Following back-to-back 4-0 wins, United almost made it three as a Mark Harris penalty, a Josh Murphy header and two goals from Ruben Rodrigues saw them score four for a third game. However, substitute Billy Bodin hadn't read the script as he made it 5-0 with a late goal.
You would never have guessed, but Oxford started the game with two key players unavailable due to injuries picked up last Saturday at Burton. The side was missing skipper Elliott Moore and talismanic midfielder Cameron Brannagan, replaced by Fin Stevens and Josh McEachran respectively, and superbly backed by the Yellow Army throughout.
It was clear from the off where United's meance lay, with Josh Murphy causing right-back Jadel Katongo a huge headache with his pace. He had already created half chances for Harris before his opening goal led to the floodgates opening.
Before that, Peterborough’s first threat came in the 15th minute, when Joel Randall rose to head a cross towards goal, but Jamie Cumming was equal to it and reacted quickly to palm the ball over the bar.
In the 18th minute Murphy’s pace was the difference as he nipped in to rob the ball inside the area, where he was tripped by Katongo. In Brannagan’s absence, Harris took over the spot-kick duties and he hammered the ball hard and low to give Steer no chance and United the lead.
Peterborough came closest to a goal when Ricky-Jade Jones found himself with just Cumming to beat, three yards out, but somehow his shot cannoned off the bar, with Sam Long completing the clearance.
Cometh the half hour, cometh the Murph. Steer had previously shown himself a bit nervous with his clearances and as the United winger closed down the Posh keeper, he caught the ball sweetly on his head to double the lead.
United now looked like scoring every time they went forward, especially when Murphy was on the ball, and it was from his run and cross that Rodrigues smashed his shot home from the edge of the area to make it 3-0.
United, and Murphy, still weren’t finished and had two golden opportunities to score before the break. First, in the 45th minute, Owen Dale latched onto a Murphy pull back but was unfortunate to see his shot come back off the outside of the post. Then Dale again had an excellent chance to make it four and really put the game out of sight. Again Murphy was the main man, winning the ball from the press and driving into the box to square, but with the goal at his mercy, Dale somehow lifted it over.
Oxford started the second half in the same mood that they finished the first, and Steer's uncertainty was again exposed just seconds after the restart as Harris closed him down, but this time the rebound spun wide.
It was in the 58th minute that the U's did get their fourth, and again it came the way of playmaker Rodrigues. Fin Stevens lifted the ball into the area where Rodrigues run and flying header again left Steer grasping air.
With 11 minutes remaining it could have been five as Marcus Browne, replacing the unplayable Murphy, found himself clear through, but he couldn't steer the ball past the Steer. Moments later, Greg Leigh almost got in on the act as his drive from the angle of the six-yard box smashed off the inside of the post and somehow bounced away from goal.
With the game approaching 90 minutes, there was still time for United to add a fifth as substitute Bodin, on for Dale, showed great composure to take the ball into space on the edge of the area and clip it over Steer, as if there wasn't enough of a party atmosphere inside the ground already.
Three high-scoring wins on the bounce. 13 goals and three clean sheets. And another huge game to come against Lincoln City on Tuesday. Miss it if you dare.
Att: 10,046, including 998 away
Fifty/50: Ticket number 129588 wins £1,169
Report: Martin Brodetsky
Photographers: JasonPix & Steve Daniels, Steve Edmunds, Darrell Fisher.
