The bigger they are the harder they fall

Delighted Gravesend & Northfleet boss Liam Daish hailed his players as they became the first side to beat Nationwide Conference leaders Oxford United yesterday.

Teenage striker Onome Sodje’s 69^th minute strike - his third of the season - secured a thoroughly deserved win for the Kent side.

A crowd of 2,011, Fleet’s highest at Stonebridge Road this season, witnessed Sodje score the only goal of the game, thus ending Oxford’s 18 game unbeaten run.

The Fleet are sitting in fifth place in the table (the last play-off berth) with 32 points from 20 games, and with second placed side Dagenham & Redbridge winning 3-0 at home to Burton Albion, the Essex side are now just two points behind Oxford - and ten clear of the Fleet.

“We worked so hard and believed we could do it,” Daish told the Non-League Paper.

“We looked strong at the back and the lads deserve everything they got today.

“We’ve had a bit of a dip, but we created problems for them.

“Oxford are a good side and we had to get close to them. We didn’t just shut up shop and hope for a breakaway.

“We took the game to them and played some good stuff.

“Mark Ricketts was superb in the middle of midfield - he’s such a good footballer - Stacy Long was great, Danny Slatter showed lots of energy and with Jon Keeling on the right looked very solid.

“Sodje was awesome today. I want more of it from him. That will come, he’s only 18 and that was a great goal. He nipped in and finished it well.”

Oxford’s boss Jim Smith, whose managed Derby County and Portsmouth, added: “They out-battled us. We weren’t at the races.”

* The Non League Paper is published inside The Football Paper, available every Sunday at £1.50.