Banbury Utd 1

(Martin 43)

Barwell 2

(Towers 6, 11)

Banbury United’s run of five successive home wins came to an abrupt halt with defeat by Barwell in the Evo-Stik Southern League Premier Division at the Spencer Stadium.

Two goals in the first 11 minutes from Jamie Towers put Barwell firmly in control.

The first came after six minutes when the ball was pumped into the middle from the right, and with Banbury failing to clear, Towers fired home from 12 yards.

Five minutes later it was 2-0 when a long ball down the middle caught out the Banbury defence, and Towers slotted past Lewis Kidd.

After struggling to make an impact for much of the half, Banbury clawed their way back into the game two minutes before the interval.

A move down the left, involving Adeyinka Talabi and Nabil Sharif, ended with Marvin Martin letting fly with a shot from the edge of the penalty area, which went in off the crossbar.

Barwell almost restored their two-goal cushion immediately when Towers was put through, but Kidd saved well.

Banbury had a glorious chance to equalise early in the second half when Talabi had a one-on-one with Liam Castle in the Barwell goal, but the keeper spread himself well to save.

But that was as good as it got for Banbury in a scrappy second period as Barwell held on for victory.

Banbury Utd: Kidd, Cray, R Plowright, Jackson, Allen, Agyeman-Prempeh, Martin (Blossom 81), Shariff, Skendi, Dumbleton (Lait 64), Talabi (Kurishita 90). Sub not used: Ryan.

Attendance: 286.