TUNBRIDGE WELLS Men kept up their unbeaten run in Marlow to move up a closely packed South Premier League Division One.
Full of confidence after a good performance against Bromley & Beckenham, Wells dominated possession from the start and Ben Allberry roofed a penalty stroke to give them an early lead.
The momentum continued as Wells pressed high, with Sam Clarke-Knowles moving the ball well in and out of midfield.
Debutant Harry Turner connected well with Luke Edwards down the right hand side, and after 10 minutes James Lester put his body on the line to dive in and put Wells 2-0 up.
Oxford started to find their feet after this early onslaught, winning several short corners and managing to convert one to reduce the deficit going into half-time.
Tunbridge Wells started the second half strongly too, Sam George’s runs upfield regularly causing problems for the home defence.
A third goal duly came when Roberts’ determination saw him steal the ball from a defender, putting him through on goal. He still had plenty to do, and skilfully took the ball round the goalkeeper to make it 3-1.
With 15 minutes remaining, Oxford were rallying and regularly throwing the ball into the D. James Harris in the Wells goal had to make an outstanding reflex save low down to his left.
The University side reacted better to a flying ball into the circle on the reverse to tap in and make it 3-2, fuelling their self-belief.
But Wells kept their composure at the back and managed to retain possession well to make it harder for the home side to pose a real threat.
As the clock ticked down, Connor Poulain distributed well from defence and Roberts got himself on the end of a cross to score his second.
Wells, who move up to sixth in this congested league, host London Edwardians at Tonbridge School on Saturday [November 11, 1.30pm start].
