Poor start proves crucial as Banbury HC lose out
Banbury HC were paid to pay for a slow start as they ultimately fell to a 3-2 defeat at home to Nottingham University.
Goals in the first and fourth minutes from breakaway moves for the on-form Jack Jones gave the visitors a two-goal lead before the home side had really woken up.
The poor start cost Banbury dear as they could never pull back the deficit despite greatly improving from the second quarter onwards.
The poor start dazed the home side but the quarter time break gave player coach Ben Mackey the chance to invigorate the side and they restarted much more strongly, putting together the midfield passing game that had dominated their opposition in the previous two league encounters.
Tyson Nunneley fizzed the ball across the face of the goal in the first minute and a Josh Nunneley aerial to Harry Simons won a penalty corner two minutes later.
This was the first of four penalty corners in the quarter through efforts from Connor Roberts and Sam Brealey, but a mixture of fumbled execution and good work from the University keeper, Harry Tufts, and his defence meant that their two-goal advantage could be taken into the half time break.
The second half again began strongly but Banbury still could not find the net and it fell to defender Brealey and home keeper, Will Powell, to make great individual stops to prevent the visitors extending their lead as Banbury succumbed to ill-discipline.
Two players were given Green card sin bins which disrupted the defence, leading to a series of penalty corners for the visitors' captain, Josh Biddlecombe, to finish a neatly executed move from close range and extend their lead to 3-0.
Two minutes later the home side's efforts were finally rewarded when Ian Reynolds slipped the ball across from a narrow angle and Jordi Groenewald was able to fire home from close range to reduce the deficit.
With renewed hope Banbury began to turn it on, committing more and more players forward and Groenewald and Mackey combining to shred the University defence and create a chance slotted home by Simons to make it only a one goal difference.
With the visitors down to ten men Banbury piled forward but ended up over committing and had to rely on a Man of the Match-winning save from keeper Powell as the University counter attacked.
The closing minutes saw Banbury becoming frustrated and then ill-disciplined to waste the advantage of the University sin bin by having their own players side lined and ended up falling short of what might have been a well-deserved comeback.
Manager Steve Brooker said: "Some of our play through mid-field in the second-half was sublime but we cannot give sides a two-goal start, then fail to convert penalty corners and other chances and get players sin binned just when it looked as if we could have taken a draw or even grabbed a last minute win.
"We have slipped to eighth in the table and now have two weeks on our travels with tough games at Barford and then University of Birmingham ahead - we need to improve before the League table gets away from us."