Dean Whitehead and Jon Shepheard came of age at Molineux on Tuesday night to prove that Oxford United have got some quality young players.

The first two league games have produced disappointing results, but the shock victory over big-spending first division club Wolves has been a massive shot in the arm for everyone at the Manor Ground.

Manager Denis Smith has shaken the place up by showing he's not frightened to drop anyone if he feels the player is not producing.

That included the new club skipper, Peter Fear, who, after Whitehead's impressive debut, will now have a job on his hands to win his place back.

Shepheard, 19, got his chance because of Ian McGuckin's back injury. And it was a chance he grabbed with both hands. Both Lee Jarman and Whitehead himself had words of praise for Shepheard, who superbly shackled Robert Taylor, Wolves' 1.55m signing from Manchester City.

"We knew it was going to be tough," Jarman said. "We'd played Birmingham pre-season and they gave us a real going over, so we came to Molineux and battled hard and got a great result.

"A few of us were playing in the reserves last week. I thought Jon Shepheard alongside me did especially well. His passing was good and he was good in the tackle. Richard Knight behind us was confident as well, which helps."

Whitehead, who was told last Friday that he would be playing in the Worthington Cup tie, was very pleased with the night's efforts.

"I was delighted, if a bit tired at the end," he said. "Denis was very happy with the workrate and everything. It was my debut, at a fantastic stadium and it was brilliant." Whitehead wasn't fazed by the occasion, the quality of the opposition, or playing as part of a central midfield trio. He was calm, assured and had Smith commenting afterwards that he looked more like 28 than 18.

"I'm used to playing in a midfield and it worked well," Whitehead said. "We got some good blocks in, Knighty made some great saves and if we put in the same kind of performance in the second leg, we should get the same result.

"Jon Shepheard was quality at the back. He won everything in the air Taylor didn't get a header in all night."

Smith said: "It was hard work, but football is hard work.

"We set our stall out to do a certain thing, to stifle them, close them down in midfield to get round Ketsbaia and we did that quite well.

"We didn't do enough to stop crosses coming in but overall I was very pleased with the 90 minutes and hope we can have a few more like that. I enjoyed it.

"We don't want to get carried away but a result like this lifts everybody the board, the fans, all the staff. The fans turned up again and after last Saturday they must have wondered if it was worthwhile, especially when they saw the team I was putting out.

"We had people like Jarman who was only on a month's contract.

It was a good performance from a load of young lads. Whitehead is only 18 and he was superb in midfield. He was put in there for a reason because I didn't think the midfield had been doing it, tonight they have. "People say 'why did I play Murphy?' It's because he scores goals and he did so again.

"Jon Richardson has had three games for us where he has been superb. For 5,000 he looks a good buy. The problem is, if he and Richard Knight carry on playing like that, you wonder how long they're going to be here.

"I'm delighted with his attitude around the place. And if he carries on winning all his games, he can carry on being captain."