Goalkeeper Salva de la Cruz was sent off after just six minutes as Oxford City were beaten 3-0 at home by high-flying Barrow in Vanarama Conference North on Saturday, writes Matthew Bruce.
The City keeper was given his marching orders after felling Karl Ledsham in the penalty area, leaving captain Darren Pond to fill in between the sticks for the remainder of the match.
Pond’s first act was to face a penalty, which was duly converted by Jason Walker, with the Barrow striker later adding a second before Andy Cook wrapped it up in the closing stages.
The decision to dismiss Salva looked especially harsh, coming just two minutes after Barrow goalkeeper Aaron Taylor had escaped the same fate in strikingly similar circumstances.
Declan Benjamin raced through onto an early ball only to be chopped down by the onrushing keeper, who was lucky to escape with just a booking.
Taylor then kept City from taking the lead from the resulting free-kick, tipping Tom Winters’s dipping effort just over the bar.
Moments later, Salva took out Ledsham when he was clean through.
With no substitute keeper on the bench, midfielder Pond was left to face 84 minutes in goal.
After failing to stop Walker’s spot-kick, he was rarely troubled for the rest of the first half, being beaten just once when lobbed by Cook, only for Alejandro-Adrian Santiago to clear off the line.
City started the second half brightly and could have levelled when Santiago’s volley was blocked and the follow-up from Winters drifted narrowly wide.
But again their positive opening was undermined inside ten minutes, with the visitors doubling their lead when Walker spectacularly lobbed Pond from 25 yards.
The introduction of striker Greg Pearson added some energy to a tiring City frontline, with the substitute twice heading crosses from Marlon Jackson wide.
But the ten-man hosts tired, and with five minutes left, Cook intercepted a lethargic back-pass from debutant right back Luke Coulson and slotted it past Pond to complete the scoring.
Two minutes from time, Pond made an excellent point-blank save to deny substitute Johnny Gorman, but it was a fleeting bright spot in an otherwise depressing afternoon for the home side.
Oxford City: Salva, Coulson, Stonehouse (Lapoujade 66), Fofana, Henderson, Santiago, Wilson (Barcelos 85), Pond, Jackson, Benjamin, Winters (Pearson 71). Subs not used: Rodriguez, Del Alamo.
Attendance: 312.
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