Southampton had a penalty shout after 10 minutes after Scienza raced through and appeared to be caught in the box by two closing defenders, but referee Leigh Doughty was not convinced enough to award a spot-kick. Just over five minutes later, Saints drew level as Scienza whipped in a cross from a free-kick on the right and found the head of Harwood-Bellis. Oxford started the second half with a big chance to take the lead, when Przemyslaw Placheta struck from the edge of the box and forced a brilliant save out of Bazunu. Oxford could have wrapped things up sooner than Mills' late intervention after Siriki Dembele was played through in the box, but their calls for a penalty were waved away. The Kassam erupted late on, however, as Mills scored his second goal of the season to claim all three points for his side.

Source: BBC December 26, 2025 17:10 UTC