ADAM Murray hit his second goal in successive games – but Oxford United's winning run came to an end when Cambridge struck back with a stunning equaliser at the Abbey Stadium last night.

The U's were on fire at the start of this Blue Square Premier game, and Murray finished off a superb move by shooting them in front in the ninth minute.

As the home side gradually got themselves back in the game, and then began to get on top in the second half, they seemed to be hoping to hang on for another 1-0 win.

But after Billy Turley had saved brilliantly from Robbie Willmott, turning his long-range shot over the bar, Cambridge drew level with a bit of magic from skipper and assistant manager Carden.

He cut in from the left and hit a stunning right-foot shot past Turley and into the top corner from 20 yards for his first goal in two years.

Oxford's own captain, Murray, is revelling in his new role just behind James Constable.

He covered a huge amount of ground, and often got further forward than the centre forward!

United outplayed Cambridge in the first half, both physically and with their extra pace, but Cambridge unquestionably had the better of the second period, so a point apiece was probably a fair result.

Oxford had been hoping to make it six straight league wins for the first time since the 1984-5 season, when they were marching towards the Second Division title.

Joe Burnell coming in for the injured Shane Killock was the one change made by manager Chris Wilder after the win at Crawley.

That meant Chris Carruthers continuing at left back and Adam Chapman again in central midfield where he could display his full array of passing talent.

Oxford began well and should have had a penalty in the opening minutes when Lewis Haldane, on the right edge of the area, was sandwiched between Anthony Tonkin and Courtney Pitt, neither of whom had any intention of playing the ball.

Cambridge's players then left Murray on his own at an attacking throw-in for the visitors, and United’s skipper unleashed a fierce shot that Danny Potter could only beat out to his right.

As the U's continued their early onslaught, Luke Foster then blazed over a chance from a corner.

So it had certainly been coming when Oxford took the lead in the tenth minute, with a beautifully-worked goal.

Lewis Haldane raced down the right, skilfully flicking the ball around one Cambridge man and running around the other side of him. His cross deflected to James Constable, who played it in hard and low for the in-running Murray to fire first time into the net.

Cambridge responded with a spell of pressure that saw Danny Crow just inches away from equalising with an angled shot against a post.

It was hard to see how he had missed, but at least it was a better effort than that a few minutes later from Dan Gleeson, which he sliced so far wide it went out for a throw-in level with the edge of the penalty area.

To their credit, Cambridge recovered well from their terrible opening and kept possession impressively as they looked for a way back.

Chris Willmott and Damien Batt both produced important headed clearances to alleviate the pressure, and on one excellent counter-attack, Constable sprinted 30 yards onto Craig Nelthorpe's pass, only for ex-U's centre back Phil Bolland to stop him in his tracks with a perfectly-timed last-ditch tackle.

The trouble with a match being on TV is that bad things can look terrible, and Gleeson's air shot, when he was trying to clear from the bye-line, was so embarrassing.

Nelthorpe combined well with Constable to break clear a minute before half-time. Nelthorpe decided to shoot early, and Potter made a smart save.

Nelthorpe drove past the far post early in the second half and Constable was not too far away with a low shot from the edge of the box which drifted a yard past Potter's right-hand post.

There did not seem a great amount of conviction about Cambridge's efforts on goal. Scott Rendell directed a header wide from Robbie Willmott's right-wing cross, and later Carden drove wide from 20 yards.

Yemi Odubade replaced Haldane after Cambridge's equaliser, and the substitute had a great chance to win it four minutes from time.

Murray's pass set him free, running through the centre, but he couldn't get his shot away as Potter came out, and he was eventually crowded out.