Banbury began the game brightly and in the first minute a corner from the left taken by Duran Martin went across the six yard box through to Tom Ryan but the centre-half failed to connect properly with the ball from close in and it looped up into the air before being cleared.

Just a minute later and a long kick from home goalkeeper Leigh Bedwell saw Leam Howards chasing the ball and causing problems for the visiting defence, with the ball breaking for Jordan Green whose fierce shot from wide right on the edge of the penalty area across Shane Gore in the Chesham goal was parried away by the custodian before being cleared.

Banbury continued to have much the better of the game. In the 9th minute a high cross from Jacob Walcott from the right was met by Darius Browne coming in at the far post but the header went straight at Gore.

However, Banbury would deservedly take the lead three minutes later when a free kick from wide on the right taken by Luke Cray was not cleared by the Chesham defence with the ball eventually falling to Green on the right hand edge of the penalty area whose dipping shot flew just under the bar into the far top corner of the net.

Chesham would have their first serious attempt on goal in the 17th minute when Tom McConway put Dave Pearce through on goal but Joel Meade showed his pace by getting back enough to put the Chesham wingman off and his shot from 12 yards was comfortably saved by Bedwell.

In the 22nd there was an even better chance for Chesham when a long ball down the middle from Toby Little saw Ryan Blake get to the ball ahead of Ryan at the 18 yard line but the striker was unable to lift the ball over the advancing Bedwell and the shot was saved.

In the 25th minute Banbury went very close to increasing their lead when a left wing corner from Duran Martin was headed against the bar at the near post by Ryan, the rebound being put over by Meade from six yards.

The last twenty minutes of the first half were better for Chesham though there were no clear chances for either side in this period until the first minute of stoppage time when some less than impressive defending enabled Pearce to collect the ball on the edge of the Banbury penalty who then did well to create a shooting opportunity but from 15 yards he shot straight at Bedwell.

Chesham were much improved at the start of the second half. In the 50th minute Bedwell was unable to hold a fierce shot from the edge of the penalty area from Luke Allen but Meade was on hand to knock the loose ball away for a corner. In the 69th minute a shot from a narrow angle on the right hand edge of the Banbury penalty area by Blake had to be tipped over the bar by Bedwell for a corner and five minutes later Little had a decent chance but shot wide from 12 yards.

The equaliser would come in the 81st minute when a Little free-kick from wide on the right went right through the six yard box without anyone touching it into the far corner of the net.

Banbury though responded well to being pegged back. In the 85th minute it looked initially as though they had regained the lead when a Ben Whitehead free-kick from midway inside the Chesham half was headed home from six yards out by Ryan. However, the assistant referee’s flag was raised for off-side – a close decision but one that the match video shows was correct.

There was one final excellent chance for Banbury to win the game in the third minute of stoppage time. Jacob Walcott cleared the ball down field from deep inside his own half and with the Chesham defence not dealing with it, Leam Howards found himself in on goal with just Shane Gore to beat. The Banbury striker took the ball around the custodian but having been taken a little wide this enabled Ashley Smith to get back and dispossess him before he could knock the ball into the net.

This was a much improved performance from Banbury and they can consider themselves rather unfortunate not to have picked up all three points.

First Half Video Highlights (3:51)

Second Half Video Highlights (3:33)

Banbury United: Leigh Bedwell, Luke Cray, Marvin Martin, Joel Meade, Carl Tappin (Jack Westbrook 90), Tom Ryan, Jordan Green, Duran Martin (Harry Jervis 68), Leam Howards, Jacob Walcott, Darius Browne (Ben Whitehead 81). Subs (not used): Lewis Hayden, Lewis Strafford.

Shane Gore, Ashley Smith, Toby Little, Alex Brown (Connor Wood 6), George Fenton, Luke Allen, Nathan Poulton, Tom McConway (Mark Bell 59), Ryan Blake, Simon Thomas (Emmanuel Melford-Rowe 85), Dave Pearce. Subs (not used): Shaun Reece, James Beasant

Attendance: 219