Centaurs beat a load of bankers
On a foul and gloomy afternoon, the Centaurs encountered a Lloyd's team that consisted of a combination of youth and experience. Oxford were keen to treat this game in a serious manner, seeing it as a warm up to their vital BUSA games and with the Varsity match coming up, all squad members were keen to make an impression on captain, Stuart Drury.
The opening 15 minutes bore a resemblance to the weather - dull. A scrappy opening soon turned into a decent game of football as both sides realised the only way round the conditions was to get the ball down and start passing neatly on the floor. The first real chance fell to the visitors, and only an unorthodox one handed save from keeper Hill stopped Tanner's well hit shot from nestling in the back of the net. Soon after, left winger Mumford cut inside for the Dark Blues and, with a typical burst of pace, left his defender for dead and was unfortunate to see his left footed strike beat the keeper and come back off the upright.
The rest of the half belonged to Oxford with Pooley regularly finding and exploiting space on the right. Despite their pressure it looked as though the Centaurs were going to end the half unrewarded. However, right on the stroke of half time, Pooley crossed Oxford's corner. Striker Smith darted towards the near post and drove the ball into the roof of the net with a sweetly timed volley.
Conditions worsened in the second half but the standard of Oxford's attacking play continued to be impressive. Only 5 minutes in, Aylott broke down the left hand side and, after beating a man with one of the many tricks in his repertoire, put in a back post cross which was crying out for a finish. Pooley answered this, neatly placed the ball into the far corner past the helpless Phillips in the Lloyds goal. It was no more than Pooley and Oxford deserved.
The Centaurs were now looking to really press home their advantage. As Lloyds pushed forward looking for an avenue to get back into the game they left gaping holes in their frail defence. Oxford could, and probably should, have increased their advantage as Mumford was put through one on one after a long ball out of defence from Coles. Mumford steadied himself but could only manage to curl his shot narrowly over the crossbar.
Late on, Hill pulled off an impressive one handed save from the balding Lloyds' centre midfielder, Wyrill, but had this gone in it would not have truly reflected the pattern of the game. The Centaurs should be happy with a solid ninety minutes.
31st Jan 2002