ANDY Whing was thrilled to claim his first goal at the Kassam Stadium, but revealed the acrobatic finish was not the highlight of his day, writes DAVID PRITCHARD.

The midfielder set Oxford United on their way to a 3-0 win against Rochdale with a bicycle kick early in the second half.

After the game, the players met the guests of honour – the members of United’s first Football League campaign, 50 seasons ago.

They included Ron Atkinson, who went on to manage Aston Villa.

For Whing, a passionate Villa fan, coming face-to-face with one of his heroes was better than his goal – even if he was starstruck.

“The best moment has got to be Big Ron, I was there at Wembley for the 1994 Coca-Cola Cup final, what a day,” he said.

“I didn’t speak to him though, I was too nervous.”

The midfielder is better known for crunching tackles than spectacular volleys and it was only his sixth goal in more than 350 career appearances.

Whing was just pleased it went in and set up a convincing victory.

He said: “I didn’t have time to think because there was a lot of pace on the ball and I just tried to hit it.

“Sometimes you’ll miss it and fall on your backside, luckily I had a day where it went in the back of the net.

“I bet everyone was shocked to see me do that, I was surprised myself and was just happy to see it go in the back of the net.

“We’re delighted with the three points especially after the first half, I think everyone was disappointed with that.

“We looked lethargic and it felt like an end of the season game, so we’re just pleased we came out in the second half and did the job.”