Goals galore at Swindon!

On a bitterly cold day, this was entertainment at it’s best, as United turned the form books upside down to get a well-earned point at Hunts Copse on Saturday. It looked a case of status quo in the 9th minute when second-placed Swindon took the lead following a dubiously awarded free-kick, which saw Alan Griffin nod the ball down in the 6-yard box, and Leigh Henry reacted the quicker to stab the ball home.

The general play was end-to-end, with both sides looking to attack, but Banbury were looking particularly sharper than of late. With both Nicky Gordon and Howard Forinton looking a lot less exposed up front, and in the 27th minute, United equalised. Forinton won the ball some 30 yards from goal and played it forward for Lewis Travers who slipped it through to Gordon and he slotted the ball past ‘keeper Matt Bulman from 12 yards with an angled drive. Two minutes later, Banbury went in front when Kameron Abbassi crossed from the right, Bulman failed to collect, and Travers bravely dived in to head home. Unfortunately Travers got a boot in the face for his troubles, and although he tried to carry on, he was eventually taken off and taken to hospital with concussion.

In the 35th minute, United should have extended their lead when Gordon was put through but with just the ‘keeper to beat, Bulman did well to make the save. Banbury defied all the odds, six minutes into the second-half when they went 3-1 up from the penalty spot. Back to his best, Gordon went clear again but was brought down from behind by Gary Horgan, two yards into the penalty area, with just ‘keeper Bulman to beat. Amazingly Horgan only got a yellow card when a red was beckoning, but Gordon placed the spot-kick to Bulman’s left to give United a 2 goal cushion. Shortly after this, United’s injury worries were increased when Mark Essex had to leave the proceedings, and Banbury had to re-organise at the back when he was replaced by young David Buckwell.

Swindon reduced the arrears in the 59th minute following a goalmouth scramble when Henry got his second with a deflected shot after Banbury again failed to clear the danger. Then two minutes later, Gordon again had only the ‘keeper to beat after running through from deep, but again Bulman came to the home side’s rescue when he whipped the ball off Gordon’s foot. Supermarine equalised in the 66th minute when they were awarded a free-kick some 30 yards out, and Justin McKay hit a low ‘piledriver’ to the left of the defensive wall and just inside the post to level spectacularly. Three minutes later, the industrious Ollie Stanbridge was forced to go off with a rib injury, which will make him very doubtful for the New Years Day game, and he was replaced by Aaron Stringfellow.

Both sides were still looking to attack in numbers, and the ploy paid off for Supermarine when they took the lead in the 73rd minute when Griffin cut in from the right, and fired a fierce shot from the narrowest of angles which found the far corner of the net. However, two minutes later, Banbury got a deserved equaliser when they were awarded a free-kick 25 yards out. Richard Groves opened his scoring account for United when his free-kick finished up in the top corner, when it got a deflection off the wall, and the flight completely deceived Bulman. With time running out, Swindon got the ball in the net again but it was ruled out for offside. In the final half-hour Banbury had young ‘keeper Joe Murrell to thank for three top-class saves as the home side pushed United back, but a draw was a fair result. Plusses for United were the return to form of Gordon, the hard-work and energy of Travers before his injury, and the commitment of the team in general. However, they are still too easy to score against.

More of the same please!!