ASCOT United suffered their first defeat in seven matches after a 2-1 loss at high-flying Thatcham Town in the Hellenic Premier.

The Yellamen had been in a rich vein of form thanks to five straight victories during September.

But their winning streak ended in a 1-1 draw with Thame United last week and that was followed by the reverse at in-form Thatcham on Saturday.

In truth, Ascot were unlucky not to take a point from the bruising encounter last weekend.

The visitors' hopes suffered a blow even before kick-off with eight players missing through injury and unavailability, meaning boss Jeff Lamb was forced to name himself on the bench again.

Even so, a patched-up Ascot frustrated Thatcham from the off and kept their hosts at bay.

However, their resistance was broken in the 26th minute when Gareth Thomas collected a long throw-in from the right and poked the ball past keeper Chris Grace.

Suddenly, Thatcham's tails were up, but they blew a glorious chance to double their lead 10 minutes later when the unmarked Callum Willmoth mis-controlled the ball in front of gaping net.

The Kingfishers remained on the front foot, but Ascot prevented further damage being done thanks to some superb defending by Alex Rodrigues and a sensational save from Grace to deny Willmoth.

Ascot created the first chance of the second half when Jessie Wilson headed wide from a Gurkan Gokmen corner, but soon they were back under pressure and were relieved to see a Mark Thompson effort drift narrowly wide.

Ascot's injury woes also worsened when Luke Dexter limped off on the hour and was replaced by Joe Grant.

But this led to arguably Ascot's best spell of the match as Lee Boon's shot was saved by Chris Rackley before the same players was unlucky not to win a penalty with 15 minutes remaining.

Nevertheless, Yellamen snatched an equaliser in the 80th minute when Grant bundled the ball home after Tristram Dennis' initial header had hit the crossbar.

Sadly, the visitors also squamndered a gilt-edged chance to take the lead moments later when Gokmen elected to shoot rather than pass to Daryl Mclean in a better position.

It proved a costly mistake as in the 92nd minute Grace could only punch a Mark Hughes cross straight to Josh Helmore who slammed the ball home off the underside of the bar to inflict a cruel defeat on Ascot.

Yellamen were due to host Abingdon United on Tuesday night and then take on Highmoor Ibis at Palmer Park this Saturday (3pm).

Yelleman turn their attention to the Berks & Bucks Senior Cup next Tuesday night when they host Wokingham & Emmbrook at The Racecourse (7.45pm).

Ascot United: Grace, Jarra, Hancock, Rodrigues, Dennis, Dexter, Dexter (Grant 62’), Boon, Wilson, West (Jones 77’), Gokmen, Mclean. Subs unused: Hinds, Lamb