Match report courtesy of Martin Easton....

Head coach Ian Bletcher had warned pre-match that his squad was at “breaking point” and so it proved as KC’s endured an uncomfortable afternoon in Oxfordshire when nothing much went right for them and spirit and determination was simply not enough to overcome a competent home side who were the better team on the day and good value for their win.

Playing with a strong wind at their backs,Banbury took the lead after only seven minutes when they won a penalty in front of the posts fifteen metres out and No 6 Chris Phillips took a quick tap penalty which caught KC’s completely off guard to crash over for a try simply converted by flyhalf Alex Fogavini.

Apart from a strong forwards drive from a lineout Kidder were on the back foot and had a let off when Fogavini missed with a thirty metre penalty chance.However,two minutes later he had another opportunity from further out and this time made no mistake for a 10-0 lead.A break by No 10 George Morgan then took KC’s deep into Banbury territory for the first time and the field position produced a period of Kidder pressure with forays by Layton Wilkinson and Chris Baldwin threatening to puncture the hosts’ defence but Banbury used the elements to clear their lines with a huge wind assisted kick that took play from their 22 right into KC’s red zone and after being awarded a free kick at a scrum they launched a sustained attack which the visitors repelled with some great defence until a penalty for the hosts in front of the posts enabled Fogavini to add another three points.

Kidder tried to up their game but were thwarted as Banbury collapsed three mauls without punishment.Mitchell Hardwick did almost break through and a fine run by Nick Martin also posed danger but a Banbury breakaway came close to adding to their score until first Morgan and then Hardwick raced back to prevent a second try.Another Morgan break unfortunately had no end product and it took a terrific Pinner tackle to deny Banbury when they had a two man overlap but a third Fogavini penalty gave the home side a 16-0 interval advantage.

KC’s made positional changes at the break and with the wind behind them it was not beyond them to turn the match around with good game management.A Morgan penalty which found touch on Banbury’s ten metre line sparked off a period of concerted Kidder pressure and was rewarded with a try by the No 10 after the hosts’ second row Matt Brock was yellow carded for killing the ball at a ruck.Looking to keep up the momentum,skipper Rob Delahay and Layton Wilkinson worked hard to try and find gaps around the fringes but KC’s play was a little too predictable and Banbury’s defence was able to cope relatively easily.In possession the home side looked after the ball better than KC’s had done when playing against the wind and a succession of penalties in their favour enabled them to progress up the field and they were eventually able to engineer space for their flanker Seamus O’Dwyer to cross five metres in from the right touchline.

Kidder’s cause was not helped by the loss of props Matt and James Rigsby through injury and trailing 21-5 the game was beyond them.With time running out things went from bad to worse when Morgan was yellow carded and Banbury capitalised immediately as left wing Alex Gandy found himself in acres of space to seal the match with their third try.
KC’s injury ravaged season,which promised so much after last year’s third place finish, is in danger of unravelling unless they are able to get more of their experienced players back on the pitch and they can but hope that the tide will turn when they entertain lowly Bedworth on Saturday.