OXFORD CITY (0) 0

UXBRIDGE (0) 1 Tunnell 49 mins

Ryman League Division One Saturday 19 August 2000

It took Uxbridge five months to win a league game away from Honeycroft last season. A goal from Lee Tunnell at Court Place Farm on Saturday ensured that they made the same achievement in just one day of the new campaign. The Reds have been eagerly awaiting the new season for some time and it showed as they dominated the opening half hour of this game. In the third minute Oxford City goalkeeper Alan Foster came rushing out to meet the oncoming Chris Moore and his clearance reached Tunnell whose twenty-five yard shot into an unguarded net was wide. Stuart Bamford had an early goal ward header blocked by Richard Peirson before Tunnell was upended on the edge of the area and Dean Clark’s free kick hit the wall. At the other end Oxford had only a Matty Whitehead shot and Andy Smith header to show for their efforts but both were off target. Then, three minutes before the break Uxbridge came close again when Moore shot over following Clark’s corner. The goal which took the points came four minutes into the second half. Before then City’s Dwaine Strong had made a surging run through the Reds defence and was only stopped by a combination of Kevin Cleary and Sean Dawson. Shortly afterwards though Mark Gill sent a high up and under into the City half and Tunnell won possession off Julian Dark before expertly lobbing Foster to open his scoring account for the season. That account looks likely to grow and grow as the season progresses as Tunnell’s hunger for goals is even greater than William Hague’s thirst for alcohol. The game could have been all over in the next ten minutes as Moore shot wide, Phil Granville had an effort blocked and then Gill clipped the outside of the post after Moore’s shot had been parried by Foster. The Reds tired as the game went into its last quarter though and Dawson was forced to save at full stretch from a long-range effort from Whitehead. In the seventy second minute Tunnell set Clark up inside the area but the ball wouldn’t come down for the Uxbridge midfielder and he shot tamely at Foster. Five minutes later Nigel Emsden whisked the ball off Clark’s foot just as he was about to let fly. In the closing stages the back three of Mark Weedon, Cleary and Bamford defended resolutely to keep the Reds lead intact, with Weedon especially commanding and rarely putting a foot wrong. When Oxford substitute Terry Sweeney shot over seven minutes from time it was to be the home sides last hope of salvaging a point and despite the referee’s rather generous allocation of injury time Uxbridge ran out deserved winners. Manager George Talbot will have been delighted to have taken maximum points from what looked on paper a tricky opener and will also know that the Reds have nothing to fear on their travels this season.

OXFORD CITY: Foster, Emsden, Dark, Thorp, Pierson, Smith, Abercrombie, Whitehead (Sweeney 82), Wise (Ferierra 69), Strong, Wimble.

Sub not used: Hayward

UXBRIDGE: Dawson, S.Bamford, Granville, K.Cleary, Weedon, Mills, Tunnell, Gill, Ryder, Moore, Clark.

Subs not used: J.Cleary, Jordan, Castagnette.