Oxford Utd 5-1 Farsley Celtic

Farsley Celtic slipped closer to the dreaded drop zone after suffering a crushing defeat at the hands of Oxford United on Saturday afternoon.

Darren Patterson's made the perfect start to the game as Yemi Odubade curled an 18-yard effort into the bottom-right corner after just three minutes.

The hosts doubled their lead in the 39th minute when Farsley's Steve Torpey fouled Odubade on the edge of the area and Phil Trainer scored with the resulting 18-yard free kick.

The visitors came out firing on all cylinders after the break and reduced the deficit thanks to Simeon Bambrook's well struck free kick from 20 yards out.

It all went horribly wrong for the visitors from that point on, as James Knowles was shown a red card just three minutes later for a foul on Odubade.

Adam Murray stepped up to take the resulting spot kick but his right-footed effort was tipped around the post by Farsley goalkeeper Curtis Aspden.

That setback didn't deter Oxford for long as Matthew Green extended their lead with a close-range finish in the 72nd minute.

The U's were awarded a second penalty in the 81st minute when Georges Santos brought down Odubade in the penalty area.

Adam Murray stepped up for the second time and made no mistake this time, putting his effort in the top-right corner.

The rout was complete just before the final whistle as Matthew Green fired an 18-yard effort into the back of the net.

Oxford bookings: Green 86.

Farsley bookings: Knowles 32, Santos 81, McNiven 86.

Sent off: Knowles 49.

Ref: I Cooper.

Att: 4266.