Winchester City 0 Oxford United 0

A very young Oxford United XI were held (or, if you prefer, held) to a goalless draw by a significantly older Winchester side this evening. Aaron Woodley was the only United player with any first team experience, but he would have been frustrated by the amount of service he received and the close marking of the Winchester back line, featuring captain and assistant manager Guy Butters, among others.

Neither side were able to get hold of the ball on a bumpy and bone hard pitch, and often the inexperience of the Oxford boys told with their decision making, despite Les Taylor's best efforts to marshall them from the sidelines. Goalkeeper Nathan Silver had a good game, making one outstanding save in the second half from a point-blank shot, while the soon-to-be ROS Henry Owen was commanding at the back, alongside right back Sam Parish. The midfield were more hesitant, and were too often caught in possession or gave the ball away with sloppy or hurried passes. However, the Winchester side seemed to suffer from similar problems and they too failed to get a grip on the game. The closest that Oxford came was a first-half shot after a slalom run by Aidan Horton, well saved by the home 'keeper, and a last-minute close-range shot by Parish that hit the goalie. However, a draw was a fair result in what was, in truth, a rather uneventful match.

Meanwhile, Oxford have announced the signing on a three-year contract of former Leicester defender Harry Worley after a brief trial. Worley failed to make an appearance for the Foxes in his two years at the Walkers Stadium, but might well be facing his former colleagues on Saturday, when City visit United for the Us' first home pre-season game. Whether or not this means that Oxford's interest in fellow centre-back triallist Leigh Franks is now at an end has yet to be announced, although Oxford have said that they won't be offering former Reading midfielder Ryan Crockford a contract, despite his 30-yard piledriver at Didcot Town.