Oxford Men’s 3rd XI 4-1 Derby Men’s 5th XI: Second-half Comeback Secures Comfortable Victory

Words by Kieran King

Picture by Frankie Guinane

An inspirational second-half fightback from Oxford Men’s 3rd XI secured a  4-1 win over Derby Men’s 5th XI at the University parks in Oxford.

A poor second-half performance from Derby saw their hard work undone after being 1-0 up at half time. Tom McGrath scored the visitors’ only goal, slotting away a 38^th minute penalty.

Second half goals from Graff, McCabe, Jones and an own goal from Matt Clewes sealed a second league win of the season for the hosts.

Oxford started the brighter of the two sides and had chances to open the scoring. Bennett on the right-hand side looked most likely to make something happen but he couldn’t keep his shot down from the edge of the box after 10 minutes.

It was Derby who then had a great opportunity to open the scoring midway through the first half. Ollie King was played through and beat a few challenges, but a crucial last ditch tackle stopped the creative midfielder from scoring.

The away side did break the deadlock with just a few minutes left of the half. McGrath was brought down in the box by skipper Josh Penollar, following a mazy run. The fouled man stepped up and slotted into the bottom left corner, leaving the goalkeeper with no chance.

Oxford flew out of the blocks in the second period and Derby crumbled under the pressure. The hosts equalised 15 minutes after the restart. Graff was given too much space in the middle of the park before curling a left-footed shot right into the corner to bring the sides level.

Oxford continued to press and deservingly took the lead on 73 minutes. The rapid Bennett was found on the right and he squared the ball across the box where it was scrambled into the net by the unfortunate Matt Clewes.  

The afternoon didn’t get any easier for Derby as the hosts went further in front. Oxford broke from a defensive corner and McCabe was slipped through on goal by Bennett where he slotted past Ryan Plant.

Derby fell apart late on and conceded a fourth with just three minutes left of the match. Jones, who had been introduced from the bench, was the man that scored his side’s fourth goal, hammering a left footed half volley into the bottom right corner from point-blank range.

That’s how it ended in Oxford as their second-half comeback secured a much needed three points. Derby on the other hand, have now lost their last two games. They face a tough cup test away against Aston Men’s 2nd XI in their next fixture. 

Derby captain and goalkeeper Ryan Plant explained: “we did well to go ahead, but as soon as the equaliser went in, we began to struggle, heads dropped a bit.”