Joey Beauchamp once again proved that, when he's fit and in form, he's too good a player to be left out of the Oxford United team.

The side had not scored a goal in the league before Tuesday, but then enter Joey.

Inside three minutes he scored a brilliant individual effort and, half an hour later, he hit his second with a cracking free-kick.

All those fans who had protested to Denis Smith that he should have played against Brentford at the Manor last Saturday were no doubt feeling justified but was he fit then?

Joey himself thought he was, but the fact that he had missed training on the Thursday, after not lasting the full 90 minutes in the reserves the day before, meant Smith couldn't work with him in training when he had wanted to. And by the Friday, when Beauchamp was fit, it was too late he had already picked his team.

But after his brace at the Bescot Stadium, the midfielder wanted only to look forward.

"Now I'm back in the team I'm not going to give up the place easily," Beauchamp said.

"Hopefully I can keep scoring. I've been looking forward to this season ever since I got fit and things haven't gone so well.

"But that's past now and I just hope to continue from tonight."

Beauchamp said the goals were replicas of efforts he had had in training that day, the first coming after good work from Steve Anthrobus.

"I was playing off 'Bus and that's what he did in training this morning. I was looking on 'Bus flicking it and he flicked it straight into my path and I just took it inside the defender. It sat up and I just volleyed it and luckily it went in the corner. "With the second one Lee Jarman was saying for me to hit it straight away but in training this morning we had practised the back-heel, so when Walsall left a big space on the left we did that and I just smacked it as hard as I could.

"The keeper dived and got his hand to it but the power beat him."

Many observors commented on the tempo of the game. It was fast and furious, more like a Premiership match than Division 2, and a total contrast to the slow pace of United's match against Brentford.

It was a particularly fast game. Walsall are a good side and created a lot of chances. They come at you at pace but for so long we had held on. It is gutting to lose after twice being in front," Joey said.

"But hopefully this will have given anyone a job to get me out of the team now, so I just hope it continues and hope we can get a win on Saturday because that's a big game now."

Boss Smith commented: "Walsall are a good side, that's why they're top of the league and have won four out of four.

"It's no surprise to me but I think we're better than a lot of people are giving us credit for, and at times we showed it. We've got to take it on."