Centre half Mark Creigh-ton was delighted with his left-footed volley which got Oxford United’s FA Cup campaign up and running against Thurrock on Saturday.

The former Kidderminster defender broke the deadlock against the Conference South side with an emphatic finish, and the U’s went on to claim a comfortable 2-0 win.

“It was nice to get a goal like that,” he admitted.“I don’t get many and the ones that come along like that are a joy.

“I have volleyed one in before – but not with the left foot!

“The ball was coming in a little bit behind me and at one stage I was going to bring it down, but then I thought ‘what the heck, let’s have a go’!

“The ball had been popped out a couple of times, and then Muzzer (Adam Murray) just put it back in a decent area, and I found myself in a bit of space and just pulled the trigger.”

Creighton had a heart-stopping moment a few minutes later when he was deemed to have fouled Thurrock striker David Bryant on a run through on goal, and there must have been some question as to whether he was the last man.

But while Thurrock officials felt it should have been a red card, Creighton said he never thought he was in trouble, because referee Amy Rayner only awarded the free-kick on the say-so of a linesman, and didn’t see an infringement herself.

“I bet everyone in the stadium was concerned, but I was confident,” he said.

“It wasn’t even a foul, their lad said that as well, and between Amy and the linesman they were a little bit confused and unsure what they’d done themselves.”

United’s passage to the first-round was relatively untroubled in the end.

“At times we made it look very hard, but at times we were excellent too,” Creighton said.

“When we did play our football at a high tempo, they couldn’t get anywhere near us.”

United manager Chris Wilder admitted: “At times we moved the ball really well, at times we didn’t, which disappointed me.

“But it was a tricky tie. We were not playing a mug side or a team on bad form, or from three or four leagues below us.

“They had nothing to lose and were a very positive and attacking side, so we had to be on our guard.”

Wilder was grateful that Creighton showed the strikers how to do it, after Jamie Cook beat two defenders on a great run but then shot against the post when it seemed easier to score.

“Cooky’s got to put that in,” Wilder said.

“That summed us up really, somebody wanting to do something that wasn’t in the team ethic.

“Cooky’s beaten one, and should have slammed it in, but he’s waited for the second defender to come and ultimately missed it.”

United’s manager concluded: “We’re not elated about the performance. It’s a tie where we had nothing to gain – but we’re through to the next round.”