Banbury Regain the Oxon Cup

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:04:06 GMT

Craig Irvine reports...

Abingdon, Banbury, Bicester, City of Oxford , Henley, Oxford Hawks, Rover Oxford and Wallingford all battled it out on Saturday 5^th September in the pre-season Men’s Oxon Cup and it was hosts Banbury who regained the Mens’ Oxon Cup after the beat Henley 4-2 in the final played at Bloxham School .

In the group stages of the competition the top three seeds, Banbury, Oxford Hawks and Henley all safely making it through to the semi-finals while Wallingford may have surprised Rover Oxford when they won 2-0 with goal from Grant Barber and James Lanyon. Banbury topped Group A with three win our of three over, Bicester (5-0), Rover Oxford (3-1) and Wallingford (2-1) while Group B, after Henley and Hawks drew 1-1 was decided by goal difference and Henley piped Oxford Hawks by one goal after they best Abingdon 4-0 with Henley’s captain Ed Foster bagging the only hat-trick of the tournament.

In the semi-finals Wallingford took an early lead over local rivals Henley but they could not hold on and late goals from Paul Chedzey and Mark Addleston secured Henley ’s place in the final.

In the second semi-final a tight match in which neither team dominated in was Banbury who took the initiative after Tyson Nunneley was hacked down in the ‘D’ and it was Nunneley himself who found the top right hand corner for the opening goal. With Hawks pushing forward to try and drab an equalizer they were caught on the break and William Kellett coolly rounded the keeper and slammed the ball into the back of the net on the reverse to secure Banbury’s passage to the final.

The final itself was the best game of the day with Banbury eventually running out 4-2 winners, Banbury started quickly and caught Henley napping with an early goal through Adrian Simons and then just before half-time grabbed a second through James Clement.. Early on in the second half Banbury were awarded a penalty flick which Nunneley again put away before Chedzey pulled one back for Henley and then Banbury secured the cup with a goal Nick Best. Henley did not let this phase them and had the final word with a late goal from Ed Foster.

Many congratulations to Banbury who won the cup for the 4^th time in seven years and many thanks to Banbury Hockey Club and Bloxham School who again hosted a fantastic competition that was again a good pre-season opener for the Oxfordshire Clubs and the Umpires.

Many thanks to the Buckinghamshire Umpires Association who supplied umpires throughout the day and did such a great job with the new rules.

Oxfordshire Hockey Association-Home Page News

Banbury Regain the Oxon Cup