Banbury Utd 1 (Blossom 62)

Hemel Hempstead Tn 1 (Dillon 61)

Banbury made Premier Division play-off candidates Hemel Hempstead look ordinary, but could not turn their superiority into victory on Saturday.

It was a case of many missed chances for Banbury, who controlled much of the game.

After ten minutes, Nicky Gordon had a good chance that Hemel keeper Ian Brown parried. The ball bobbled around in the six-yard box and Yiadom Yeboah was glad to hack clear.

Then Stuart Bridges turned and fired in a shot which Brown did well to save.

Gordon posed problems for the Hemel defence, as time and again he used his pace to unsettle them.

On the hour, Banbury should have taken the lead when Andy Baird was upended by Simon Sweeney in the penalty area.

But Ady Fuller, trying to place the spot-kick rather than blast the ball, saw his effort go wide of a post.

Two minutes later, the visitors took the lead. A free-kick into the danger area was cleared, and the loose ball was prodded home by Chris Dillon.

However, straight from the kick-off, Banbury pushed forward, and Wayne Blossom fired a superb volley wide of Brown from 12 yards to equalise.

Despite their inability to put their many chances away, this was good performance by Banbury, and they deserved a little better than a single point.

Banbury Utd: Murrell, Stuart Bridges, Kinch, Essex, Milner, Fuller, Blossom, Williams, Baird, Gordon, Pearman (Stanbridge 67). Subs not used: Travers, Bryan, McKay, Wheeler.

Attendance: 334