Oxford register impressive victory away

After a disappointing 1-0 loss to Oxford Hawks, Oxford were looking to get back to the form they had showed before Christmas with a trip to Lewes. Missing Richard Bond to injury and with concerns over the fitness of Harry Slater, there were concerns that the Blues might lack some creativity goingforward. This was not to be, however, and, on a perfect playing surface, Oxford quickly seized the initiative. Captain Dave Cresswell had allowed a couple of early opportunities to go begging when he buried his third flick in the bottomleft-hand corner to put his side ahead. The lead was soon doubled, with Cresswell claiming a second from a corner, and, with the defence playing the ball around wall at the back and the front line working tirelessly, openings in the Lewes defence were frequently exploited. Tom Lockton claimed a third and,with the Blues looking strong, a further short corner set-up Cresswell whoflicked hard and high into the net to complete his hattrick with the goal of the day. A mix-up between defenders Chris Sibley and Charlie Duffell saw a corner conceded from which Lewes eventually forced home but the loss of their clean sheet never troubled Oxford and, going in at halftime 4-1 ahead they resolved to experiment in the latter period; going to three at the back with a high attacking man. This created problems defensively but did not prevent the Blues from picking up where they had left off in attack; Martin Pickup claimingtheir fifth from open play. The thinness of the Blues’ defence then told, allowing Lewes to claim a second, but the result was never in doubt and Cresswell claimed a further two goals before the close, bringing his personal tally to five, and securing a fine 7-2 victory for the team.by James Moubray