As impressive as Oxford’s fighting spirit was, it only made defeat harder for
the first year Queensman, who said "it was gutting to lose having come back
from behind three times, especially after we had a period at 3-3 where we were
dominating". It took Oxford a while to find their feet, something Kelly
attributes to inexperience: "The fact that eight out of our starting eleven
were making their Varsity debuts probably accounted for our nervous start, but
after we settled down we played some good football".
Kelly played on the left wing, where he impressed with his vision and passing
range, scoring Oxford’s second equaliser. He declared himself "thrilled to get
a goal", but made clear that the team was most important to him.
Despite this year’s dissapointment, Kelly is confident for 2009’s Varsity match,
saying: "as Martin [Keown, OUAFC coach] pointed out after the game we’re only
losing two or three of the squad of sixteen next year, so we should come back a
much stronger and more experienced side next year having taken part in this
game."
