Oxford United Under-18s picked up a crucial three points this weekend after overcoming Watford in the cup.
A Mubarak Abolade goal was enough to beat a ten-man Hornet side and put Oxford in a position to possibly qualify for the next round of the tournament.
With injuries playing a big part in the early start of the season, this was probably the Under-18s strongest side as of yet. The big news was that Jack Lee was in the squad for the first time this season and Leo Snowden started on the wing for the Young U’s.
Watford got us underway in extremely windy conditions in Oxfordshire.
Oxford started on the front foot and nearly had an opener in the first six minutes. Leo’s effort beat the keeper but was cleared off the line by the Watford defender.
Oxford continued to dominate passages during the first half, however struggled to really test the Watford keeper.
This was until Abolade registered his 4th goal of the season for the Under-18s and made it 1-0. Doyle did excellently on the edge of the box to get it to Mubs who curled it past the keeper and United had the lead in the 38th minute.
Jack Lee then came on to make his first appearance since May. The striker came on for Leo Snowden whose game was cut short in the 42nd minute.
It didn’t take long for Jack to make an impact, forcing a strong save from the Watford keeper in the 50th minute.
Watford were then brought down to ten men, with their fullback picking up a second yellow card, after bringing down the dangerous Mo Missanga.
United came close to a second on a few occasions, Jack Lee coming the closest at the back post, but his effort went agonisingly close.
Watford pushed for an equaliser to try and keep them in the competition and forced a massive save from Harry Jones in the 90th minute.
A 1-0 victory in the end for Oxford to keep their hopes alive in the PDL Cup, with a fixture against Colchester to decide the fate of their cup run.
Oxford United: Jones, Gardner, Blackmore, Collins, Cramond, Doyle, Missanga, Palmer-Flynn, Abolade, Holton (Appiah 87’), Snowden (Lee 42’, Purcell 77’)
Unused subs: Jackson, Frederick, Osborne
