The scoring was opened by the home side in the 22nd minute when a long diagonal ball was played over the top of the Newbury defence and Banbury’s main striker stole through for a one on one chance with Chloe Hunt in the Newbury goal. She slotted past Hunt with great composure, to give Banbury a one nil lead from their first attempt on goal.

This stung Newbury into action and they applied their own pressure from the re-start. Nicole Beesley picked up a loose ball in the centre of midfield and she drove forward, showing great strength to hold off the defender and continue her run. As she entered the penalty area on the left, she looked up and played a cross into the path of the advancing Leanne Creese. From just inside the area, Creese hit a first time shot that looped over the Banbury goalkeeper and went in just under the bar. 1-1 now the score line.

The chances were now coming Newbury’s way, as they began to get a grip on the proceedings and play the more fluid football. Shots from Lily Chubb and Gemma Povey for Newbury, each were wide of the upright. Then on the stroke of half time, Creese played a long ball down the right hand flank, which was latched onto by Chubb, her run beating the offside trap. Just before reaching the dead ball line, Chubb cut into the penalty area and tried an audacious lob from an acute angle. The Banbury keeper stood no chance and could only watch as the ball sailed over her head and into the far top corner. It was an incredible goal and gave Newbury a 2-1 lead.

That wasn’t to be the last action of the half however, as the home side were clearly rattled and Newbury captain, Creese, nearly capitalised on a defensive error, when she pinched the ball from the centre halves, but shot wide with only the keeper to beat. So it remained 2-1 at the half time break.

When play resumed in the second period, as expected, Banbury came out in full-on attack. The first 20 minutes saw Newbury camped in their own half, trying to keep the home side at bay. They soaked up the pressure and were defending well. The problem was that when they did manage to clear the ball, inevitably it was coming straight back in wave after wave of Banbury raids.

Nearly all the possession was Banbury’s, so it was no surprise when they forced an equalising goal on 75 mins with a shot from wide left that thundered into the bottom corner of the net. Newbury’s reaction was to make two immediate substitutions in an attempt to get fresh legs onto the pitch. Beesley and McConnon were withdrawn, to be replaced by Lauren Sheldon and Leanne Saunders respectively.

With the scores tied at 2-2, there then followed a 9 minute injury stoppage in the 80th minute, as a Banbury midfielder suffered a nasty knee injury that looked to have sadly finished her season. The Referee re-started play with a drop ball on the Newbury 18-yard line, but this time they were able to clear down field, with Creese and Chubb combining well to work the ball into the far right corner.

Banbury gained a throw-in deep in their own half, which Newbury pressured well, regaining possession. As the minutes ticked by, Newbury were beginning to look more comfortable and the threat on their goal was diminishing. Sheldon and Sam Atkins combined for Newbury on the left flank, working the line with a number of Newbury throw-ins. Sheldon found herself in space from one such throw, but although she beat the full back and cut into the area, she was unable to pick out a team mate with her cross and the chance went begging.

Five minutes into injury time and it looked as though the match would finish in a draw, but Banbury launched one last attack. Fortunately for Newbury, the ball ran safely through to Hunt in the Newbury goal. Still the Referee did not blow for full time. Then disaster struck, with a serious miscommunication between Hunt and Saunders at full back. Hunt tried to play out a short goal kick, which no one was expecting, least of all her defence. So it was the Banbury left winger that nipped into pounce. She picked up the ball, skipped past a defender and through a large gap that had opened up for her. She shot across the keeper and into the far corner of the goal, to send her and her team mates into delirium.

There was barely any time to re-start the play and so it was the home side that had a secured a 3-2 victory, with Newbury facing the journey back to Berkshire with nothing at all to show for their efforts on the day. Despite the obvious disappointment at the result, there were two standout performers for Newbury Ladies and these were Lily Chubb and Sam Atkins.