It was a disappointing Non-League day for the Crusaders as a second half strike from Jamie Barron earned visitors Winchester City all three points at Bulpit Lane.

After an uneventful first period, Jose Maruqez had the chance from the penalty spot five minutes into the second half to put Hungerford ahead, but ex-Crusader Luke Cairney pushed behind his spot-kick.

Barron then punished the Crusaders by giving Winchester the lead, before the midfielder was sent off for a second yellow card.

Hungerford therefore piled on the pressure in search of an equaliser, but the visitors held on to take all three points.

The first half was a cagey contest, with both sides battling for control in the middle of the park. The only chances of note fell the way of the Crusaders, with Winchester offering little going forward. Rhys Tyler fired narrowly over the crossbar, following a long throw-in which caused panic in the visitors’ ranks. Rafa Ramos’ deflected strike struck the side netting before George Smith nearly scored a spectacular goal at the end of the half when his long-range effort only went a foot wide of a post.

The Crusaders came out the blocks well at the start of the second half and had the chance to break the deadlock when the referee pointed to the spot for a foul inside the penalty area. With regular penalty taker Louis McGrory suspended, Marquez took responsibility for the spot. The striker though was thwarted by Cairney, as the Winchester goalkeeper dived low to his right and turned Marquez’s effort round the post.

Hungerford continued to press for the breakthrough, and Curtis Angell profited from an Alex Wilkie mistake to drive an effort into the gloves of Cairney. It was the visitors though who took the lead just past the hour mark when Barron blasted the ball into roof of the net from close-range, but before the match could kick back off again the City captain received his second yellow card for breaking a corner flag in celebration. That provided the path for Hungerford to pin the visitors back into their half for the final 25 minutes. An equaliser though proved elusive for the Crusaders as Winchester held on, with a superb goal-line clearance denying Tooze at the end.

Photo by Jeff Youd.