Oxford City 4 – 2 Wealdstone
Oxford City4 - 2
WealdstoneOxford Blues
Caught cold from the kick off – Oxford scored from a corner after 45 seconds and then stunned again when they scored a second goal after eleven minutes – it seemed as though Wealdstone were to be well beaten at Oxford, and possibly with a 4 – 2 defeat that’s what the statistics will show, but the match was a different story.
Oxford broke quickly from the kick off and Matt Perry was forced to clear the ball for a corner – a free header resulted in Craker opening the scoring and for ten minutes Stones were almost entirely on the back foot, although the defence and Andy Carter both kept Stones in the game. On 11 minutes, three attempts to clear the ball failed, and it broke to Whitehead to score the second goal, seemingly starting a rout.
From then on Stones came more and more into the game without really threatening until on 26 minutes, Hammatt struck home a sweet volley from 25 yards. For the remainder of the half, Stones battled well and began to get on top of their opponents but failed to score again to level things, despite chances for Tilbury, Swaysland and Hammatt. Both flanks were well served by Hercules and Wright going forward but this did leave gaps at the back and Oxford too had chances to increase their lead, Carter caving on two occasions.
The second half was a different matter as from the kick off Wealdstone dominated completely, forcing Oxford to play in front of their own penalty box, as wave after wave of attack came through. Swaysland saw two shots saved on the line, Hammatt had a header that went just wide of the post as did a shot from Moore. It was a long period of constant pressure but no goals, as solid defending, a little luck and good saves preserved Oxford’s lead.
A breakaway on 72 minutes when Tilbury was caught in possession in midfield saw Vickers score to increase their lead. Two minutes later and it was four as he broke through again beating Carter in a 1 on 1, but again Stones continued to battle and won a penalty when Bamgbola was fouled. Hammatt strode up to the kick and hit the angle of post and crossbar – the ball was then cleared for a corner where Hammatt atoned for his miss, forcing the ball over the line from close in to make the final score 4 – 2 in a match where Stones deserved at least a draw despite a very poor start.
Wealdstone: Andy Carter, John Deadman, Fergus Moore, Matt Perry, Richard Horner, Andre Scarlet, Tyronne Hercules (s75 Olatunji Bamgbola), Daniel Wright (s75 Martin Carter), Mick Swaysland, Bryan Hammatt (26,89), Danny Tilbury, Sub not used: Carl Hunt.