Hungerford Town manager Danny Robinson reflects on Winchester City Non-League Day test
Hungerford Town manager Danny Robinson has reflected on his side’s Non-League Day loss to Winchester City.
Hungerford were firm favourites for the clash, having lost only one league game in 2025 prior to Saturday.
Winchester on the other hand find themselves fighting for their lives near the relegation zone.
Robinson knew that his former club would pose a stubborn challenge at Bulpit Lane.
“We had enough chances,” he reflected.
“A missed penalty, a couple of brilliant saves from Luke Cairney, and it just wasn’t our day.
“We were the better side throughout, but sometimes you get games where you could play until the middle of next week and not score.
“I give credit to Winchester, they dug in and had one shot in the second-half which they scored.
“But this is a game we should have won and didn’t.”
The game was marked by a bizarre incident, in which Winchester captain Jamie Barron scored the winner from close range and celebrated by destroying the corner flag.
Barron was sent off, leaving his side a man down for the final 25-minutes, although they held on regardless.
“Football is an emotional game,” Robinson said.
“But it’s just stupidity, and he’s a top player.
“Jamie Barron is a top, top player and has been for many years.
“He scores goals from midfield and he’s a good lad.
“I think the emotions just got the best of him.
“Even against ten men we couldn’t take advantage, so it’s just one of those days.”
The next fortnight sees Hungerford face strugglers Frome Town, before facing promotion contenders AFC Totton.
Robinson is keen to get his side’s momentum back as quickly as possible, but admitted that his side often struggle against defensive sides deploying a low-block.
“We’re in the business end of the season,” he said.
“Losing made it harder for us to get where we want, but there’s still lots to play for.
“Frome are quite like Winchester, we couldn’t break them down for love nor money.
“We struggle with those sides.
“Teams which sit on their 18-yard box and don’t move, we have problems with them.
“We look at personnel and the way that we play.
“We like to play with a high tempo, and we’ll have to work on different patterns throughout the week.
“We won’t change the way we play, it’s down to us and the players to be a little bit more creative going forward.”
Popular midfielder George Smith returned to the starting lineup on Saturday, along with veteran goalkeeper Ryan Clarke.
A front two of Rafa Ramos and Jose Marquez had performed well away to Plymouth Parkway, and usual first choice Kyle Tooze had advised his manager to stick with the pair.
The game marked a 100th Hungerford Town appearance for left-wing-back Curtis Angell, a reliable feature in multiple Danny Robinson sides over the years.
The opening ten minutes saw a couple of early decisions for the referee to make.
A Winchester forward broke into the box early on and appealed for a penalty, although the officials deemed the contact to be insufficient.
Captain Rhys Tyler was then booked for a tame challenge, before Smith unleashed a 25-yard off-target strike.
Ramarni Medford-Smith entered the book for a handball offence, although a shirt pull in the box on Ramos was not picked up by the officials.
Angell launched a signature long throw to find Tyler, who shot over, before Brad Hooper became the latest to enter the book.
The game was a stalemate as the half-time whistle blew, with Winchester showing the dogged resilience needed for a side in their position.
Hungerford were gifted a gilt-edged opportunity just five minutes into the second-half, winning a penalty.
Ever-reliable taker Louis McGrory was suspended though, with responsibility falling to Forest Green loanee Marquez.
His spot kick was saved by former Crusader Luke Cairney, keeping the game at 0-0.
Hungerford continued to get shots away, although most of them were from range and many sailed over the goal.
Winchester’s low-block had served its purpose in restricting Hungerford, allowing them to pick their moment to strike.
Just past the hour-mark, captain Jamie Barron fired in from close range to put the visitors 1-0 up.
What followed was truly bizarre however, as Barron ran over to the corner flag to celebrate and proceeded to smash it to pieces.
He was dismissed for this, setting up a tight end to the match.
Winchester held on for a true ‘smash and grab’ win though, moving them up to seventeenth, still in real danger of relegation.
For Hungerford this is a bump in the road, still seventh and only nine points away from the play-offs.
It promises to be a gripping end to the season.
