Oxford City made it three wins from three in pre-season with another encouraging display, beating Birmingham City Under-21s 3-2.

The Hoops controlled large spells of the contest and looked well worth their two-goal advantage after first-half strikes from Ellis Brown and Tyrone Marsh.

Although Birmingham fought back to level, Velocity AcademyCaleb Moir's second-half header secured another deserved victory for Ross Jenkins' side.

City settled quickly and dominated the early exchanges against a youthful Birmingham side.

Just three minutes in, Ellis Brown latched onto a loose pass in the Blues' defence but couldn't quite lift his effort over the recovering goalkeeper.

As the half progressed, the Hoops began to find their rhythm. Dillon De Silva looked lively down the right flank, while the midfield trio of Scott Pollock, Josh Ashby and Dejan Tetek dictated the game.

The pressure told after just nine minutes.

A slick one-touch move involving Pollock and Tyrone Marsh released Brown through on goal, and this time he made no mistake, calmly slotting past the goalkeeper to give City an early lead.

Ten minutes later, the Hoops doubled their advantage with an excellent finish from Marsh.

Another flowing move down the left created the opening before Marsh sold his defender with a clever feint and capped it off with a composed poked finish to make it 2-0.

At that stage, City looked capable of running away with the game, but Birmingham responded well.

The hosts pulled one back in the 24th minute when a deep cross to the far post was headed home by Birmingham's lively number 20.

Despite City's dominance throughout the remainder of the half, the score remained 2-1 at the interval.

Half-Time: Birmingham City U21s 1-2 Oxford City

The second half took a while to spring into life before Ross Jenkins made ten changes on the hour mark, introducing an entirely new outfield side with only Canice Carroll remaining from the starting XI.

Matty Taylor was immediately involved and almost scored with his second touch.

His first controlled Carroll's excellent long pass on the edge of the area before his second delicately lifted the ball over the goalkeeper, only to see it bounce agonisingly off the top of the crossbar.

Taylor continued to influence the game moments later, releasing Zac McEachran down the right before Kauan Bitencourt De Oliveira saw his effort brilliantly blocked inside the six-yard box.

Against the run of play, Birmingham found an equaliser with 20 minutes remaining.

The hosts' right winger beat Aydin Ulas before cutting the ball back for his teammate to fire underneath Max Treml and level the scores at 2-2.

City's response was immediate.

A well-delivered corner into the penalty area found youngster Caleb Moir, who rose highest to power a header into the net and restore the Hoops' lead.

It was a simple finish, but one taken with the composure and authority of a player well beyond his years.

In truth, City should have put the game beyond doubt long before the final whistle.

Taylor and McEachran both went close during the closing stages, while Bitencourt De Oliveira was unfortunate not to win a penalty after being bundled over inside the area.

Ulas also had a late opportunity to add a fourth but fired narrowly wide.

A 3-2 scoreline perhaps flattered Birmingham, with City producing another assured and dominant performance.

While the result is secondary at this stage of pre-season, the Hoops continue to build valuable fitness, confidence and momentum with the new campaign drawing ever closer.

City are back in action at home against Walton & Hersham on Saturday 25th July (3pm). See you there!

Oxford City XI: Maxted, Carroll, Humphries, Ashby (C), Francillette, Bloom, Pollock, Marsh, Brown, Tetek, De Silva

Oxford City Post 60’: Treml, Njogu, McEachran, Bitencourt De Oliveira, Potter, Wilson, Ulas, Daniel, Moir, Taylor