Bloody hell. The game didn't get off to the best of starts it's fair to say, as Holmes (is he on loan from Swindon? If so, that's a weird move from their point of view since he's a good player and has had a good season if it's the same guy) ran with the ball, our defenders (notably Sharps and Regan) decided to back off and let him shoot, and shoot he did. With aplomb. 1-0 down after 54 seconds, nothing Neal could have done. Moments later they hit the bar from 20 yards. I wasn't too optimistic at this stage, as they'd set up with a 4-5-1, looking to hit us on the counter. That tactic was made even more effective by their early goal, and we struggled to string three passes together as Oxford went full-blooded into challenges, and sat deep in midfield preventing any drives though the middle. Shortly after, Collins tumbled in the box. I have to admit, my initial reaction was that it was a dive. He certainly made the most of the contact (if there was any), but I can't say I saw it clearly from the other end of the stadium so will have to wait to see a replay. Anyway, he went down, and rather than pointing to the spot, the ref booked him. Then they made it two with a well-taken goal on the counter after the customarily shocking corner, but Turner obviously said some choice words at half time. We were all over them in the second half (although I thought we were better in the majority of the first half after the awful opening quarter of an hour), and two stunning goals were deserved reward. [table="width: 1500, class: grid, align: left"] [tr] [td]Player[/td] [td]Rating[/td] [td]Summary[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Neal[/td] [td]7[/td] [td]Nothing he could do for their goals, and made some good saves and handled well.[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Regan:[/td] [td]6.5[/td] [td]Still not convinced by him, but he hasn't really made any blunders. I feel sorry for him with all the abuse he gets irrespective of the quality of his performances. Just a "meh" game, really.[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Sharps[/td] [td]6.5[/td] [td]OK game. He did show some captain's characteristics, driving out from the back and charging forward to take the throws, but was profligate in possession and average defensively.[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Grandison[/td] [td]7[/td] [td]Solid. Won everything in the air again (as did Sharps), drove out the back well and demonstrated an ability to keep the ball. He also had a decent 5-minute stint as a striker, putting in a peach of a cross for Marv.[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]McGlaughlin[/td] [td]6[/td] [td]Didn't convince me. He showed some nice touches going forward, but his crossing was wayward. He should have done better for their second goal: he lost the header, got outpaced and outmuscled and then didn't take down their forward and stop the counter when he maybe should have. However, he looked better when he went to RB - him and Wrighty on the left looked dodgy together, both being right footers![/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]D. McAllister[/td] [td]7[/td] [td]Got really stuck in, was up for the physical game and was decent in possession. Had a couple of decent shots, too.[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Richards[/td] [td]7[/td] [td]Wasn't his greatest game, but he was great at LB, and that goal was stunning. Absolutely stunning. The best goal I've seen in the flesh, made even better by its convenient timing![/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Wright[/td] [td]7[/td] [td]A fairly insipid performance, conceding possession, and then he pops up with a phenomenal volley. He was better in the second half as a whole, to be fair.[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Taylor[/td] [td]7[/td] [td]Worked hard to cover Regan and was the last man back for the goal. He won a couple of headers (as always!) which he had no right to, and looked one of the few still up for the game before the break.[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Collins[/td] [td]7[/td] [td]Worked hard, possibly unlucky not to win a penalty, and played with real aggression and fire. His first touch was excellent, and he did well not to get sent off as I feared he would.[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Morgan[/td] [td]6.5[/td] [td]Ran at their defenders, gave Duberry trouble when it was on the floor (although he won everything in the air)[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Wroe[/td] [td]7.5[/td] [td]Looked 100% up for the game. Plenty of committed challenges and great passes. I wanted him to start, and even more so on Saturday.[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Sawyers[/td] [td]6.5[/td] [td]Had a couple of touches, looked decent, but had no real impact.[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Gornell[/td] [td]6.5[/td] [td]See above.[/td] [/tr] [/table] The ref was poor. Gave us nothing first half, everything in the second half. All the challenges flying in were dangerous and therefore, irrespective of how much of the ball was taken, were fouls and bookings, and he failed to produce either. Finally, I bumped into Connor Goldson before the game. Remember how big he was before, and how he had growing pains? Well, he's forking massive now - I'm 6'1" and he was a lot taller than me - must have been at least 6'5"/6'6"
Nice one Lenny Wright could have had two goals but he blasted the second clear opportunity over the bar. Collins could have walked if he continued arguing his case with the ref. I loved the noise that echoed around the stadium as Grandison clattered with their player by the midpoint of the west stand! The right side of the squad looked weak, Taylor and Regan did not produce anything special. Taylor does not seem to have the raw pace he had last season that caused problems, but he still gave them plenty to think about. Too many chipped/high balls fed to Morgan fell too far in front and got collected by the defence/goalie. On a positive it was good to see Neal did quite a few short goal kicks/passes that allowed play to build from the rear, and Sharps didn't just hoof every ball down the line to their goal keeper.
Perfectly summed up. I agree that Regan looks a weak link although he didn't deserve the abuse. Although I din't think that much of Collins' touch you have to hand it to players like him and Wroe who get stuck in- the advantage of buying players youngish and playing them hungry too prove themselves. Bet those two are aching to show Villa and Barnsley that they can make a career elsewhere.
How good was that strike from Richards?. He did look very comfortable at left-back and there may be a case for playing him there while Joe is injured. I agree with comments about abuse of our players - a few idiots behind me were giving Wrighty stick all night - how this is supposed to help us I dont know. Holmes is on loan from Southampton (theye must have a good side if he cannot get a game) - he was as good as anything we have seen down here for a long time in the first half. More worrying is that our habit of slow starts to games seems to be creeping in again - we are (with the exeption of Cheltenham) mostly playing teams from the bottom half of the table on the run-in and we must start quicker and try to dominate these teams.
The issue that we cannot deal with teams that apply pressure is not good either. I know that playing pressing football is tiring for the players and town often look the brighter side in the second half, but they need to learn how to deal with teams that press or use force to stop the team playing the way they want to.
