Oxford United U18s won their Merit League opener this afternoon, beating AFC Wimbledon 3-1 at the Bangkok Glass Training Centre thanks to a Kasway Burton hat-trick.
It was a good start from the U's as Aidan Elliott-Wheeler created two good chances in the first two minutes, The first a dangerous whipped cross and the second a strike of his own, beating two defenders down the right and stabbing an effort goalward that had to be cleared off the line.
It was the Dons, however, who struck first when Remi Onabanjo lost his marker inside the box and slotted the ball past Fraser Barnsley in the tenth minute.
The U’s reacted to the goal positively, doing the dirty work well against a physical Wimbledon side, but the story of the first 45 was lack of a finishing touch. Plenty of dangerous balls were fired in from full backs Richard McIntyre and Ibby Sankoh, but no one could quite get on the end of them.
Elliott-Wheeler fired an audacious volley narrowly wide from 30 yards and the U's went in behind.
The second half was bitty, with the visitors managing the game and making it hard for the Yellows to build any rhythm, but just after the hour mark the U's had two excellent chances.
Burton drilled the ball across the goalmouth and Sean Sankanu somehow trapped the ball on the line, preventing an own goal. Then Burton got on the end of Elliott-Wheeler's cross, but saw his flicked effort that looked destined for the bottom corner clawed behind by Harry Griffiths.
It was a strong spell for the U's and minutes later Tobias Brenan was denied at his feet by the Wimbledon keeper again.
This side don't know when they're down and out, though, and the U's turned it around in the space of ten minutes.
In the 77th minute, Burton latched onto a delightful Josh Johnson line-splitting pass and fired the ball into the bottom-left corner excellently to level the game.
Four minutes later and he had his second. This time it was an inch-perfect cross from McIntyre that Burton headed home at the back post.
With three minutes to play, Burton completed his ten-minute hat-trick, smashing the ball into the roof of the net from the tightest of angles.
An incredible turnaround from the Young U's, who yet again showed their mentality and desire to earn their first three points in their Merit League opener.
LINEUP: Barnsley (Marriott 45), Sankoh (Maxwell 62), Golding, Zabeli, McIntyre, Johnson, Brenan (Fowler 87), Took-Oxley, Burton (Iheanacho 87), Tiamuna, Elliott-Wheeler