Lowe ensures Oxford ends season on a high
A talented Light Blues side went down by two goals to the gritty determination of a rather less picturesque Oxford team, thanks to two goals from Matt Lowe.
The first half was completely dominated by Cambridge, who impressed the crowd in east London with some slick passing and adroit use of width.
Cambridge nearly took the lead when Chris Fairbarn leapt in the area and knocked the ball into the path of the oncoming Mike Adams, whose deft strike hit the left upright.
The Light Blues got their best chance to take the lead in the 16th minute as McNally delivered for Gary Devine to get two chances at heading home; the first being parried by Alex Hill, and the second easily collected by the Oxford number one.
Hill was proving to be an infallible get out of jail free card for his two centre halves, Addley and Kachel, tearing out of his area to intercept many of Tom Cairnes's telling balls before Adams and Fairbairn could latch on to them.
Oxford were unable to command a sizeable chunk of the possession in midfield but Tom Batterbee was making up for Oxford's lack of composure with the ball at feet with some determined challenges and terrier-like battling.
The second half started brightly, with Kashel heading clear an opportunist strike that was surely bound for Hill's net.
Shortly afterwards an Adams' attempt to round the Dark Blues number one was matched by a fantastic tackle by Hill that proved as good as a goal for Oxford.
As the game moved into the last half an hour, Oxford took the lead, completely against the run of play. Matt Lowe dribbled into the box and, with as much luck as judgement, emerged from Sion Lewis' challenge with the ball at his feet, and striking a shot from an extremely narrow angle, he watched the hapless Luke McNally bundle the ball home, in an attempt to clear.
Soon after, he had the ball again and dribbled into the box, enticed the goalkeeper to follow him wide to the right, and drove low and hard across the vacated goal.
Nathaniel Armstrong had instinctively wandered into the path of Lowe's centred ball, 6 yards out, but unbelievably, he shot wide.
As Cambridge threw the kitchen sink at Oxford in the closing stages they left Lowe unmarked and onside. Garrood ventured out of his area to try and hit a long ball but found Armstrong, and when Lowe received his through ball, Lewis and Darby were never going to catch him.
Striding forward at pace, he rounded Garrood comfortably and slotted the ball home to ensure victory for Oxford.
A delighted Yentob commended his sides "self-belief", and welcomed Brooking's decision to award the man-of-the-match award to Hill, describing how he had added "solidity to the back line" throughout the season.
22nd Apr 2004