Midfielder Josh Ashby came through his first 90 minutes since injury as he guested for the youth team in a 5-0 win over the Oxford University side in a friendly at Iffley Road this morning.
Ashby looked sharp and scored a stunning opener from the edge of the box for the U’s, with striker James Roberts also scoring twice to help out effectively an under-18 side. The other goals came from a penalty from centre-half Freddie Niblett and a neat finish late in the game from Kyran Lofthouse.
The University side, managed by Micky Lewis, battled hard in an entertaining 90 minutes but United’s coach Leon Blackmore-Such told us:
“We put in a decent performance. The aim of the game was for us to let Josh and James get a bit of match sharpness while we looked at a few of the youngsters in what has become an annual game against the University side, who are building towards their season and the Varsity match. Credit to them because they made it very competitive but also played it in the right spirit.
“The first goal from Josh was a great strike and Robbo showed what he is all about with his goals, but we were just as pleased with the attitude from the scholars.
“We have had five away games in a row and now have Forest Green at home on Saturday and then home matches against Bournemouth and Swindon, so this was a good chance to build a bit of confidence and make sure we are in decent shape going into those matches.”