Sonning 1st XI 2 - 2 Banbury 2nd XI

Sonning began the game with a much changed squad, with Jack Mason and Ian Gallagher making appearances, and skipper Paul Brown making a last minute comeback from a hand injury. Neil Pursell, Matt Sloper, Adam Pusey, David Painter and Mark Dobbie however were all conspicuous by their absence...

Their opposition began the game top of the league, with 16 goals scored in their first three fixtures, and it was vital to the home side that they gave nothing cheaply away for Banbury to pounce on. So it was probably somewhat disappointing for coach Ali Raza and the onlooking crowd when Sonning turned possession over cheaply , before meekly conceding the opening goal all within the opening minute. 0-1.

Following this, Banbury unsurprisingly got their tails up and put a lot of pressure on the home side for a short while, before Sonning got back into the game, winning a series of short corners that sadly went unfinished. Jonny Partenheimer saw a drag flick saved off the line by a Banbury defender, before Tom Sampson had his effort repelled by their keeper. It remained 0-1 at the break, and wide open.

In the second half, Sonning started brightly. With Banbury down to 10 men after a yellow card, Sonning won a short corner from which Ian Gallagher saw his straight strike deemed illegal; with it rising just above the backboard to nestle in the net. He celebrated wildly, but to no avail. Following this, and against the run of play, Banbury got their second. 0-2.

With their backs against the wall, Sonning came out swinging after a short delay following a power cut (the remainder of the game was played in dim conditions with the floodlights out of action...). In fairly short succession they got both their first, and the equaliser. The first came from a short corner, with Matt Poulton converting from a short corner variation at a tight angle. The second came from Jack Mason, who tirelessly followed in on another strike from Poulton, netting convincingly on his reverse. His relentless performance on the day more than deserved a goal. 2-2.

With the equaliser netted and the wind in their sails, Sonning had all the momentum and finding the winner seemed inevitable, but the game rapidly deteriorated following a flurry of cards in the last 15 minutes, with another yellow for the same Banbury player, a green for Poulton, a yellow for Partenheimer, and 2 yellows in fairly short succession for the erratic and mercurial Tom Sampson.

Unsurprisingly, not a lot of quality got played by either side in this time, and the game ended 2-2. Neither side will be happy with the result, but both may well have accepted a point before the game began, ending the day as 2 of 4 sides who remain undefeated this season.

Next up, Sonning welcome Oxford Hawks 3rd XI to the Doombar Arena, for another 15:00 game. Crowd welcome... #COTN

Goalscorers: Matt Poulton, Jack Mason
MOTM: Jack Mason
DOTD: Matt '2-Carz' Poulton