front, but he, too, was unable to beat keeper Kent Kauppinen.

Having gone so close, Bracknell will be one of the favourites for the title next season, but in the meantime manager Tallentire will surely be looking to strengthen his squad.