Oxford United 2 Northampton Town 0

My piece from this morning's paper

Andy Whing won the battle of the Brummies while James Constable helped get Oxford out of jail by arresting their poor home form.

Oxford had lost three games on the bounce at the Kassam and Northampton had the locals chewing on their nails before Constable stunned them twice in one minute before the break.

Co-striker Dave Kitson linked well with Whing in the centre circle before the midfielder split the Northampton defence to pick out Constable who drilled his shot under keeper Matt Duke from twelve yards.

Constable's opener

Whing, 29, was up against old pal Darren Carter in midfield and revealed:

"We used to play in the same Sunday league team together. He's a Blues fan and I'm a Villa fan. When he tackled him in the first half I told him it was because he's a Bluenose and nothing personal. He managed to get me back twice in the second half, but we came out on top. He's a very good player and a friend, but the one thing I never enjoyed seeing was seeing him score for Birmingham."

Whing was delighted with his 44th minute pass, but joked:

"I think that was my first assist, well, ever. Dave Kitson played a Johan Cruyff touch to me and luckily I read it before playing the pass."

One minute after his goal Constable won a penalty which midfielder Danny Rose converted - to the fury of Northampton coach Tim Flowers who was sent to the stands at half time by referee Darren Deadman.

Rose's penalty

Skipper Jake Wright returned to the defence to help move Oxford to second in the table after missing a run of three home defeats through injury. He said

"It was nice to show the everyone the sort of football the 1500 travelling fans have seen. It's been frustrating for them because they pay good money to come and watch us, but we're still right up there."

Constable could have claimed a brace in the 83rd minute, but scooped full back David Hunt's cross wide from eight yards.

Northampton midfielder Darren Carter came closest to breaking the deadlock before Constable's opener when his volley from 22 yards flew inches wide and Duke had to beat away a snap shot from Sean Rigg.

Oxford chief Chris Wilder was delighted with the win and said:

"We played well and knew they'd be a threat. They were ninety minutes from League One last season."

"There's no given result in this league. You have to work extremely hard and we did.

"Winning games is what it's all about. They have an excellent manager so they'll start moving up the table."

Cobblers boss Aidy Boothroyd was frustrated by the penalty decision, but admitted:

"We shouldn't have allowed him into the area in the first place."

Northampton have only picked up one win in ten games and Boothroyd said:

"When it rains, it pours. We created a couple of chances and then had five minutes of madness. We huffed and puffed in the second half, but it was lost in those five minutes."

Sunday morning's clipping