A first-half strike by Billy Beechers gave Oxford United's reserves a 1-0 lead at the interval against Southend, [@news]601[/@news]but the visitors struck back to win 4-1. United were the better side in the first half, and Beechers' 16th-minute strike following an Andrew Younie corner was fully deserved. Southend came back into the game after this, with most of their better moves involving substitute David Cowley, whose number 12 didn't actually refer to his age, although he didn't look much older. Just before half time, Chris Tardif tipped away a Cowley free kick to maintain United's lead. The Us then came back into it, and finished the first half on top, coming close through a good run from Daniel Meade.

The second half was a completely different story, as Southend dominated from the whistle. Following some sustained pressure it seemed just a matter of time before the Shrimpers scored, and when they did make the breakthrough their second followed within a minute. The equaliser came after someone powered home a header from a corner ten minutes after the interval. No one seemed to know who scored, so if it was Peter Clarke, as some sources claim, either they're guessing or they cheated and asked someone who knew. There was no doubt who scored the second, a powerful shot from Gary Hooper beating Tardif from ten yards.

United's collapse continued, as ten minutes later Hooper scored his second, beating a couple of defenders before smashing the ball past Tardif. The away side took their foot off the gas for a spell, and the remainder of the half was relatively even, but Southend completed their scoring with a couple of minutes remaining, when Billy Paynter headed home. There was still time for a long kick from the United goalie to cause his opposite number, Nathan McDonald, to slip, but the ball skipped narrowly past the post.

This was a valiant effort from a very young Oxford side, for whom only Tardif and Eddie Hutchinson were anything close to experienced. Meade in particular impressed, as did Josh Kennet, playing in an unfamiliar right-back role. United also featured a triallist, Marc Wilson from Portsmouth (surprise, surprise) who had a very good first half, but who seemed to tire during the second half. No one had a poor game, but the gap of three divisions between the sides was apparent in the second half, when Southend's movement and passing was clearly superior. A few lessons learned for the kids, hopefully.

Marc Wilson