Rugby Town 3-0 Banbury United

Southern League Premier Division

Saturday, 27th December 2005

Attendance | 505

Photo Gallery | Willis Francis makes in-roads

Town kicked off their holiday campaign in style with a well-fought for victory against a strong Banbury side in very wintry conditions at Butlin Road on Bank Holiday Tuesday afternoon.

On a hard, bumpy, and increasingly icy pitch as the game progressed, the standard of football on show was surprisingly good and did its best to warm a crowd in excess of 500.

The Rugby side showed just one change from the previous game at Mangotsfield, with manager Billy Jeffrey replacing Kevin Slinn with recent signing Robbie Beard - who has returned to the club after a seven month absence.

Beard combined well with his new strike partner David Stone after just eight minutes, but Stone saw his low shot well saved by Simon Trickler in the Banbury goal. A Stone header at the near post shortly after hit the side netting, and a dangerous cross from Beard from the touchline was agonisingly too high for his team mates.

Banbury's best chance of the half came when Tim Wooding was dispossessed just inside his own half, but from the resulting break Farhad Afandiyev was equal to Jon Gardner's goal bound effort.

Rugby took the lead on 31 minutes when a high ball into the box panicked the Banbury defence, and despite Beard totally missing the ball with an attempted close range volley, the ball fell nicely for Steve Evans for a tap-in.

Banbury started the second half with evident purpose and for a fifteen minute spell at the start of it they piled the pressure on the home side, with Afandiyev in commanding form from the many crosses and corners to ensure there was no equaliser, and one save in particular - a diving one-handed effort from Wayne Blossom - stood out.

Rugby 's broke the hearts of the visitors on 60 minutes when a Stone cross found Chris Tullin near the penalty spot, and his looping header beat both Trickler and a desperate effort from Kieran Sullivan to just cross the goal-line to double the advantage.

Despite the set-back the visitors responded well and Andrew Baird blazed wildly over and Gardner chipped shot from distance was well-gathered by Afandiyev.  At the other end a Steve Evans curler from 20 yards was only just wide of the post, and then on 74 minutes Robbie Beard marked his return with a goal when his diving header after a pinpoint cross from Matt Green hit the net.

To their credit Banbury continued to push forward in search of a consolation, and substitute Danny Williams was on hand to clear a downward header from Baird off the line with just three minutes remaining to ensure that Afandiyev got his third clean sheet for the club in just his seventh game.

Jeffrey was delighted to have secured a victory against his old Oxford United team mate Kevin Brock's side.  Speaking after the game, he said : "Banbury are a good side, and they played some dangerous football out there today, but I thought we performed well and got the breaks at the right moments and fully deserved the three points."

The victory lifts Town back into the top half of the SLPD ahead of the visit to Butlin Road of Aylesbury United on New Years Eve afternoon.