A dream result and performance from an impressive United side saw Banbury through to the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup on Saturday. Despite the long journey , everybody that was involved from the players and staff to the travelling supporters must have thought that it was time well spent, and a great day was enjoyed by all. Leiston were a very capable and good footballing side and although they picked up just one yellow card to Banbury’s blank total, the game proved above all that you don’t have to throw cards around like confetti to control the game, and the referee should be commended for the way that he handled the tie.

Both sides started well, but it was Banbury who looked the more dangerous, and their first chance came in the fourth minute when Jonathan Lawson cut in from the left and home ‘keeper Billy Johnson tipped the goalbound shot over the crossbar for a corner. From the resulting flag-kick, Johnson then saved Yaw Ofosu’s header. Two minutes later, Connor Ferguson went close with a snap shot from outside of the penalty area.

In the eleventh minute Banbury should have done better when the ball was sent over from the left to Harley Giles who was unmarked in the middle, but the Banbury defender skied the ball over the bar when it looked easier to score. Four minutes later, and Luke Stokoe shot from 25 yards and Johnson made another fine save, tipping the ball over the bar again. Three minutes later and Stokoe again sent in a free-kick from twenty two yards that screamed a foot wide. From a poor Leiston clearance, the ball fell to Josh Flanagan, but his effort went wide.

Just when the Puritan’s pressure looked to be paying off, the home side started to get back into the game, and urged on by Joao Rangel who used his obvious talent to start to win things in midfield, Banbury were finding him a bit of a handful. Whilst Leiston were at last starting to get more of the ball and putting United under some pressure. Banbury fairly dealt with things and as the game neared the interval, still Jack Harding in the Banbury goal had very little to do, and Leiston failed to get a shot on target. Then late on, Banbury took the lead in the forty second minute following a ball from the right which James Alabi connected with, and although Johnson saved his point blank header, Alabi was well alert to the rebound and headed home from inside the six-yard box, to open the scoring.

Three minutes later and Ferguson doubled Banbury’s lead in spectacular style when he received the ball on the right, side-stepped his marker and rifled a left-foot curling shot around Johnson and into the far corner of the net for a great individual strike, which gave Banbury a fine 2-0 interval lead.

Three minutes into the second-half Johnson made another great save from Alabi and just seven minutes later, Harding made a fantastic fingertip save to push a point blank effort from Ben Fowkes onto the crossbar as Leiston fought to get back into the game. Things started to get a little hectic as the game wore on, Aaron McCreadie went close in the seventy second minute and Ryan Jarvis was unlucky when his effort in the seventy ninth minute came back off the crossbar. After a flurry of substitutions from both sides, United put the game to rest in the sixth minute of time added on when Styche whipped a high pass to George Ball, who calmly lobbed the ball over the advancing Johnson and into the empty net to make the final score 3-0 and put Banbury into the hat for the fourth qualifying round.

The fourth and final qualifying round will see Banbury take on St Albans City at The Spencer Stadium Powered by Egg.com for a place in the first round proper of the FA Cup on Saturday the eleventh of October.

With thanks to Barry Worsley

Leiston :- Billy Johnson, Cameron Rayworth, Sebastian Dunbar (captain), Kyle Callan-McFadden, Wyatt Hill, Joao Rangel, Fraser Alexander, Willie Clemons (69 mins. Ronnie Blois), Adam Mills (78 mins. Spencer Keller), Ryan Jarvis (83 mins. Jack Manly), Ben Fowkes. Subs (not used) Billy Jordan, Marcus Mehew, Jude Frostick, Joe McNeil.

Banbury United :- Jack Harding, Keegan Bloom, Marcel Guzynski, Harley Giles, Yaw Ofosu (captain), Josh Flanagan, Connor Ferguson (72 mins. George Ball), Aaron McCreadie (92 + 3 mins. Kian Mirnam), James Alabi (84 mins. Reece Styche), Luke Stokoe, Jonathan Lawson (66 mins. Joel Anker). Subs (not used) Max Fuller, Nathan Whyman.

Attendance – 236