Tcham N'Toya sealed a vital win for United as his two first half strikes gave United a 2-0 win over Barnet.

In a bid to score the goals required to secure League Two survival, United boss Jim Smith made changes to both the tactics and personnel.N'Toya started up-front in an attacking three with Eric Sabin alongside him and Steve Basham playing in the 'hole' behind the front two.Lee Mansell moved into midfield in place of Andy Burgess who dropped to the bench.Leo Roget was also handed a recall in place of John Dempster.

There was a sense of déjà vu before kick-off when Andrea Guatelli injured his back in the warm up and had to be replaced by Billy Turley, but it was important that United did not let the change affect them.The change seemed to worry the visitors more, for after just 41 seconds United took the lead.

There seemed to be no danger when Anthony Charles passed the ball back to keeper Ross Flitney, but when you are fighting for your league existence you do not take chances.Flitney was intent on ignoring that rule though and instead of blasting the ball into Row Z, he delayed his clearance. That allowed Sabin the time to charge down the kick straight into the path of N'Toya who coolly finished under the keeper's body to score his second goal for the Yellows. It was also United's first goal in the first half for ten games!It wasn't to be the last?

There seemed to be a different atmosphere in the ground for this game.In midweek, Jim Smith had asked the crowd to be Oxford's thirteenth man and it had to be said that the magnificent United fans were doing just that and had visibly lifted the whole United team. Basham in particular was causing all sorts of problems for the Barnet defence in his withdrawn role and with the pace that United had up front, you sensed that decent through-balls would see Oxford create more chances.

In fact, if the United fans were the thirteenth man, then Barnet keeper Flitney was starting to look like the fourteenth!He had already gifted N'Toya the first Oxford goal, but inexplicably in the 19^th minute he tried to gift United a second goal as well when he threw a regulation throw straight to N'Totya.The big striker picked up the ball on the wing, tried to pick out an unmarked Basham, but only a last minute clearance from Ian Hendon stopped the tap-in!

The United fans did not have to wait long though as in the 25^th minute, N'Toya scored a deserved second goal.Robinson played a ball down the left channel for Sabin.Sabin outpaced the ageing warhorse Warhurst and played a decent ball into the box which found Jay Smith on the right edge of the box.Smith played the ball back into the danger area, and when it was cleared it was nodded forward by skipper Hargreaves; the ball landed at the feet of N'Toya who dummied Charles and blasted the ball past Flitney to score his second goal of the match.It was also the first time that Oxford had scored two in a game since Boxing Day!

It was no more than Oxford deserved and you did get the feeling that more goals where on the way.In fact, the only thing that was slicker than some of Oxford's play was Rosie's new shoes!! Like those, United looked best in the box, and were very much the dominant force in that first half, while Barnet were doing their best to match the shoes: looking like a speedy return to whence they came.

The fact that we have got time to take the mickey out of the Community Officer's loafers tells you, perhaps, that we've got time on our hands as we write this report! All we can tell you in the first ten minutes of the second half is that Barnet upped their game and started to look dangerous, with a couple of crosses whizzing across the six yard box and a Bailey free kick going just over on 57 minutes. It didn't really trouble the excellent Turley, while in front of the keeper Willmott and Roget were proving a formidable barrier.

Barnet were improving, and Smith tried to counter that with an extra man in midfield, with Andy Burgess replacing the hard working Basham for the final half hour. Burgess slotted in 'in the hole' just behind the front two. Hargreaves, again a massive influence in midfield, met a Mansell cross soon after but powered his header straight at Flitney, and Burgess was stopped only by a superb challenge by Charles on 77 minutes, but United had done the hard work in the first half and were on cruise control for much of the second. It took a fine challenge by Roget and Quinn to block a Fuller effort on 80 minutes, but Barnet rarely threatened and on this evidence had best start looking in the cupboards for those route finders to York and Kidderminster.

Don't get carried away, United still have plenty of work to do, but on this display will be looking for maps to Accrington rather than changing places

Report Julian Hitchman and Chris Williams, pictures Steve Daniels