Oxford striker’s relief after penalty miss

On his return from a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a knee injury, Oxford United striker Tom Craddock has spoken of his relief that his penalty miss against Northampton didn’t cost the Bulls the victory.

The former Luton Town forward was involved in an on-field altercation with team mate Peter Leven over who should take the spot kick. Although Craddock had netted his first goal of an injury hit season 20 minutes before, he blazed the resulting penalty over the bar to infuriate regular penalty taker Leven. He said, “We had a little disagreement but all was cleared up maybe half an hour after the game and we're back to being good friends now.”

Playoff contenders Oxford have only been awarded one other penalty so far this term and with Leven taking and scoring that penalty, Craddock is more than happy to allow the midfielder to resume penalty duties. He added, “Peter will take the next one and I hope he scores.”

In spite of the miss, the confident striker feels he can move on and add to his first strike of the campaign. He concluded, “I'm pleased to have got my first goal and hopefully there's more to come now.”