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6 months ago
25
Oxford United will play in the Championship for the first time this Century after Josh Murphy scored twice to upset the odds in yesterday’s League One play-off final at Wembley.
Favourites Bolton, who had beaten Oxford 5-0 in the regular season and finished 10 points ahead of their rivals in the table, failed to show up and Murphy – twin brother of Newcastle United winger Jacob – took full advantage.
His shot deflected off Wanderers skipper Ricardo Santos to put The U’s ahead after half-an-hour and he effectively sealed the deal before the interval when he rounded goalkeeper Nathan Baxter to slot home.
Keeping the out-of-contract winger will now be top priority for Oxford who were last in the second tier in 1999.
‘My brother keeps telling me it’s my time to shine and I think I’ve done that today,’ said the two-goal hero afterwards.
Oxford United are back in the Championship after a prolonged 25-year absence after 2-0 win
Elliott Moore hoisted the trophy aloft at Wembley on the heels of a dazzling final performance
During the season, Bolton had the measure of their opponents but failed to turn up on the day
Bolton Wanderers 0-2 Oxford United: MATCH FACTS
Bolton (3-1-4-2): Baxter: Jones, Santos, Toal; Sheehan (Iredale 66); Dacres-Cogley, Maghoma (Dempsey 50), Thomason, Ogbeta (Adboyejo 66); Charles (Jerome 66), Collins
Subs unused: Coleman (Gk), Forrester, Morley
Booked: Jones, Dempsey, Baxter, Thomason
Oxford (4-1-4-1): Cumming: Long, Moore, Brown, Bennett (Leigh 87); Brannagan (McGuane 64); Dale, Rodrigues (McEachran 80) , Goodrham, Murphy; Harris
Subs unused: Eastwood (Gk), Bodin, Browne, Stevens, Leigh
Goals: Murphy 31 & 42
Referee: Sam BarrottAttendance: 70,472
Bolton boss Ian Evatt had looked strained in the tunnel before kick-off as if he had a premonition of what was to come.
His danger-man Paris Maghoma took a hit in the opening minute and was a passenger thereafter. Overall, Wanderers failed to register a shot on target.
In contrast, Oxford were bright and inventive. Local hero Buckingham, a former youth player with the club, took the job in November having worked previously in India and New Zealand. At the home of football, his players did him proud.
Tyler Goodrham’s runs from midfield gave the Yellow half of the stadium something to shout about and nobody could argue when they took the lead after 31 minutes.
Ruben Rodrigues fed Murphy on the left hand-side outside the penalty area. He wriggled inside Josh Dacres-Cogley into the box and let fly with a shot that skimmed off the head of Santos as he jumped to try and clear.
Murphy, 29, was born in Wembley and played in the top-flight with his first club Norwich, having moved to Norfolk aged 11.
That Premier League pedigree showed with his second goal after 42 minutes.
A defence-splitting pass by Rodrigues released Murphy whose first touch around ‘keeper Nathan Baxter was so perfect he didn’t need to break stride before slotting in.
It effectively sealed the match and the only disappointment for Murphy was failing to score the first play-off final hat-trick since Jermaine Beckford for Preston in 2015.
Josh Murphy (centre) scored the first of his two goals just after the half-hour mark at Wembley
The 29-year-old was a constant threat up front for The U's and won the Player of the Match
Murphy came close to securing a hat-trick at the home of English football but just missed out
Bolton failed to look likely when confronted with The U's dominant and complex performance
During the nine minutes of added time Bolton threw the kitchen sink at Oxford but could not break them down
It was a day out in dreamland for the travelling Oxford United fans, who are finally back in the second division
He had his chances too, twice failing to convert when put through one-on-one and missing a header.
Bolton weren’t good enough to capitalise however. Evatt made a triple change midway through the second half pinning his hopes on strikers Victor Adeboyejo and veteran Camerone Jerome. But a dramatic comeback never looked likely.
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