Oxford United U17s kicked off the Professional Development League Cup yesterday at Court Place Farm with an important three points against Portsmouth.
A young side, which included a number of U16s, put on a resilient performance and were able to hold on to a 1-0 lead, despite the visitors efforts to find an equaliser.
Pompey had a positive start to the contest, putting the ball into the back of the net just seven minutes in. However, they were disallowed their opener for an offside. The U’s then managed to get a foothold in the game, with Leo Snowden and Mo Missanga causing trouble for both Pompey fullbacks.
The U’s took the lead in the 25th minute, with Jack Lee taking his chance excellently after some good work from captain Louis Griffiths. A typical ‘number 9 finish’ for Lee, and the U17s had the game’s opener.
Snowden continued to give the opposition headaches but wasn’t able to test the Portsmouth keeper and Oxford headed into the break with the advantage.
The second half followed the same pattern as the first, with Snowden and Missanga being the constant outlets, and they continued to give Pompey’s defence a lot to think about. Despite being behind, the visitors struggled to keep possession of the ball and were constantly being shut out by a strong U’s defence.
It was a quiet day at the office for Will Jackson in goal and, despite ten minutes of injury time being played, United were able to hold out and pick up a valuable three points, before heading to Swindon and Bournemouth to wrap up the group.
United: Jackson, Gardner, Osborne, Griffith, Cramond, Palmer-Flynn, Missanga (Dourish), Holton (Appiah), Lee, Griffiths (C), Snowden
Unused subs: Collins, Adefila, Harris
Report: Ollie Chevallier
