United went down 5-1 to a quite superior Ipswich side this evening, despite taking an early lead. Oxford went ahead in the eighth minute when Steve Basham lashed the ball past Kelvin Davis following some good link-up play with Tommy Mooney. Ipswich equalised somewhat against the run of play after 25 minutes, from a free kick on the edge of the Oxford area. Everyone expected a shot from former United hero Jim Magilton, but instead he played the ball across to former Hartlepool man Tommy Miller, who beat Simon Cox with a shot from 20 yards. Just a minute later Ipswich took the lead after captain Leo Roget was adjudged to have tripped someone, and Miller sent Cox the wrong way from the penalty spot. Four minutes into the second half United went further behind when they were totally exposed on the left side and Darren Bent, who had the beating of Matt Robinson all game, rifled home a shot. Nine minutes later Pablo Counago scored his first goal of the season with a fine curling shot from 20 yards to leave Cox with no chance. The scoring was rounded off in the final minute, fittingly by Magilton who burst into the area to blast home a square ball from Dean Bowditch. Beforehand United had the move of the night when our boy Chris Hackett beat about 12 players before blasting a left-foot shot against the Ipswich bar.

Cox played the majority of the game in goal for United, but with eight minutes remaining young Bradie Clarke was given his first run-out for the first team, but he didn’t really have an opportunity to show what he could do, having no chance with Magilton’s goal. Dave Mackay played the whole game at right back, and Roget and Dave Woozley were the starting central defenders, with Woozley giving way to Jefferson Louis, making his second successive appearance as a centre-back, just after the hour. Robbo was replaced by Michael Alexis at the same time. Danny Brown, Rob Wolleaston, and Barry Quinn played the first half in midfield, replaced at half-time by Terry Parker, Mark E’Beyer and Chrissy. Paul Wanless played the full 90 minutes. Mooney also lasted for the full game, although Bash was swapped for Julian Alsop at the break. Worryingly big Jules had to be helped from the field following a knock, with about 20 minutes remaining, with Danny Morgan taking his place.

The referee was Andy Woolmer, who annoyed the crowd by apparently refusing to believe that Mooney was capable of being fouled. The attendance was just 2,493 which is hardly surprising given the nature and timing of the match.

There is an old adage that one learns more from defeat than from victory, and certainly Graham Rix should have learned a few things from this encounter. He should have learned that United are vulnerable to a pacey counter-attack, especially when the fullbacks push up to support the strikers, as they leave far too much space. He would have learned that United are still giving the ball away too cheaply in midfield, where there isn’t enough space because there is a lack of width. He would probably have learned a few other things too, but we’re not clever enough to know what they are.