MARK Harris was delighted to grab his first goal for Oxford United, in what proved to be a match-winning strike.

With the home clash against Carlisle United goalless and into the final quarter of an hour, Harris poked the ball past Tomas Holy to provide his side with their first three points of the season.

The 24-year-old striker, who arrived from Cardiff City during the summer, is pleased with the psychological gain in getting up and running for United.

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He said: “I’ve come in and got the number nine shirt, and strikers are paid to score goals.

“I wouldn’t say it’s always on my mind or that I’m always stressing about it, but in the back of your head, you know you’ve got to deliver and score.

“I want to score goals and win us games, and thankfully I’ve done that, so happy days.”

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The goal itself came when substitute Tyler Goodrham flicked a ball round the corner for Harris to run onto, with the forward then nudging the ball beyond Holy, who was out of his net.

Grenoble Road had to hold its breath though, as the ball trickled over the line and inside the bottom corner.

“I’ve had some stick off the lads. They think I tried to lob him but I’ve looked at it and the guy’s six foot nine,” said Harris.

“I don’t think I’m going to go over him, so I thought if I could just get it on target, I knew he was out of his goal on the right side.

“If I could get it round his left side, I’d have a chance of getting it on target.

“I think what came off was what I was trying to do.

“From the dugout angle, you couldn’t really tell if it was going in or not, but from my angle, I could see it going towards the sidenetting.

“I was chuffed but I think a few people in the dugout were a bit nervous.”

Harris meanwhile was frustrated he didn’t score earlier in the game when opportunities came his way, but he opted to try and find a teammate rather than taking a shot.

He said: “I should’ve had one early in the first half where I tried to square the ball, but I think I’ve got to be a little bit more selfish there and go myself.

“There was another one early in the second half, which I think I should’ve took, but I tried to play it to Ruben [Rodrigues].

“The goal will help with confidence and I think if I can just go on my own, I could’ve had at least two or three.”

Discussing the overall performance against Carlisle, Harris said: “The first 15 or 20, we expected them to get the ball and put us under pressure.

“It was about riding that wave really and once we got a foot on the ball and started playing between the lines, I thought we grew into the game pretty well. We carried that on into the second half.

“The lads will take confidence from getting the first three points on the board.

“We feel we can give anybody a game in this league and we won’t be going anywhere just to hold out for a draw.”

He added: “I’ve come here to play games so I want to be playing Saturday-Tuesday, and playing as many games as I can.

“We need the squad and players to come in, and give the exact same.

“We’re all ready and we’ve got a good group. Bring on the season.”

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