VAN DELIVERS QUICKLY ON ARRIVAL IN OXFORD

IT TOOK Gino van Kessel just three minutes of his debut to show Oxford the class which the Dutch-born forward can bring to League One. Van Kessel, 24, last week rejected the chance of playing in the Europa League to join Oxford on a season-long loan, and he ended a whirlwind few days with a fabulous goal soon after coming on as a substitute against Portsmouth. He’d only landed in England on Wednesday to complete his loan from Slavia Prague, a deal he says he wants to make permanent, once he has helped Oxford into the Championship. With less than 10 minutes of the game remaining and Oxford leading 1-0 thanks to Wes Thomas’s 47th-minute effort,

Portsmouth were chasing an equaliser. That’s when Van Kessel collected possession outside the penalty area before slaloming round two defenders and cutting in on his right foot to whip the ball into the far corner. Josh Ruffels slid in a third in the fourth minute of stoppage time. Pep Clotet, the Oxford manager, claimed Van Kessel’s signing as a coup. ‘He’s a very complete player when it comes to going forward. He will enjoy the English game,’ he said.