Oxford lose 100% record with defeat at Nottingham
6th November 2008 15:14 | by James KellyNottingham University 1st 2-1 Blues
A goal in the dying minutes by Nottingham was enough to consign Oxford to their first loss in the league this season. Nottingham came out of the traps quickly and keeper Whylly was forced into action several times in the first few minutes as the Blues struggled to get going following a late arrival at the ground. Indeed, Nottingham took the lead inside 20 minutes, capitalising on a defensive error and a fierce shot from their captain fizzed past Whylly at the near post. This early goal seemed to wake Oxford up and they responded well, forcing a few corners although struggling to test the Nottingham ‘keeper. They were lucky to not concede again however, as Nottingham hit the post and forced plenty of last-ditch tackling from both Wherry and Massey. Oxford however managed to gain parity before half-time, Desai collecting a Kelly cross, before doing extremely well to find Hall, who scored for the second consecutive week, this time with a slightly mis-hit shot which looped over the ‘keeper before nestling into the back of the net.
This confidence boost enabled Oxford to dominate the start of the second half and they were extremely unlucky not to be given a penalty after substitute de Walden was clearly brought down inside the box. However as the half wore on Nottingham began to gain momentum, and sensing this Oxford switched from 4-4-2 to 4-5-1 in order to try and secure a point. Unfortunately they were unable to do this, and a deep corner saw a Nottingham player send back across the goal-mouth a looping header. It arched over Whylly, and despite the best efforts of Knight, found its way into the net, prompting mass celebration from the Nottingham players, as they secured a victory over the current league leaders.
