Oxford City 2 Oxford United 1

In their first pre-season game of the new campaign, United lost to neighbours City 2-1 tonight; this was their first defeat to the Hoops since going down 3-1 in August 1993, the opening game at Court Place Farm. Since this match became an annual fixture, in 2001, United have failed to beat City only once: a 0-0 draw two seasons ago.

The Yellows started brightly, and took the lead after just ten minutes through Jack Midson's first strike for his new club. His strike partner James Constable went close a couple of times, while on the left wing Marcus Kelly impressed with his quick feet and his running at the defence. Mark Creighton was solid in defence, but his partner, Gavin Caines on trial from Cheltenham, failed to impress. He was okay in the air, but looked ponderous and clumsy with the ball at his feet. Ian Sampson, the only United player to complete the full 90 minutes, did well at right back in the absence of Damien Batt, and he linked up well with Richard Groves. In midfield Simon Clist and Dannie Bulman linked up well together and it was Clist who started the move which led to Midson's goal, spreading the ball right to Groves, whose driven cross was met on the half-volley by Midson. City should have equalised just before the break when Mark Bell chased down a poor back pass from Kevin Sandwith, but his shot went under Billy Turley and just wide.

United started the second half looking to add to their lead, with the pace of Alfie Potter and Alex Rhodes on the wings, and Matt Green playing as the lone striker up front causing the City defence a lot of problems. Green should have scored twice within a few seconds but on each occasion he failed to meet cleanly low crosses, and he also shot straight at Laurie Walker when clean through. Ten minutes into the second half City equalised when former-U Andy Gunn headed past Ryan Clarke from a free kick. Just over ten minutes later City scored the winner when another former-U, Michael Alexis, beat Clarke with a long-range shot that went in off the far post. After this the game petered out as both sides seemed content to save their energy for the more pressing games coming up.

While this was without doubt a disappointing result, there were still grounds for optimism. United have a lot of pace in the squad, and some exciting wingers. The centre of defence should be solid, with the second-half duo of Luke Foster and Shane Killock combining well. Chris Carruthers had a good second half at left back, and Rage Online would be pleased if he was to stick around. The second half formation of Green up front on his own with Sam Deering tucked in just behind didn't seem to work too well, with the wingers often finding a lack of options once they were in a position to cross. [@opponent]oxford city[/@opponent]

Intriguingly, there were probably more familiar faces in the City team than in United's, with Lee Steele, Dave Savage, James Clarke, Alex Fisher, Andy Gunn, and Michael Alexis all in blue and white hoops. The Us are off to Scotland next, for games against Greenock Morton and Glasgow Rangers, both of which should provide Chris Wilder with further information about the players at his disposal. United are still a centre-back and possibly a forward light, so the fans will be looking with interest at any further triallists.