Banbury boss proud of win over Stamford

Harry Reilly celebrates his late winning goal against Stamford. Photo: BUFC.

Simon Hollyhead hailed another three points for his Banbury United side at the weekend as they continued their strong start to the season.

Previously unbeaten Stamford were beaten 1-0 thanks to Harry Reilly’s stoppage time winner.

And Hollyhead was under no illusions as to how much of an achievement it was to have beaten their Lincolnshire opponents.

He told Puritans Radio: “Stamford are very competitive. We did our homework as always and felt this was probably going to be the most competitive game of the season. They have a distinct way of playing and change their back three into a back two which can take time to adjust to, but tactics don’t win and lose you games, nor do systems, it’s players.

"We saw a lot of quality from the boys in possession, out of possession and in terms of resilience. We matched a very good team in so many ways and at half-time we felt the game was there to win, and this fantastic group of players did so.”

Banbury were due to host Halesowen Town on Tuesday night, after this week’s Guardian went to press.

This Saturday, the Puritans will head to Melksham Town in the FA Cup second qualifying round.

*Banbury United are mourning the loss of beloved volunteer John Ward, who passed away on Friday.

John volunteered at Banbury United for many years, including running the club shop and tea bar, and was due to start a role as assistant kit man at Saturday’s game with Stamford.

A club spokesman said: “John has been a constant upbeat presence at the stadium, from matchdays to AGMs. We are only just starting to imagine how life at Banbury United will look without him. We are simply devastated.

“Our thoughts are with all of John’s family and friends as we digest this sad news together.”

The club paid its respects with a minute’s applause ahead of the Stamford game.

Banbury boss Simon Hollyhead said: “John’s hit the boys really hard and came as a massive shock. Our hearts go out to John’s family. Our final message before we went out to play at 3pm was ‘let’s do this for John’, such was the respect the staff and the boys had for him.”