Supporters have cautiously praised the style of policing at Wednesday's Carling Cup clash between Oxford United and Reading which prevented a repeat of last season's crowd trouble.

About 120 officers were involved and the cost to Oxford United ran into thousands of pounds.

Police said pre-emptive action stopped troublemakers entering the ground and avoided serious trouble. This was despite nine arrests.

Last September's Carling Cup clash between the sides -- which saw much worse disorder -- resulted in six arrests on the evening of the game.

Trevor Lambert, secretary of OxVox, the Oxford United supporters' trust, said: "It was a very effective operation. There was no substantial trouble."

But he added: "They could have perhaps achieved the same results with slightly fewer officers. But having in mind last year's problems with the same fixture, I can understand their caution."

Martin Brodetsky, editor of the U's Rage On fanzine, said: "Compared to last year's match, it seemed to pass quite peacefully. The number of police officers seemed excessive given the segregation of fans and the low turn-out.

"But if police hadn't had such a profile, who is to say what could have happened?"

Before Wednesday's clash, a window of a bus ferrying Reading fans to the ground was smashed as supporters boarded outside Oxford station, where there was a heavy police presence.

Seven Reading fans were then arrested when they arrived at the stadium. Twelve others were refused entry, bused back to the station and put on the train to Reading, and two other Reading fans were ejected during the game. Two Oxford fans were arrested near the end of the match, when Reading scored their second goal.

Oxford United's stadium manager and safety officer Tony Ashley said: "It was a costly exercise but we had to guarantee the safety of spectators. The joint operation was successful, and I was pleased that Reading fans sat for the majority of the game."