Against the only unbeaten team in the League, this game always promised to be in need of a great deal of hard work for United, and so it proved. However, the Puritans got off to a dream start when they went ahead in the 6th minute, with a goal of sheer quality.

Banbury started in their usual positive manner, and this caught out the opposition as they were forced onto ‘the back foot’ from the opening whistle. United pushed forward and from one such attack, the ball was fed down the right, and when Pablo Haysham sent in a perfect cross, Giorgio Rasulo was in acres of space, and he had the time and the composure to stroke the ball home from 15 yards, past a stranded Saul Deeney.

This spurred a spirited reply from Coalville, which they basically kept up for the remainder of the game, and it soon became very evident why they were still unbeaten and in fourth place in the table. They sent in shots at regular intervals, and but for some woeful finishing, should have been in front by the interval, although to be fair, their finishing was so poor from so many attempts that Jack Harding had little to do in the Banbury goal. Midway through the first half, Joe Doyle-Charles had to count himself very lucky when he brought down Jaanai Gordon with a terrible late tackle which sparked a halfway melee and after a full five minutes of treatment for the United top scorer, a yellow card was the only punishment that the referee saw fit to administer, when surely a red was due.

After the break, Banbury lifted their game and they went close in the 60th minute when Gordon took the ball past his marker and broke free, and passed to John Mills who then put the ball out to Amer Awadh on the right. He cut inside, only to see his shot evade Deeney in the Ravens’ goal, but also the far post.

With Coalville pushing for the equaliser, in the 74th minute it arrived. Doyle-Charles picked up the ball in midfield, and moved forward before firing in a 25 yard shot which no goalkeeper would have got near, to score the best goal seen on this ground this season.

Although on the balance of play, it was no more than Coalville deserved, to most people present, the scorer should never have been on the pitch after the first-half foul that was witnessed.

Ironically, in the 85th minute, Jack Westbrook was shown a straight red card for the technical reason of ‘denying a goal-scoring chance’ who he pulled back a Coalville player, outside of the penalty area and from an angle, when the penalty area looked full of players from both sides. However, even being reduced to ten men, still the United defence continued to frustrate the Ravens, and the game finished even.

Banbury United :- Jack Harding, Connor Roberts, Eddie Odhiambo (79 mins. Anderson Cayola Villarroel), Kynan Isaac, Jack Westbrook, Charles Hawtin, Giorgio Rasulo, Pablo Haysham (58 mins. Amer Awadh), Claudio Dias, John Mills, Jaanai Gordon (68 mins. Roger Ngaah Bosio).
Subs (not used) Gedeon Okito, Denilson Silva.

Coalville Town :- Saul Deeney, Stuart Pierpoint, Scott McManus, Stephen Towers, Jack Duggan, Joe Doyle-Charles, Alexander Dean, Luke Shaw (90 + 1 mins. Kian Taylor), Kairo Mitchell, Timothy Berridge (69 mins. Leandro Browne), Thomas McGlinchey.
Subs . (not used) Kalem Thomas, Sean Bowles, Ellis Storey.

Attendance – 451

Man of the Match - as chosen by match sponsors "The Lottery Team" – Conor Roberts