Banbury United

The Puritans have had their struggles in the league of late as the club have endured their 7th straight league defeat away at Scunthorpe on Saturday so the Oxfordshire senior cup can be a welcome distraction to aim to get in the final for the 1st time in 5 years.

Banbury faced step 4 opposition North Leigh in the 3rd round on a cold Tuesday night in January. North Leigh went ahead in the 50th minute when captain Jack Tutton forced the ball home from a Connor Barrett corner. The Puritans equalised in the 66th minute when Ethan Fitzhugh bundled in a rebound, following a blocked Craig Hewitt shot. Banbury’s Lewis Middleton scored the game’s final goal in the dying minutes to send United into the semi final. Mark Jones handed debuts to five Under-19 players and they held their own throughout the game as the mix of youth and experience proved beneficial.

Kevin Wilson will be looking for much of the same from Mark Jones 3rd round side as the squad will consist of a blend of U19s and experienced first teams. Jack Davies is available for selection despite his suspension in the league but recent signings such as Josh Johnson, Luca Woodhouse, Nathan Opoku, Hamilton bunga, PA Sulay Njie and Lewis Darlington are all unavailable due to not being registered when the draw was made.

Kidlington FC

The Greens have also endured a troublesome season as they situate two places and only 4 points of the bottom of the Southern Central Division 1. The Yarnton Road side have won 1, drawn 1, and lost 3 in their previous 5 league outings but in the Oxfordshire senior cup they ran out 3-1 winners against a Young Oxford United side which included Aidan Elliott-Wheeler. Prior to that victory, Mark Massingham's side defeated two lower opposition, a 2-0 away win at Clanfield in the second round and a 1-0 win over step 7 opposition Yarnton at home in the first round.

Past Puritan

Banbury could see Felipe Barcelos feature for the greens, a player who encapsulated the hearts of the Puritan Faithful in 2015/16 season as his goals in the run in. United boosted by their chances of promotion by signing Brazilian striker Barcelos, but this was only made made possible by the ‘Spencer Villa Fund'. The action paid off as his vital goal in a 1-0 win over Winchester in the play off semi final secured Banbury’s place in the playoffs where they eventually ran out 2-0 winners and bounced back to the southern league division at the 1st time of asking.

This fixture proves to be an entertaining one as Banbury bid to claim their seventh Oxfordshire Senior Cup whereas Kidlington look to get their hands on the trophy for the first time.