OXFORD United dropped out of the Sky Bet League One play-off places after suffering a 3-1 defeat at Bristol Rovers.
Chris Martin and Luke Thomas gave the Pirates a 2-0 lead at half-time, before Cameron Brannagan’s strike deflected off Mark Harris to pull the U’s back to within a goal.
However, Harvey Vale netted with 13 minutes to go, to end any hope of a United comeback.
We had a look at the key talking points from the game.
Cheap goals against
U’s head coach Des Buckingham said himself that his side conceded two cheap goals in the first half.
Rovers took the lead when a deep cross from the right-hand side made its way to Martin at the back post, with the striker allowed to ghost in behind Stephan Negru and fire between Jamie Cumming’s legs.
The advantage was doubled six minutes later, when Thomas wasn’t closed down by Josh McEachran or Fin Stevens, allowing the Pirates attacker to fire into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty area.
The crucial third goal – after United had pulled one back themselves – came when Cumming parried a Sam Finley shot, however it failed to clear the danger area, and Vale followed the rebound in.
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Midfield cover
Buckingham made a surprise switch in midfield for the game, with McEachran replacing Marcus McGuane in the middle of the park.
Although McEachran was unable to have an impact on the outcome of the match, it was in midfield where Rovers came out on top.
Finley and debutant Kamil Conteh shielded the Pirates defence efficiently, and allowed their side’s attacking players to do the business at the other end of the pitch in the first half.
Even when the U’s switched shape in the second half, and went from a 3-4-3 to 4-3-3, with Ruben Rodrigues also in midfield, it was Finley and Conteh who stood out.
Much has been made of United seemingly not being in the market for another midfielder, however against Rovers, the need for a natural destroyer, who can break up play, was evident.
Need for reinforcements
The game also demonstrated how light the U’s are in forward options right now. With Buckingham looking to bring United back into the game, his attacking options from the bench were James Henry, Tyler Burey and Gatlin O’Donkor.
Injuries are depriving Buckingham of Billy Bodin, Marcus Browne, Kyle Edwards, Will Goodwin and Josh Murphy at the moment.
They are five forward players who could make strong cases to start when fit. With Browne and Edwards longer term absentees, the U’s are in desperate need one or two more attackers before the transfer window closes on Thursday.
Impact of Burey
Odense loanee Burey was bright after coming on at half-time though. The winger was direct in running at the Pirates backline, and almost scored a sensational solo goal when he ran virtually half the length of the pitch, before being tackled as he approached the penalty box.
If the 23-year-old can show evidence of end product in the coming games, he could prove to be a very useful asset for United in the remainder of the season.
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