Banbury are too strong for Barton in cup clash
BARTON found first-time visitors Banbury too strong in their England Hockey Cup game at Shobnall, going down 6-3.
The local side featured a reshuffled line-up with Xavier Stott in goal and he was called up early in the game to keep the scores level.
But it was not long before Banbury took the lead after a slip in defence and they added a second when a rebound from a short corner fell nicely for one of their strikers.
Barton got their act together after that and got back into the game with a remarkable goal from Mark Latham.
Tom Scott powered down the right and found Jacob Foster inside. He played an aerial ball forward and Latham, spotting the keeper going the wrong way, netted an outrageous overhead back-hand shot.
Banbury, pressing hard and attacking with pace, made it 3-1 from another short corner but it was anyone’s game when Barton got it back to 3-2 by half-time.
Foster’s shot from a short corner was saved but the ball fell to Latham, who picked out John Palmer on the penalty spot for an emphatic finish.
The next goal was important but it was the Oxfordshire side who scored it, from another short corner, and when they caught Barton on the break to make it 5-2 the tie was heading away from the home side.
A short corner drag flick from Foster made it 5-3 but a spell of pressure from Barton after that failed to get them closer and Banbury made it 6-3 in the last five minutes after another break.
It had been, however, a terrific end to end game between two sides who had never met.
Barton now go into the winter break and return with a Midlands Premier game away against Hampton in Arden on January 8.
BURTON’S men ended the first half of their season by winning a rearranged game against Olton & West Warwicks seconds 4-2 to move into the top half of the Midlands One table.
Burton moved the ball well from the start through Ed Clamp, William Fox and Tom Sloan and they took the lead when Matt Wooldridge collected the ball on the edge of the D, beat a defender and slipped the ball under the goalkeeper.
Olton battled back to equalise but Burton were back in front by halftime, winning a short corner right on the whistle which Mark Northcott fired into the top corner. With Olton pressing for an equaliser after the break, Burton punished them when Owen Raw stole the ball in midfield and sent Wooldridge racing away from the defence to round the keeper and finish from a tight angle.
Good work from Raw and Owen Harrison then led to another short corner and although Northcott’s effort was partially blocked, the ball spun over the keeper and evaded two defenders on the line to make it 4-1.
Olton pulled one back with five minutes left but the result was never in doubt.
Burton went into the season thinking they might struggle in a competitive division, so to go into the break in the top half is a satisfying situation and they have a foundation to build on.
The men’s thirds went down 5-1 to Lichfield thirds and the fifths lost 6-0 to Leicester City seconds.
The ladies’ fourths took only 11 players to Ashbourne and battled hard for a 2-2 draw.