| RESULT | 2 - 1 to the Oxford boys |
| TEAM |
Edwards,Watson, Whelan Weatherstone S, Robinson, Tait, Murphy, Powell Jemson, Lilley |
| SUBS | Russell (for Lilley, 72)
Cook (for Weatherstone, 80) Anthrobus (for Jemson, 85) Abbey, Folland (not used) |
| GOALS | 1-0 WEATHERSTONE, S (22) - Jemson
released Weatherstone, who ran in and smashed home from the edge of the
box.
1-1 SKELTON (63) - Knocked it home from a Joey Keith corner. 2-1 WHELAN (90) - Stabbed it into the net (whilst on the ground) in injury time after a pinball session in the Colchester area. |
| PERFORMANCE | Oxford dominated the first half, but Colchester moved up a gear in the second, and must have been shocked by the late goal. |
| MAN OF MATCH | Derek LILLEY - Showing himself more and more to be a quality player (though not a goalscorer?) |
| BOOKINGS | None |
| ATTENDANCE | 4,058 - It's places like Layer Road that make the Manor seem like a mecca. |
| REFEREE | A R Leake (Darwen) |
| REPORTS | Oxford sites
From The Terrace ("Whelan wins it")Colchester sites COLU OnlineFootball sites Football NewsNewspapers Colchester Evening Gazette ("U's defending is no laughing matter...") |
Priceless win lifts Oxford
Goals from Ross Wetherstone and Phil Whelan's last minute strike
secured a 2-1 win to boost
United's relegation fight.
The game looked destined to end in stalemate as both teams seemed
willing to settle for a point.
Bearing in mind Colchester's relentless pressure throughout
the second half, once they'd secured
their equaliser, Oxford would have gladly settled for the draw,
but in the end Oxford punished the
hosts' sloppy defending to register a priceless win.
United got off to the perfect start when Ross Wetherstone rounded
off his brave run on goal by
unleashing an unstoppable shot.
The opening goal did nothing but stir the home team into action
and the remainder of the first half
and the opening exchanges of the second belonged to Colchester.
Their domination of possession came close to being converted
into goals on several occasions,
most notably when Jamie Moralee had his effort cleared off the
goal-line. Jason Dozzell and
Tresor Lua Lua were also heavily instrumental but when Aaron
Skelton's equaliser eventually
came on 63 minutes, there was certainly an air of inevitablity
about it.
The pressure continued but credit should be given to Oxford
for their ability to resist the
Colchester pressure.
With the clock showing 91 minutes, Colchester failed to clear
a rare Oxford foray into their
opponents' penalty area. The resulting melee saw the ball squirm
it's way through to Phil Whelan,
who despite being sat on the ground, somehow managed to stick
out a leg and make a significant
connection.
The last kick of the game leaves Oxford in 21st place for now
but come May, Denis Smith may
well look back on this game as a crucial turning point in Oxford's
season.
This page is maintained by James Beard.