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Banbury United 1 St Neots Town 1 - Match Report

Banbury United 1 St Neots Town 1 - Match Report

David Shadbolt20 Sep 2014 - 16:17
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United get a deserved point at the Spencer Stadium against much fancied St Neots Town

United were unchanged defensively from the cup game at Bishops Cleeve and the benefits of this were clear to see as they defended very well against the league high-flyers. Changes from the previous week’s FA Cup game saw starts for Jacob Walcott and a first start of the campaign for Arron Wickham with Elias Katsoloudi and Jack Westbrook having to be content with places on the bench. Also on the bench, though not coming on, was 23 year-old midfielder Declan Hartigan signed form Abingdon United the previous day. He has also previously been with Abingdon Town and Milton United.

St Noets began brightly and looked very dangerous in the first five minutes. Jay Davies tested Leigh Bedwell with a free-kick from the edge of the penalty area in just the second minute but the Banbury goalkeeper managed to hold the ball at the second attempt. Just a minute later former Puritan Lewis Hilliard put Drew Roberts through down the left who then cut inside and shot low across Bedwell from 12 yards but the custodian did well to just tip the ball around the far post for a corner.

In the 12th minute Hillier stung Bedwell’s hands with a fierce shot from the edge of the penalty area but a minute later Banbury had their first decent chance of the game when Walcott picked out the run of Josh Shama but the Oxford United loanee’s shot from the right hand edge of the penalty area went just wide of the far post.

As the half developed United began to match St Neots and there was little between the sides, certainly you would not have known which side was fourth in the table and which was bottom. However, it was St Neots who would go ahead in the 25th minute when the referee adjudged that Tom Fishwick had clipped the leg of Drew Roberts as he was running through on the right hand edge of the Banbury penalty area, Jay Davies converted the spot-kick low to Bedwell’s right.

In the 34th minute a good move from the home side down the right saw Walcott cross into the middle where Arron Wickham laid the ball back for Aidan Hawtin on the edge of the St Neots penalty area but the chance was put wide. This though was the start of a good spell for Banbury with them dominating the last ten minutes of the half though unable to find a breakthrough the score remained 1-0 to St Neots at the interval.

United began the second half as they ended the first looking for an equaliser and having much the better of the game. The deserved equaliser would come in the 56th minute when Marvin Martin fed the ball through to Shama who from 10 yards inside the St Neots half turned sharply and ran at the St Neots defence taking the ball forward before unleashing a fierce low drive from 25 yards which found the corner of the net beating Jamie Greygoose low down to his right.

In the 64th minute a long through ball from Nkosi Mzungwana sent Shama through and though the St Neots defence managed to get back to prevent a shot on goal he managed to find Hawtin with a pass whose shot was then deflected away for a corner.

Though Banbury had looked much the better side for the first twenty five minutes of the second half, St Neots worked their way back into the game and in the last twenty minutes they created some good chances, In the 72nd minute Roberts saw his shot from eight yards well saved by Bedwell. Five minutes later Davies put Roberts through on goal with a ball down the middle but Tom Fishwick did well to get back enough to put the striker off and his shot from just eight yards went over the bar to cue heads in hands from St Neots players and management. In the 82nd minute Bruce Wilson passed through to Matt Nolan down the left but the opportunity was wasted as the shot from 12 yards went wide of the far post as Bedwell came out to narrow the angle. Just seconds later Wilson cut in from the right and was very unlucky to see his shot from the edge of the penalty area smash against the near post, the ball then falling to substitute Lorenzo Ferrari on the other side of the penalty area who shot wide.

There was a final chance for Banbury in stoppage time when Fishwick sent a free-kick from his own half out wide to the right where Darius Browne jinked his way inside, the ball falling to Shama who then passed across to Elias Katsoloudi in the centre but his shot goal-bound shot from 12 yards had Greygoose beaten but was blocked by a defender two yards from goal.

St Neots had enough chances to have won this game in the last twenty minutes but over the course of the whole 90 minutes this was a much deserved point for United against a side much fancied to win the league.

First Half Video Highlights (6:14)

Second Half Video Highlights (7:59)

Banbury United: Leigh Bedwell, Luke Cray, Nkosi Msungwana, Marvin Martin, Tom Fishwick, Tom Ryan, Darius Browne (Jack Westbrook 90), Aidan Hawtin, Josh Shama, Arron Wickham (Leam Howards 80), Jacob Walcott (Elias Katsoloudi 89). Subs (not used): Carl Tappin, Declan Hartigan.

St Neots Town: Jamie Greygoose, Mason Spence, Arthur Lee, Ben Farrell (Ben Ford 87), Ryan Frater, Gavin Hoyte, Jay Davies, Bruce Wilson, Matt Nolan, Drew Roberts, Lewis Hilliard (Lorenzo Ferrari 80). Subs (not used): Martell Powell, Zema Abbey, Sam Wyer.

Attendance: 281

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