Matches

Match Report By Martin Candler

It is perhaps an indication of how far Grays have progressed in recent years that the 100 travelling Blues fans could have been forgiven for feeling that their team should have captured all three points against a club that was once in the top division and were proud winners of the League Cup in 1986. At the 12500 capacity Kassam stadium, Grays produced another stubborn defensive away performance which stifled an Oxford side with 3 new signings in the starting line-up. If our magnificent central defenders had been christened Ashtonio and Stuarti we would have said “these Italians are the best defenders in football!” but the fact that the two debutant strikers ex-Blue Jason Richards and Cardiff‘s Matt Green were substituted in the second half shows how well Jon and Jamie played. But they were well supported by their hard-working team-mates whose only failing was a lack of precision in the final third of the pitch.

Oxford distributed scarves to their supporters for a designated “Scarf Day” and let the under-16‘s in free, which boosted the attendance to 4891. Oxford nearly got off to a flyer in the 3rd minute, when Richards should have done better with a chance from 8 yards out but he made a hash of his shot. Then in the 12th minute Grays created a golden opportunity when the home defence was carved open and Danny Kedwell ran on to the ball with only Billy Turley to beat but delayed his shot enabling Turley to block his goal attempt. Grays continued to search for the opening goal and had the better of the exchanges and apart from an overhead shot from Green which struck Richards and drew a fine one-handed save from Ross Flitney, the homesters had to wait until just before the interval for the next chance to come their way. Phil Trainer slid a fine through ball to Green but Ashton timed his intervention to perfection, robbing the striker of the ball just as he was about to pull the trigger.

The second half followed a similar pattern with Grays having good possession without finding a clinical finish. Out of the blue a cracking 25 yarder from Michael Standing rattled the bar and rebounded into play. Sub Eddie Hutchinson then received a yellow card for a reckless follow-through on Flitney which left the keeper bruised and Justin incensed on the touchline. However, neither side could break the deadlock as the game meandered to its conclusion.

After the game Justin said he was very happy with the Blues performance which showed a welcome positive response to the sub-par Trophy performance against York in the week. Finally, a big thankyou to the efficient Oxford officials and stewards who were most helpful when the Supporters coach developed an electrical problem and looked after us in the lounge bar before we were able get underway.

Grays Athletic: Flitney, Sambrook, Stuart, Gaia, O'Connor (Watson 90), Kedwell, Murray, Ashton, Power (McCafferty 87), Standing, Taylor.
Subs Not Used: Button, Mawer, Cooksey.

Booked: Standing, Taylor, Murray.

Att: 4891

Ref: C Pawson (Sheffield)

Match Pictures

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