They don’t make football grounds like Underhill anymore. What a shame. This tatty, crumbling stadium with its rusty turnstiles and uncovered terraces is a special place to watch football. It has a wonderful retro charm and is a reminder of how football used to be, before the days of executive boxes and plush all-seater stadiums starved of any atmosphere.
The Oxford fans were squeezed together in the covered East Terrace running along the side of the pitch and thanks to the fantastic acoustics in the stand could cause a real racket. The one draw-back of being so tightly packed together was that it was difficult to catch all the action, as one had to stand on tip-toe and peer in between fans when the ball made its way into the corners of the pitch.
Underhill is also a tricky ground for the players to contend with. Reminiscent of the Manor and Portsmouth’s Fratton Park, there is a devious slope that runs down the pitch. This can be a home side’s secret weapon.
Chris Wilder had elected to stick with the side that won convincingly at Dagenham on Tuesday night. New loan signing (how many are there?) Andy Howarth, who arrived from Bury this week, had to settle for a place on the bench. Andrew Whing had recovered from his illness and was also among the substitutes. Thankfully, Wilder had decided to start Damien Batt in place of the more defensive Whing. Lawrie Sanchez had also set his team out in the 4-3-3 formation favoured by Oxford’s boss. The first thing that struck me about Barnet was the size of their centre backs, the Australian Daniel Leach and Cameroonian Clovis (interesting name) Kamdjo. United’s centre forward, James Constable was going to be in for a tough afternoon against that strapping pair.
After easing to victory on Tuesday night, the Bees appeared to have taken the sting out of Oxford early on in this encounter, controlling the majority of the possession. Oxford struggled to impose themselves on the game, resorting to ‘hoof-ball’ instead of their customary pass and move game under Wilder’s watchful eye. Despite Barnet’s superior ball retention though, Oxford had the first real opening. The in-form Alfie Potter tore past Barnet’s left back, Jordan Parkes before fizzing the ball across the Barnet box, only just alluding Constable. Parks rightfully took a healthy amount of stick from the raucous United fans in the East Terrace for a boy band-style floppy quiff he had clearly perfected in front of the mirror.
Twenty minutes into the game, Oxford were handed a lifeline by referee Carl Berry. A Daniel Leach deflected shot tamely dribbled past Ryan Clarke into the United net. However, Berry came to Oxford’s rescue, deciding that the ball had struck a Barnet player on the hand en route. For a League Two official, Berry had a decent match. He was not helped by his hapless linesmen, but still managed to get the most important decisions right. Ten minutes after the disallowed goal, he correctly yellow carded Oxford’s captain Jake Wright after he hauled down Izale McLeod. The home crowd demanded a red, but the towering Michael Duberry was covering in behind Wright meaning that he was not the last man.
After this scare and perhaps undeservedly, the U’s went ahead on 32 minutes. The creative Peter Leven released the nimble-footed Potter down the left who cut the ball back for Simon Heslop. Oxford’s midfielder had ample time to pick his spot and expertly placed his shot past Dean Brill in the Barnet goal. Celebrations are always that bit more wild in a terrace, as a fan has complete freedom to release their ecstatic joy. The Oxford fans danced around the East Terrace hugging each other and screaming in delight at another ‘Hesser’ wonder goal.
Five minutes later, Oxford doubled their advantage and once again, Leven was at the thick of things. His audacious chip into the path of the overlapping Liam Davis was quite superb and the left back finished with aplomb. What followed was utterly bizarre. All the Oxford fans standing at the opposite end of the ground thought that the ball had crashed into the side netting and let out a united groan. However, Davis had wheeled away in delight. Referee Berry had awarded a goal. Finally, the Oxford fans began to celebrate, everyone smiling incredulously at each other at the bizarre circumstances as they gleefully jumped around.
The second half saw the introduction of ex-Oxford youth and first team player, Sam Deering. Sadly, Deering received a negative reaction from the United faithful. Whatever Oxford supporters may think of Deering, he still played a crucial role at Wembley on that fateful day and this should not be forgotten. Clearly, the abuse from the away supporters played on Deering’s mind as he went on to have a wretched second half.
The Bees had the first real opportunity of the second half, Mark Byrne forcing a smart stop from Ryan Clarke, who had a brilliant game in the United net. Brill then matched Clarke in the Barnet goal, blocking a Constable shot with his feet after impressive wing play from Potter. United then brought on new signing, Andy Haworth who was lively and spritely straight away. However, one has to feel a degree of sympathy for Josh Payne, a player with fantastic potential and who after impressing against Dagenham on Tuesday night, must have felt bitterly disappointed at being overlooked by the debutant here.
With fifteen minutes left on the clock, Wilder brought on Whing in place of the tiring Paul McLaren, whose steady influence was again crucial to United’s success here. His last substitution saw Deane Smalley replace Constable and the former Oldham man had a golden opportunity to final open his Oxford account after being played in by Potter. However, with his confidence clearly at a low ebb, he weakly placed his shot straight at Brill.
Barnet’s captain, Mark Hughes, had a late shot that crashed against the post, thankfully denying Oxford a nervy finish. The drama was not over yet though. In the last minute, Jake Wright was rightfully given a second yellow card for a lunge on Deering by Berry. Deering’s playacting as he feigned injury on the floor, made the former Oxford man even more unpopular than ever.
What a week in the capital for Oxford, who now climb to 7th in the table and only three points off Rotherham in second.
Man of the Match: Peter Leven
No comments:
Post a Comment