Oxford Utd 2 Stafford 1

7:34pm Sunday 26th August 2007

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Don't take any notice of the result . . . Oxford United's 2-1 win over Stafford on Saturday was a massacre.

And yet, incredibly, United ended up clinging on in the final moments for the three points they should have had wrapped up well before the hour mark.

After 50 minutes, and with Phil Trainer having scored two goals against him and Oxford coming forward in wave after wave of attack, Stafford goalkeeper Danny Alcock must have feared the worst. He was aware that he could easily be ending up on the end of a thumping defeat.

But almost every chance that came oxford's way in the second half fell to Yemi Odubade rather than Gary Twigg, who knows how to put the ball in the net, and the team at the foot of the Blue Square Premier had a let-off.

So much so that when big centre back Craig McAughtrie then pulled a goal back 12 minutes from the end, the part-time visitors must have fancied their chances of an unlikely smash-and-grab point.

Thankfully for the sanity of United's fans, that didn't happen.

Trainer struck either side of half-time with the midfielder's first league goals since his summer move from Moor Green - and the second one was a beauty.

Picking up a loose ball in space 25 yards out, he took one touch and then rifled a left-footed shot into the top left corner.

Trainer had already sent the U's into the dressing room at half-time in a good mood by firing in an angled left-footed drive moments before the break after good work by Michael Standing and Alex Jeannin.

After his spectacular second goal, Stafford's heads dropped, and goalkeeper Alcock must have realised then that he was going to be in for a busy afternoon.

Had it not been for the keeper's agility, Rangers could have been on the end of a real hiding.

Three times in quick succession Alcock saved from Odubade, but the United striker should have done better with two of them.

When half-time substitute Danny Rose put Odubade through, he shot first-time only to see the keeper save with his legs.

Sixty seconds later, after unselfish play by Eddie Anaclet, Odubade scuffed his shot on the turn in front of goal and Alcock was there again.

Odubade did then connect sweetly with a sharp left-footed shot on the spin, yet Alcock got down smartly to save the low blast.

As Oxford kept coming forward in attack after attack towards the car park end, Trainer missed two reasonable chances to complete his hat-trick, hitting one effort across the face of goal, and blazing over with another when a cross rolled right across the six-yard box in front of Alcock.