Simon Eastwood and Rob Dickie have said that the U’s will bounce back and stop conceding ‘silly’ goals, following the clubs defeat at Fleetwood Town.
It was the fourth defeat in five games for Karl Robinson’s side, the other result a 3-3 draw with Coventry City. As a result, the U’s have won just one league game this season and have the third-worst defensive record in the division.
The U’s goalkeeper, who remains confident despite conceding goals, told the Oxford Mail: “It just seems that quite a lot of shots are almost un-saveable or a little bit unlucky.
“The lad hit the post for the first goal and I’ve dived for that, then the striker’s tapped the rebound in. To be fair on the second goal the lad had headed it right in the corner.
“There’s not many who would save the shots that are going in at the moment. It’s not like I’m looking round and thinking I’m dipping in form. It’s nothing like that.”
Eastwood added: “But if you flip it round I don’t think I’ve seen their keeper make one save all game, so it’s disappointing that we’re not creating that many chances and leaking goals.”
Dickie, meanwhile, was also at a loss to explain how the defensive side of Robinson’s game has taken such a huge blow.
The 23-year-old defender has rebuked ‘silly’ mistakes that have cost the U’s this season.
Both of the goals conceded at Fleetwood came from switching off after failing to clear an initial set-piece. But Dickie knows the defence is better than they’re currently showing and backs his teammates to turn things around.
The defender told the Oxford Mail: “It’s just these silly things that need to be cut out. I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing that the reasons we’re conceding are so basic.
“It’s not like there’s no hope and we’re useless, it’s a really simple thing in us as a team that should be eradicated and it’s not been yet.”
He added: “We’ve come away from home and it was one of those performances where we felt we were in a good shape.
“If you do that and then someone hits one in from 30 yards it’s a little bit easier to accept than conceding a couple of basic goals. It’s second phase set-pieces again that have cost us.”
Oxford face Tranmere Rovers this weekend, with the newly-promoted side level on points with the U’s, before travelling to Bolton Wanderers who themselves have picked up just one point this season.
Realistically, this Oxford side could, and probably should, pick up six from these two games, and there should be little reason that the U’s could record a well overdue clean sheet in the process.
