Playing against ten men for over an hour would be every team's New Year wishes come true, but United somehow were well beaten, but only after the sending-off. For the opening 15 minutes, and against eleven men, Banbury were well on top, with Barwell looking very poor indeed. The home side had problems containing Morgan Roberts, who was a thorn in their side on the wide left, and in the 15th minute he underlined their problems when he sent in a pin-point cross which left Ravin Shamsi with the simple task of side-footing home from two yards to put Banbury ahead.

Five minutes later, and in their first dangerous attack, Barwell should have equalised when Tolani Omotola capitalised on a defensive mistake to race forward unchallenged towards goal, but he managed to shoot three yards wide when it looked easier to score, with only Jack Harding to beat. However, despite this miss, Banbury still looked the far better side but in the 23rd minute Lee Henderson had to be substituted after picking up a leg injury, and this seemed to effect United as they looked to re-organise at the back.

The turning point in the game came in the 30th minute when Pablo Haysham was the victim of a reckless over-the-top tackle which earned Micah Edwards a deserved straight red card but the unlikely benefit of this action fell to Barwell, who almost immediately took control of the midfield, adding to the adage of teams struggling against ten men.

In the 36th minute, Jac Edwards was brought down in the penalty area and Omotola placed the spot-kick to the right of Harding to register an unlikely equaliser, and it was all square at the interval.

Into the second-half and Ravin Shamsi had a golden chance to put Banbury back into the lead in the 56th minute, following a cross from the left, but inside the six-yard box, he managed to put his free header high and wide of the goal when it looked easier to score.

In the 61st minute, Harding was robbed of the ball and it ran to Tristan Dunkley who managed to easily lob the stranded 'keeper from 25 yards to put the home side ahead.

Still Banbury had chances to equalise against a now-rampant Barwell side, and twice in five minutes Morgan Roberts fluffed his shot, and a fantastic cross from the left from Kynan Isaac begged to be converted as it flashed across an open goal but no-one was on hand to tap in.

As time ran out, it was still amazing to witness how United could have let this game slip to a defeat when they looked so dominant in the opening half-hour.

Barwell:- Max Bramley, Jaydon Cotterill, Eliot Putman, Reece Ford, Elliot Percival, Micah Edwards, Jac Redhead, Tristan Dunkley (Zayn Hakeem, 77), Tolani Omotola (Sam Hollis, 74), Brady Hickey (captain), Kai Williams.
Subs not used: Jahvan Davidson-Miller, Jamie McAteer.

Banbury United:- Jack Harding, Connor Roberts, Kynan Isaac, Jack Westbrook (captain), Charles Hawtin, Giorgio Rasulo, Pablo Haysham (Amer Awadh, 74), Lee Henderson (Eddie Odhiambo, 23; Craig Fasanmade, 74), John Mills, Morgan Roberts, Ravin Shamsi.
Sub not used: Mohammed Ahmed.

Attendance – 228