OXFORD United boss Denis Smith was today set to make his move for a Premiership defender on loan after seeing his team at last break their home hoodoo.

Centre backs Phil Whelan and Steve Davis are suspended for next Saturday's match against Wrexham after picking up too many bookings, so Smith is looking to bring in a top defender on loan for a month.

"I've got a Premiership left-sided central defender set up for next week. I'll be working on that first thing on Monday.

"I spoke to people at his club last week and they said they were going to see what they could do on the financial side to see if they could help me.

"They say they'll do what they can and the player would be available. I haven't spoken to the player yet because I didn't want to do anything until this week. "If Mexico beat Canada, I've got Mark Watson back and then if I get the new lad in I'll have a new central defensive partnership, which Is not what I really wanted to do, but my players have to learn to have a bit more discipline and then they won't be sitting in the stand."

Smith played down any suggestion that it was an inspired substitution that turned Saturday's match, but conceded he was big enough to admit it wasn't going right for his new signing Craig Russell.

"It was a game where we needed a Kevin Francis and a Steve Anthrobus on up front, the ball was in the air that often.

"Nigel Jemson got a hell of a battering but worked hard, Craig was hardly in the game but helped set up the first goal, and I thought I had to do something about it." Smith was drooling about the performance of left back Paul Powell who made some dazzling runs down the left and one miraculous last-ditch tackle.

"I've been telling Premiership managers about him. He was outstanding today. And people say we don't have many top left-sided players in this country."

Powell said he felt he had to get in his tackle on Ryan Williams because it was his slip that allowed him in.

"I let him get the wrong side of me and he's got in. I just managed to get my foot around the ball and get it away.

"In the first half we played all right, and the second half it was such a scrappy game. It was end-to-end stuff, but there were three good goals in the game.

"Since Denis has come in we've done plenty of practice on shooting because we've lacked goals, and it's proved good.

"The lads were a bit nervous before the game but we got the ball down in the first half and played it around. I don't know what it was, but in the second half we reverted to kicking it long. But you settle for playing badly if you pick up three points."

Story date: Monday 21 February

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.