Although the season was only two games old, Banbury found themselves at home to the team at the top of the league and they knew they would be in for a testing game. A strong start was imperative to the afternoon's outcome and they got it with a goal after only 70 seconds. A Royston attack broke down, a forward pass from Ricky Johnson beat the offside trap and John Mills ran on to slot the ball past the stranded Joe Welch.

Welch made a save from Awadh before a pivotal moment in the game which saw the visitors reduced to ten men. Only 15 minutes had passed when Royston's Harold Joseph was sent off for a terrible late tackle on Johnson. After a lengthy period of treatment, Johnson carried on but it took him ten minutes to get back to full mobility.

With Banbury a goal up and Royston a man down, all United had to do was control midfield and use their one-man advantage to make Town work very hard. This they certainly did and the score remained at 1-0 as the interval arrived.

Royston's attitude after half-time saw them become even harder in the tackle, and United did well to stay out of trouble as they evaded some pretty harsh treatment by the visitors, but the hard approach nearly paid off for Royston in the 62nd minute when Gedeon Okito gave the ball away some 40 yards from goal and Jack Westbrook did well to divert Scott Bridges' effort past the post for a corner.

Banbury went close in the 75th minute when they earned a free-kick two yards outside the penalty area but Giorgio Rasulo's effort went just the wrong side of the post with Welch well beaten. In the 79th minute the visitors were reduced to nine players when Ed Asafu-Adjaye was also shown a straight red after kicking out at Jaanai Gordon following a tackle by the Banbury substitute.

Even with a two-man advantage these were nervous times for United as they sought to protect not only their single-goal lead but their safety as the away side continued to employ some robust tactics, eventually receiving four yellow cards in addition to their two reds.

However, the decisive second goal finally arrived in the sixth minute of added time. Charlie Hawtin's persistence on the right won back possession for Banbury and his pass into the area found Johnson. He skilfully side-stepped a defender and wrong-footed Welch in the Crows' goal to score from 12 yards.

Banbury United:- Harding, Roberts, Okito, Westbrook, Hawtin, Rasulo (Odhiambo 85), Johnson (C), Dias, Awadh (Anderson 76), Henderson, Mills (Gordon 75).
Subs not used: Ngaah, Davies.

Royston Town:- Welch, Scott-Morris, Newton, Bridges, Murray, Crowther, Asafu-Adjaye, Joseph, Adams, Bateman, Ofosu.
Subs: Green, Brathwaite, Newman, Rotimi, Nolan.

Attendance – 405

Photo: Ricky Johnson and Charlie Hawtin celebrate United's second goal.