Griffin shines for four star Blues
Con Griffin's cracking 25- yard pile driver set-piece was the 73rd minute highlight against a lacklustre Northampton opposition.
As Blues Captain Mark Addley was quick to point out after the final whistle, the home side's performance was hardly any better than last week's shock defeat at the hands of Derby. Crucially, however, Oxford found their edge in front of goal and reaped the rewards by putting away their chances when they came.
Ricky Tavares opened the scoring for Oxford after the half-hour mark following a neat one-two on the right flank with Mark Elliott. Elliott's pass allowed Tavares to find space in the packed Northampton penalty area and when the opportunity came he made no mistake, emphatically dispatching the ball into the top right corner of the goal.
The Oxford midfielder's effort ended a lull in proceedings caused by the departure of a Northampton midfielder with suspected ligament damage after a seemingly innocuous challenge. The injury became a turning point in the match.
Addley was forced into a block early on whilst the increasingly confident Nick Baker was forced into a save to keep out a chip attempt from a distance. Northampton's early passing was slick, enabling them to find holes in the Blues defence.
After the goal the Blues increased in confidence. Their rejuvenated play became focused down the wings. Luther Sullivan's crosses were precise as the powerful Vitale was again denied by a save from the Northampton keeper.
The second goal seemed inevitable and it came afterwards. Sullivan's run set up Vitale in the penalty area, and after turning his marker the ball was slammed into the bottom corner.
A strong free kick and some disorganised defending allowed Northampton to halve the deficit.
The possibility of an undeserved Northampton comeback was thwarted when Griffin struck ten minutes later.
James Forrest rounded off the scoring late on after a good passing move with substitute Nat Armstrong. Play was shifted from left flank to right flank, allowing the winger to get into the box unmarked. A well placed cross came from Armstrong and Forrest headed it home.
18th Nov 2004