For the 4th week out of 5 it was another home fixture for United, this time a tough looking fixture against Droitwich Spa Trojans.
On paper and going by previous results the two sides seemed closely matched, and so it proved.

As is now predictable the opposition flew out the traps and were awarded a penalty in the 1st minute!
The strong Droitwich number 9 took the defence by surprise with direct running past a couple of challenges, as he reached Nathan in goal he seemed to stop turn around and then fall backwards into the on-rushing keeper. A very dubious call - but the referee pointed to the spot. The resulting penalty was calmly placed to Nathan's left. 0-1.

After this initial shock Banbury United started to get a foothold in the game. Lennon who was today starting in the lone striker role linked up well with Finlay before hitting a low shot at goal that the keeper done well to keep hold of.
Jack played a lovely ball for Finlay to run onto but his shot just wide of the post.

The lads were knocking on the door, and the pressure did finally tell in the 18th minute. George evaded a tackle in the midfield before playing an excellently weighted pass for Fin to run onto, he cut in towards goal and struck the ball low and hard but hit the post. The ball bounced back out across the pitch where Toby was following up to hit a lovely first time left foot shot into the roof of the net. a deserved equaliser 1-1.

In truth our passing was not as crisp as we had come to expect, and too many times possession was squandered easily in the centre of the pitch. Our football was at times too rushed and we were not relaxed on the ball. Jack took a knock midway through the first half, Luke coming onto replace him. For a 5-10 minutes our shape was a little out in midfield. George and Luke were both looking to play a free role in the midfield, which was leaving us a little open with Jacob exposed at times, particularly on the transition.

George clipped a free kick just over the bar after a foul was awarded just outside the area.

Nathan remained calm in goal and dealt well with some balls into the box and some speculative long efforts. Droitwich were the better side as the first half drew to an end. Just before half time a dangerous Droitwich free kick was curled into the box causing a moment of panic, but the forwards could not turn the ball into the net and Mick whacked the ball to safety.

At half time a few more changes were made with Tyra, Lex and Jake all entering the pitch. To be fair Droitwich came out and continued where they left off, on the front foot. We just couldn't get our game together. In defence we were panicking under pressure, clearances were being rushed and we weren't clearing our lines properly, inviting pressure on.

Droitwich took the lead for the second time in the 40th minute. Nathan could do nothing about an excellent long range effort which flew into the top corner. Too much space was allowed for the midfielder to get his shot away at goal though. 1-2.

The conceding of the goal again seemed to spur us back into action. By this point Droitwich were trying to take the sting out of the game, and were already beginning to run the clock down and wasting time. Throws were taking an age, goal kicks an eternity.
Jack had re-entered the field and after winning a 50/50 in the middle of the pitch he released Tyra through one on one with the keeper. The linesman's flag though was up for offside. Debatable at best!

The equaliser came in the 48th minute. A really good goal aswell. Luke drove out of midfield with the ball and played a great ball wide to Jake on the right wing. Jake beat the defender and as the goalie came off his line to narrow the angle he hit an excellent right footed finish inside the post. 2-2. Needless to say at this point there was no time wasting as Tyra rushed to get the ball from the net.

The match was starting to turn niggly, and the Droitwich coaches and linesman were becoming vocal in their appeals for decisions. This was not helping the flow of the game or the players on the pitch.
Jake again got clear of his man on the wing, before getting to the byline and cutting back, but the ball was cleared before the onrushing forward could get his shot off.

Jacob played an excellent searching ball through the backline for Fin to run onto. Once again the linseman's flag was up. This time it wasn't event debatable it was an inexcusably poor decision. Fin was clearly onside (thankfully he blazed over anyway).

A key moment in the game arrived in the 54th minute, when a straight red card was shown to centre back Oliver.
Oliver went in for a committed tackle with a Droitwich midfielder. The tackle was strong and a little rash, but a red card seemed a very harsh decision. The referee seemed to be easily swayed by the shouts and screams from the away supporters and also the two coaches and away linesman running onto the pitch to remonstrate. Needless to say the player the offence was committed on was fine to continue.

This forced a reshuffle of the team for the final 15 minutes. Tyra was the unlucky player to be removed, with Mick coming back into defence.
The 3 in midfield were told to stay solid and the two wide men were left to also occupy the forward positions.

The 10 men were playing well, and had an excellent opportunity to take the lead, when Fin outpaced the defender and forced a good save from the keeper. The ball broke loose across the goal and Jake was just beaten to the ball by the defender.

Aidan was dealing comfortably with balls into the box , and Tom was stopping the attacks that were frequently coming down the right flank for Droitwich. Nathan showed good hands to keep hold of a long range effort and to be honest the 11 men of Droitwich really didnt trouble the 10 men of United.

There was one final opportunity for United as a break looked on, with three players breaking forward at pace with Fin, Jake and Mick. However Mick's pass was just intercepted as it was about to be put through for the two lads to run onto.

The game finished all square 2-2. Probably on reflection a fair result, as the side were not at their best today. But the attitude and commitment shown by the lads today was the most impressive thing. Twice the side were behind, and came back. Then with 10 men the team showed a huge desire to come away with at least a point.

Next week were away from home in Stone (North Staffordshire).