FA Cup 1st round - Banbury vs Barrow

Really enjoyed the game. I’ve always had a soft spot for Banbury, despite playing against them a lot in my younger days. The defender had a moment of madness for the second goal. I also thought the keeper made contact with the ball for the penalty. But overall, otherwise a good performance for a Banbury side against league opposition
 
Wasn’t lacking effort from Banbury but you could tell the difference in ability and athleticism between the sides, which is fair enough as they are 3 levels down and semi pro/part time.
No non league has beaten a league side yet , with only Wigan and Wycombe being held to replays against (I think) full time national league sides and you would fancy those two to win the replay. Maybe the gaps between the levels of football are getting bigger?
 
The only competitive Oxford United game my wife has been to (inexplicably) was our 1-1 draw with Barrow in the FA Cup in 2009.

Jamie Cook put us ahead before Luke Foster got sent off in one his last games for us, and we ultimately lost the replay.

Funny to reread a Guardian report on the home tie, and particularly the following lines…!

“Holding close to 12,500, the Kassam Stadium is arguably the most eye-catching ground outside the Football League and is undoubtedly a gleaming symbol of Oxford's ambition to escape the footballing wilderness.”

“Should they achieve that, the current owners, Nick Merry and Ian Lenagan, have stated their desire to take up the option of buying the site from Kassam for £13m. If current form is anything to go by, that purchase could be undertaken next summer.”

 
Wasn’t lacking effort from Banbury but you could tell the difference in ability and athleticism between the sides, which is fair enough as they are 3 levels down and semi pro/part time.
No non league has beaten a league side yet , with only Wigan and Wycombe being held to replays against (I think) full time national league sides and you would fancy those two to win the replay. Maybe the gaps between the levels of football are getting bigger?
Wycombe were playing Hartlepool, who are League 2. Unless of course you were thinking Wycombe were the non-league side... 😁
 
Wycombe were playing Hartlepool, who are League 2. Unless of course you were thinking Wycombe were the non-league side... 😁

Pretty much.

Strange how you lose track of who is where below you in the leagues, once we are n the champions league I will struggle to tell you who is in the championship.

So Wigan drawing with Solihull Moors is the closest to a result for non league against league opponents, wonder if the COVID breaks took a toll on the non league game?
 
Pretty much.

Strange how you lose track of who is where below you in the leagues, once we are n the champions league I will struggle to tell you who is in the championship.

So Wigan drawing with Solihull Moors is the closest to a result for non league against league opponents, wonder if the COVID breaks took a toll on the non league game?
The fun of the cup is seeing non league sides close the gap on higher opponents, Banbury didn’t do that at all and looked like local semi pros.
 
Yes that’s my point, they didn’t rise above their status so it wasn’t all that exciting. Lots of possession and effort though.

Agreed.. if they had managed not to concede the early goal it may have made Barrow twitchy.

But the difference in quality was palpable
 
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