Clinical Oxford display class on and off the pitch
Although there was no FA Cup upset here yesterday, Merstham still emerged from their first-round defeat by Oxford United on a high after the League One side kindly donated their half of the gate money to the Ryman League club – a fee which will see the minnows make over £20,000 from the game.
The heavy scoreline was not a reflection on the game – which was attended by just under 2,000 – but for all of Merstham’s endeavours both on and off the ball, Michael Appleton’s men were clinical, scoring at decisive moments in the game to slowly puncture the balloon that had lifted their opponents up to cloud nine in the build-up to the game.
“That was really classy – what a fantastic gesture by the directors at Oxford,” said Merstham manager Hayden Bird of the decision to give them the gate money. “I think the directors are too scared to tell me how much it’s worth because I’ll want it all for the team! But you’re probably looking at £20,000 plus television money and sponsorship money.”
The visitors started the game as expected. Calm, composed and ultimately dominant, and took the lead early through a superb Alex MacDonald freekick from a central position that found the top corner.
Indeed, it was Oxford who caused one of the upsets of the competition last season after knocking out Swansea City. And although they were not going to fall victim of the proverbial banana skin, they did survive a few skirmishes along the way against a Merstham side who tried to play an attractive brand of football.
The impressive Alex Addai, a former team-mate of Harry Kane’s at the Tottenham Hotspur academy, led a counter-attack, which, after a dummy by Xavier Vidal, found the feet of Dan Bennett who would have levelled but for a last-ditch block by Oxford’s Aaron Martin.
While playing out from the back is admirable, it is also risky, and when full-back Kristian Campbell was caught on the ball inside his own half, he was punished as the visitors doubled their lead through Josh Ruffels on the stroke of half-time. A “game changer” in the words of Bird.
“You make mistakes in Ryman League football, you get away with them,” he said . “You make them when you play teams like Oxford they will punish you. I think if you speak to Mike and his team they would have been delighted to come in at 2-0 and [were] probably a bit fortunate. If the game was 1-1 at half-time, I don’t think anyone would have really complained, but the higher you go the more clinical the opponents are.”
Despite the concession, the hosts started the second half well. Addai, again, caused problems on the wing. But two goals in two minutes from the visitors, one from Kane Hemmings, and another from West Bromwich Albion loanee Tyler Roberts put Oxford four up in the blink of an eye.
Merstham continued to press nonetheless, and even had a goal disallowed when creative midfielder Bennett tapped home from an offside position. Hemmings claimed his second with the last kick of the game to complete the rout, which may not have been a reflection of the game, but a reflection of a side 94 places above their opponents in the football pyramid.
“The last thing I said to the players before they went out was, ‘Don’t be a headline tomorrow morning’ and it was as simple as that,” Appleton said. “We had to show a bit of professionalism today and we did that.”