BROMSGROVE Sporting were condemned to a second defeat in the space of four days after they were beaten 3-1 by unbeaten Banbury United at the Victoria Ground on Tuesday night.
Sporting went behind to Jack Stevens second minute header before Connor Taylor equalised on 12 minutes with his second goal in as many games.
Further strikes from Chris Wreh three minutes before half-time and Ben Acquaye on 74 minutes ensured Banbury remain the only unbeaten team in the division.
The defeat leaves Sporting in 11th place in the Southern League Premier Division Central table as the prepare for this weekend’s mouth-watering FA Cup tie with Grimsby Town.
Brendan Kelly’s side made a poor start to the game when a corner was whipped into the box and Stevens was on-hand to head home after just two minutes.
However, Sporting responded with the equaliser 10 minutes later when Taylor finished off a fine move with a low finish past Banbury goalkeeper Jack Harding.
Taylor almost doubled his tally for the game minutes later but could only volley Cameron Ebbutt’s free-kick wide of the goal.
Banbury were then awarded a penalty five minutes before the break after James Mace committed a foul in the box only for Sporting keeper Akos Onodi to superbly keep out Wreh’s spot kick.
However, Wreh would atone for his miss just two minutes later when he fired home from another Banbury corner to send the visitors into the interval with a one-goal lead.
Both Stevens and Wreh came close in the second period – the former hitting the crossbar from yet another corner whilst the latter flashed an effort across the face of goal.
Sporting’s best chance to equalise fell to the in-form Taylor who magnificently controlled a ball into the box before shooting straight at United keeper Harding when well-placed to score.
The Puritans completed the scoring on 74 minutes when Acquaye finished from close range to secure the points for Banbury on a tough night for the home side.
Kelly’s men will need to pick themselves up for Saturday’s huge FA Cup match against National League leaders Grimsby – broadcast live on the BBC Red Button, Sport website and app, and iPlayer.
Kick-off at the Victoria Ground is at 12:30pm.
