United, playing up the slope and against a strong wind in the first half, soon found themselves under some pressure from the home side. United defended well until the 16th minute when a corner from the right led to a scramble in the box and with Banbury unable to clear the ball, it fell to Marquin Smith who knocked it past Andy Kemp to put Hemel ahead.
There was little change in the pattern of the game for the rest of the half. The home side dominated proceedings, though to be fair the Banbury defence did well to prevent too many clear cut openings for the home side. Banbury would though have been delighted to hear the half time whistle without conceding further!
With the wind now behind them and playing down the slope, Banbury began the second half with some promise. The half did though soon begin to develop into a more even affair until United had an excellent spell midway through.
In the 64th minute, Banbury came the closest to that point in the game to scoring when a Ricky Johnson shot from just inside the area on the right went just inches wide of the far post. Two minutes later Johnson was in the thick of the action again when his powerful shot on target was well blocked by a defender. The Banbury striker would though get his reward in the 68th minute when Hemel goalkeeper Ross Kitteridge’s poorly hit goal kick went straight to him, 25 yards out. Johnson controlled the ball and took it forward before neatly stroking it past an embarrassed looking home custodian.
Initially, Banbury looked the more likely to go on to win the game after they had equalised but Hemel were having none of that and did well to work their way back into the game and again pose problems for the visiting defence. It now became an open game for the last quarter of an hour with both teams probing and searching and looking as though they had the belief that they could win the game.
With the game looking like it could go either way, it was Hemel who scored the winning goal three minutes from time. A corner from the left was delivered to the far post and when the ball was put back into the centre, it was struck into the net by Bill Morgan.
Over the course of the 90 minutes Hemel deserved the win, though having got back on level terms midway through the second half, United will feel they missed a great opportunity to pick up one or even all three points.
Detailed Match Report to follow.
Hemel Hempstead Town: Ross Kitteridge, Marvin Hamilton-Omole, James Brighton, Josh Scowen (Danny May 71), Bill Morgan, Nikki Beale, Marquin Smith, Charlie Gorman, Ellis Remy, Dave Pearce (Alieu Jallow 90), Ryan O’Hara (Lewis Toomey 63). Unused Subs: Ryan Blake, Jack Smith
Banbury United: Andy Kemp, Joe Coleman, Tommy Kinch, Liam Dolman, Dan Chilton, Ryan Howell, Simeon Williams, Josh Cole, Ricky Johnson, Josh Blake (Dan Edmond 84), Ben Polk (Dior Angus 64). Unused Subs: Sean Fraser, Ben Thackeray.
Attendance: 245
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