League

WAKEFIELD FC OKI WE
Spectators: 7487 (Terracing: 5616, Seating: 1722, VIP seats: 149) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Neil Bzeu started the match with the kick off. Banbury United's Tod Blewitt suffered a concussion in the 2nd minute, after a hard challenge, and had to leave the field. 2 minutes into the game, Nicky Harrington was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Wakefield Vikings's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Banbury United the free kick. Nicky Harrington kicked well hit freekick during the 4th minute of the match. Ritchie Holdcroft was extremely unlucky when he, in the 6th minute, took a shot that hit the right post and went out. After 7 played minutes Banbury United got a freekick which was hit by Joshua Trunks. After a defensive mix-up in Wakefield Vikings's zone, Byron Afful stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Ash Charles came out of the goal and Byron Afful tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Byron Afful in the 12th minute of play forced Wakefield Vikings's goalkeeper Ash Charles to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. If Byron Afful had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 13th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Joshua Trunks received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 15th minute. Ash Charles tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Alfred Harrad made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Ritchie Holdcroft in the 20th minute of play. Ritchie Holdcroft fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 22nd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Alfred Harrad having to interfere. Ritchie Holdcroft charged in rather forcefully in the 26th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Ritchie Holdcroft the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. In the 26th match minute, Wakefield Vikings was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Ritchie Holdcroft to maneuver through the defense. Wakefield Vikings's Nicky Harrington got a good chance for a goal in the 28th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. A collision led to Banbury United getting a freekick after 35 minutes play. Joshua Trunks hit a great ball. In the 44th minute, Banbury United's goalie took a deep sigh of relief after Ritchie Holdcroft fired away a hard shot that went just outside the left post. Ash Charles didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Byron Afful went, in the 46th minute, to the upper right corner, 1-1 was the resulting score. After the first half the score was level. The break gave the players a chance to catch their breath, whilst the managers went over the tactics with them again.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Ritchie Holdcroft made a kick off. Rio Osbourne fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 57th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Ash Charles having to interfere. In the 60th minute, Trevor Rouse got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. When Trevor Rouse came up free with the goalie in the 63rd minute, the Banbury United fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Trevor Rouse couldn't finish the play. Alfred Harrad took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Nicky Harrington, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Byron Afful recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 73rd minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Wakefield Vikings's Ash Charles proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 74th minute of the match, managed to save Wakefield Vikings from getting a goal against them. After some careless play in the Wakefield Vikings defense, Joshua Trunks kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Ash Charles. The Wakefield Vikings fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Ash Charles should have stopped the shot. A hard shot 81 in the game by Byron Afful from a close distance when the talented Ash Charles managed to make a qualified save. Wakefield Vikings's players were relieved. A hard shot 81 in the game by Byron Afful from a close distance when the talented Ash Charles managed to make a qualified save. Wakefield Vikings's players were relieved. The audience thought a goal was coming when Byron Afful got free with Ash Charles in the 83rd minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. An unexpectedly hard shot by Ritchie Holdcroft in the 85th minute of play forced Banbury United's goalkeeper Alfred Harrad to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. When Byron Afful came up free with the goalie in the 87th minute, the Banbury United fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Byron Afful couldn't finish the play. Byron Afful received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 91st minute. Ash Charles tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Banbury United's Alfred Harrad played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Nicky Harrington in the 94th minute of play. Banbury United's players went to the stands to thank the travelling support. The fan's backing had helped spurr the team on to a fine performance that won them the match.