Midlands 2 East

Banbury came away from Syston bitterly disappointed that they failed to secure their first away win of the season.

Syston's defensive efforts, particularly in the first half, ultimately allowed them to clinch a 16-7 victory in the last ten minutes.

Banbury opened the scoring after 20 minutes.

Wing Phil Greenhalgh went for the corner for the third time in as many minutes, and although kept out, slipped an inside pass to full back Duncan Ferguson who powered over for his sixth league try of the season. Centre Matt Goode converted.

Despite exerting strong pressure, Banbury could not score again as they led 7-3 at the break.

Against the run of play Syston landed a penalty to make it 7-6, as the Bulls lost both starting flankers - Mark Herlihy to injury and Will Brooks to the wing to cover the loss of Dan Campbell to a groin strain.

The Bulls struggled from then on, and conceded a penalty in the 73rd minute to go behind for the first time.

As the Bulls chased the game, the Syston stand-off crashed through two tackles to score a converted try that sealed the result.