Banbury United 4 - 3 Clevedon Town
This game had everything to cheer the supporters on a damp dull day, with Banbury going 0-3 down in 15 minutes, and coming back to score the winner in the 93rd minute, and along with seven different scorers, a doubtful penalty and both goalkeepers injured during the game, the celebratory scenes after Declan Benjamin’s winner were wild to say the least.
With lowly Clevedon looking to improve after their 6-2 mid-week drubbing by Swindon Supermarine, they were almost in trouble as early as the 2nd minute when Marvin Martin put the ball in the net, only for it to be ruled out for an offside decision. However, they were handed a dream start to the game in the 4th minute when a mix-up between Ben Milner and ‘keeper Mark Scott gave Chris Hartland the easiest of chances to drive the ball home off Milner to put the Seasiders ahead.
They doubled their lead within two minutes when Adam Learoyd failed to head clear and this wrong-footed Scott, and Joey Evans took advantage to slot home unchallenged.
Almost unbelievably, Clevedon went 3-0 up in the 15th minute when Joe Coleman conceded a free-kick wide on the left, and when the ball was fired into the middle, Gary Colborne said thank-you very much as he powered a free header home at the near post.
Banbury were now left with an almost impossible task of getting back into the game and they had to work hard as Clevedon’s confidence increased. United’s efforts were not helped when young Jack Ashton had to be replaced when injury forced him to leave the field in the 27th minute. However, his replacement was new signing David Staff, and after re-organising, he started to cause trouble for the Seasiders on the left wing.
Banbury at last fought their way into the game when they pulled a goal back in the 43rd minute when Learoyd headed in a Coleman corner from 15 yards, off the underside of the crossbar. This spurred Banbury on and they had a short period of total dominance where George Redknap, Coleman and Nathan Haisley all had goal-bound shots cleared off the line. In first-half injury time, Clevedon ‘keeper Danny Greaves injured his shoulder as he caught a cross and collided with a Banbury player, but after treatment he failed to come out for the second-half, and was replaced by captain Ellis Wilmot between the sticks, which was obviously a major blow for the visitors.
The pressure was now on Clevedon as United pushed forward, looking for another break, and it came after 64 minutes when Ollie Barnes was harshly adjudged to have fouled Nabil Shariff in the penalty area, and David Stone stroked the spot-kick home to reduce the deficit to a single goal.
Stand-in ‘keeper Wilmot then embarked on a period when everything that Banbury threw at him seemed to land in his lap, as the ball rebounded off his own defenders, as well as United’s strikers, and it looked for all the world that United would never get the goal that they were threatening as they pushed everyone forward.
With time running out, United were awarded an 89th minute free-kick some 35 yards out, and with everyone except his own goalkeeper between the ball and the goal, Martin delivered a measured free-kick which took one bounce before screaming into the top corner of the net for the equaliser.
Banbury put caution to the wind and in the second minute of injury time, Declan Benjamin collected the ball wide on the left, ran along the edge of the penalty area to give himself a better angle and send a right-footed shot around Wilmot and into the far corner for a brilliant winner which left the Seasiders completely demoralised as Banbury celebrated a welcome but unlikely three points, to register their fourth successive win.
The only player that didn’t celebrate was ‘keeper Mark Scott who looked to be suffering from concussion, and he left the field of play a full five minutes after the rest of the team.
Team :- Scott, Redknap (52 mins. Benjamin), Ashton (27 mins. Staff), Milner, Learoyd, Haisley, Coleman, Stanbridge (85 mins. Taylor), Stone, Shariff, Martin. Subs :- (not used) Hilliard, Murrell.
Attendance – 249