Oxford United Under 18s suffered their first league defeat since November at Portsmouth on Tuesday, meaning the end of their title hopes, losing 2-0 to a goal in each half.
The young U’s, who had won 15 league games in a row, went into the game knowing that anything but a win in their last three matches would hand Luton Town the league title.
It was a disappointing start for United, losing Josh Holton to an ankle injury in the opening ten minutes.
Shortly after the disruption, the hosts opened the scoring, latching onto a weak pass from Charlie Cramond and beating Ajae Patel to the ball to make it 1-0.
The game then turned scrappy, with both sides struggling to gain control, and it became a very stop-start affair. The end of the half came with a couple of chances for United, Leo Snowden and Jack Lee coming the closest to an equaliser, but neither could convert.
The U’s started the second 45 positively, but the Pompey keeper was up to the task, remaining strong in goal and keeping his clean sheet intact. With 20 minutes to play, Lee pushed for an equalizer, with a lunging effort going wide.
Portsmouth put the game to bed 85 minutes in, making it 2-0 and dealing United’s title hopes a massive blow.
The 2-0 defeat means the U's will end the season in second place, with Luton being crowned this year’s League winners.
The defeat ended an incredible run that will never be forgotten from the young U’s, winning 15 on the trot. Despite a poor start to the season, they have managed to go into the final weeks with a chance of winning the league, which is a feat to be proud of. However, it is not to be for United this season and we pass on our congratulations to Luton Town.
UNITED: Patel, Palmer-Flynn, Blackmore, Gardner, Cramond, Doyle (Abolade 59), Missanga, Holton (Bradney 11), Lee, Griffiths, Snowden
Report: Ollie Chevallier
