It was a tense and tight opening twenty minutes to the game with little between the sides. However, at this point United would begin to have much the better of the game and this was the start of a good spell for the home side.

In the 20th minute Felipe Barcelos shot over from the edge of the Winchester penalty area after having the ball fed through to him by Ricky Johnson. There then followed some promising moves from Banbury and there was a decent chance for them in the 27th minute when Mark Bell took the ball inside from the right before passing it across to Zac McEachran just inside the penalty area on the left but his shot from 12 yards hit the side netting.

Though Winchester offered little in this half going forward, they did defend well and United struggled to create further clear chances as the half progressed further and the score remained goalless at the interval.

United were though so close to taking the lead in just two minutes after the re-start. Bell crossed the ball in from the right where Johnson headed it for goal at the far post and though Brendan Norris in the Winchester goal managed to knock the effort away the ball only went as far as Barcelos just three yards out but the Brazilian was unable to bundle the ball home and it somehow finished up in the arms of a grateful custodian.

In the 50th minute Banbury went close again when a long ball down the left by Michael Hopkins was chested down by Barcelos into the path of McEachran who went on a surging run to the edge of the Winchester penalty area before passing across to Bell just inside the penalty area on the right but his shot was well saved by Norris at the expense of a corner.

United continued to threaten and on the hour mark a Bell free kick from just inside the Winchester half on the right saw Jack Westbrook get his head to the ball ahead of Norris who came for but failed to get it only for the Banbury central defender to see his effort strike the post with the ball rebounding straight back into the arms of a fortunate custodian.

With Banbury not having made their dominance count, home supporters began to wonder if it was to be their night as the away side midway through the half had their best spell of the game. Craig Feeney headed just wide from 12 yards in the 67th minute and six minutes later a shot from Warren Bentley from the edge of the six yard box was deflected away by Andy Gunn for a corner. The resultant flag kick saw Jake Newton's shot from the edge of the area hit Harding's legs and rebound away to safety.

Banbury were soon back on top though and in the 77th minute went agonisingly close yet again when Bell went on a mazy run in rom the right before the ball ran into the path of substitute Duran Martin whose shot was saved by Norris and though the custodian spilled the ball to the lurking Barcelos he made up for that with a superb save from point blank range to keep Winchester level.

It was beginning to look as though extra time was on its way but then with just four minutes to go, Banbury would get the goal that they deserved albeit the manner of it when it did come was a touch fortunate. A free kick deep inside the Banbury half taken by Harding was headed on a few yards outside the Winchester penalty area by Johnson towards Barcelos but though there appeared little danger, Norris and central defender Leigh Mills seemed to have a communication breakdown with Norris coming for the ball and Mills getting there first and knocking it through the custodian's hands, leaving Barcelos to nip in and slot the ball into the empty net.

Though it was by a small margin and it was a late goal, there is no doubt that Banbury were the better side on the night and deserved their passage to the play-off final where they will play Taunton Town at the Spencer Stadium on Bank Holiday Monday 3.00pm kick-off

Banbury United: Jack Harding, Callum White, Michael Hopkins, Ollie Stanbridge (Duran Martin 61), Jack Westbrook, Zac McEachran (Darius Browne 71), George Nash, Ricky Johnson, Felipe Barcelos (Leam Howards 87), Mark Bell. Subs (not used) Charlie Wise and Miles Welch-Hayes.

Winchester City: Brendan Norris, Jake Newton, Adam Tomasso, Jamie Barron, Leigh Mills, Jamie Thoroughgood, Adam Roberts (Howard Newton 79), Micky Hubbard, Andy Forbes, Warren Bentley, Craig Feeney. Subs (not used) Rob Flooks, Danny King, Harrison Fay, Michael Miller.

Attendance: 596