Oxford
City continued their excellent start to life in the Conference North
with an impressive 3-1 victory away at Harrogate Town. Harrogate were
two places ahead of City on goal difference going into the match, but
victory in North Yorkshire moved City above their opponents and
leaves them just a point behind the play-off places.
Harrogate
looked the brighter side in the opening exchanges, but despite their
domination of territory and possession, they were unable to create
any meaningful chances. Oxford City, on the other hand, seemed
comfortable to let their opponents keep the ball and made the most of
their chances when they came. They
took the lead after eight minutes, when a cross from the right wing
found Darren Pond unmarked and in acres of space. He rose to power
home a header past former Macclesfield Town goalkeeper Jose Veiga and
give City the lead.
City
continued to pose the greatest threat going forward, despite seeing
relatively little of the ball, and could have doubled their lead when
Nabil Shariff sent a dangerous ball flashing past the Harrogate
goalmouth.
Instead
Harrogate got the equaliser their play had perhaps deserved. Chib
Chilaka embarked on a barnstorming run through the heart of the City
defence, before being stopped in his tracks by a strong challenge.
But City failed to clear their lines properly and the ball fell to
Dave Merris who unleashed an unstoppable 30-yard effort which nearly
broke the net as well as giving City goalkeeper Warren Carter no
chance.
Harrogate
played some nice passing football but lacked any serious attacking
intent, and were let down badly by some serious defensive failings
(sound familiar, OUFC fans?). This was illustrated when City regained
the lead before the half-hour mark, when the home side's defence
failed to cut out a Shariff through-ball which found Declan Benjamin,
who shot past the exposed 'keeper. They were nearly undone again on
the stroke of half time by a simple long ball from Paul Stonehouse.
Benjamin lobbed the onrushing goalkeeper, only to see his shot bounce
wide.
Harrogate's
performance was perhaps best summed up by their first chance of the
second half, when the ball sat up perfectly for Luke Dean 20 yards
from goal. He unleashed a beautiful volley, catching the ball
sweetly, but his shot sailed harmlessly wide. Instead, Oxford City
extended their lead. Pond received the ball wide on the right and his
low, probing ball found Shariff. His shot struck the 'keeper but fell
to Declan Benjamin to tap home for his second of the afternoon and
fifth of the season.
Harrogate
attempted to get back into the match, but City contained them without
much fuss, though the hosts did have their chances. Subs Alex Meechan
and Adam Nowakowski combined well when Meechan pulled the ball back
from the byline for his team-mate to shoot wide when in space in the
area. They thought they had pulled a goal back in the dying minutes
when City goalkeeper Warren Carter claimed an aerial ball only to be
bundled into the net. The referee appeared to hesitate but eventually
decided to award the free kick, and City were able to see the game
out relatively comfortably.
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