WEMBLEY fever gripped Oxfordshire for the second consecutive year after a spectacular Marvin Johnson strike booked Oxford United’s place in the Checkatrade Trophy final.

The winger’s 85th-minute winner saw the U’s beat Luton Town 3-2 in a thrilling semi-final at Kenilworth Road.

United announced they would mark the final by honouring lifelong supporter Steve Dyer, who lost his battle with cancer later in March.

Mr Dyer was made the club’s 12th man for the remainder of the season, including the Wembley showpiece against Coventry City.

Ten days before walking out at the arch the Oxford Mail exclusively revealed that a Chinese consortium and a group led by Uruguayan businessman Juan Sartori (pictured) were interested in taking over the club.

Grove-based Williams driver Felipe Massa secured a strong sixth place finish in the first Formula One Grand Prix of the season in Australia.

But Massa’s teammate Lance Stroll, Enstone-based Renault driver Jolyon Palmer and both of Banbury’s Haas cars all failed to finish.

Bradley Smith did not fare much better, starting his 12th MotoGP season with a 17th-place finish in Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s debut grand prix in Qatar.

Oxford City Stars finished fourth in National League South Division One to set up a play-off semi-final against London Raiders, but they were beaten 11-3 on aggregate.