Brackley Town 1 Oxford United 0

Oxford United's unbeaten pre-season record came to a halt at St James Park this evening as Joe Power scored the only goal of the game with just six minutes remaining. Brackley almost featured as many ex-Oxford players as United did current Us, as the Oxford side contained a mixture of first-team players, youth teamers, and triallists. Brackley, on the other hand, lined up with Michael Blackwood, Tom Winters, Franny Green, Chris Willmott, Jerome Anderson, and Barry Quinn at the start, and Steve Basham coming on as a second-half substitute, while Billy Turley and Mark Rawle were both missing through injury. United's triallists were all foreigners, with Australian brothers Chris and Pete Triantis from Sydney Olympic, plus Oscar Martin, who scored for Franchise at Oxford City last week, and former Numancia midfielder Felipe Guerendez. The last named was by far the best of the quartet, as evidenced by him playing the full 90 minutes and, were it not for his age of 34, he may well have played himself into another game. The others are unlikely to be seen again in Oxford's colours.

Brackley were the more adventurous side in the first period, with Winters' left-wing runs causing problems for young right back Sam Parish. Winters also delivered a number of quality crosses, from one of which Green brought a decent save out of Simon Eastwood. At the other end Martin was buffeted around and didn't appear to enjoy the physical side of the game, with Oxford's more threatening moves involving Alfie Potter. ROS Henry Owen headed just over from a corner, but at the other end both he and Leigh Franks started nervously, until Franks made an excellent covering tackle, after which he seemed to settle into the game, justifying reports that he has just signed a six-month contract.

Oxford were a bit brighter in the second half, with almost all the good stuff coming through Sam Deering, on at half-time for Potter. United's best chance of the game came when LSD set Mitchell Cole free on the left; Cole powered into the penalty area but the goalkeeper got down well to parry his rasping shot. A plethora of substitutions interrupted the flow of the game, and it was a youthful Oxford side that competed for the final quarter hour. With six minutes remaining Oxford conceded possession cheaply high up the field and Brackley broke clear, with Owen mis-timing his tackle. The cross into the area fell to Joe Power who slotted the ball past Eastwood to earn the Saints the win.