A lot has changed since Swindon last beat Oxford. The 9/11 terror attacks hadn’t happened, PlayStation 1 was the current games console, and both Coventry City and Bradford City were in the Premier League.
Losing against Swindon hasn’t been something that us Oxford United fans have been used to in recent years, but on Saturday afternoon, the Robins recorded their first win against the U’s in 19 years.
By half time, Karl Robinson’s side looked to be cruising to an eighth victory from nine games against their rivals, but a second-half collapse left them on the wrong end of a 2-1 defeat.
Oxford dominated the first half and took a deserved lead on 15 minutes through Oxford-born Matty Taylor. But the U’s should have been out of sight by the break, with Liam Kelly and Jordan Obita both seeing efforts saved before Taylor failed to convert from close range with what was virtually a tap-in.
The second half, Oxford continued to control. But, the game changed when both managers made changes. For Swindon, their substitutes made an impact but for Robinson’s side, none of them did.
The visitors started to get onto the ball and, despite not testing Simon Eastwood in the U’s goal, levelled with five minutes remaining when the ball fell in a crowded box. The Robins scored a 91st winner when Eastwood completely misjudged the ball and allowed the striker to slot the ball home.
Worst Swindon Performance Since Their Last Win and Tale of Two Halves
Without any shadow of a doubt, it was the worst Swindon performance in the derby. In the FA Cup clash in 2002, it was a nervy affair with Oxford winning despite large spells of dominance. In the 2011/12 season, Swindon won the league and secured promotion and, despite losing twice to Oxford that season, outclassed the U’s in both games, particularly the home fixture when James Constable was dismissed just after ten minutes. Even during the two Johnstones Paint Trophy matches and second successive league double, Swindon performed better than they did against the U’s yesterday afternoon, but still ended up losing the games.
Swindon had three shots on target in the whole game. The first was an effort from outside the box in the first half. Eastwood parried the ball away but in truth, it was a routine save. The second came from the Robins’ opening goal. Oxford had a number of bodies around the attacking players yet the ball somehow managed to find Tom Broadbent, who managed to stab the ball into the far corner past Eastwood. The third shot, and second goal, came from a ball played forward which Broadbent nodded on. Eastwood came out to claim and was ahead of the onrushing forward but just appeared to miss the ball and allow the striker to tap home.
The visitors weren’t in the game during the first half, and struggled to get into it in the early exchanges of the second half, but as the U’s sat deeper, a poor Swindon side began to grow into the game.
Simon Eastwood
Simon Eastwood, naturally, has come under huge criticism following his error for the second goal. The frustrating part of his blunder was that it wasn’t the first time he has made a howler this season. In all honesty, the experienced goalkeeper hasn’t looked the same since the back end of last season, which included another mistake in the playoff final defeat against Wycombe.
Calls for Jack Stevens to come in as a replacement have been rife. In fact, it is something that even I have voiced in recent weeks, but for now, the time isn’t right. Following the U’s eighth defeat of the season, it is looking increasingly clear that we are precariously close to a relegation battle. The next three fixtures include two against two sides in the top six. Putting Stevens in for these games could not only put Eastwood out having been dropped, but it could also affect the young goalkeeper. If the results continue to be poor, it is unfair to subject Stevens to those results and performances.
Pre-Match Build-up From Oxford
These fixtures don’t need bigging up, they speak for themselves. In 2002, it was the FA Cup, it was the first time Swindon visited the Kassam Stadium and, by the end, it was the U’s first win of the run. That game didn’t need any build-up.
The next time the sides met was in 2011/12. Paolo Di Canio was the Swindon manager at the time and he spoke about the game at an enormous level. The former West Ham player even said: “I think this rivalry is bigger than Lazio and Roma. In Rome the rivalry is big but they play twice a year. Here, they don’t play often, so the rivalry has grown. It’s the most important derby of my career.”
The talk from Di Canio for all three games that he managed was the ammunition that Chris Wilder and his players needed. The U’s went out and, despite not being at the best, got three wins over their rivals. But Saturday’s defeat had a similar feel, except it was Oxford and manager Karl Robinson banging the drum. He spoke before the game about the importance to the fans, he highlighted the fact that he had four Oxford-born players in his team and the club also asked for messages of support from fans to play to the players before the game.
To some extent, it worked. The U’s came out all guns blazing in the first half and looked up for the fight. But, when legs got tired and their dominance became less so in the second half, it was a catalyst for failure.
Substitutions and Tactics
Against Portsmouth, Karl Robinson made changes and they all had an impact on the game. Jordan Obita, Marcus McGuane and Mark Sykes came on and turned the tide in Oxfords favour, picking up a credible point. However, against Swindon, Robinson’s changes made no impact whatsoever.
Sykes replaced James Henry before Dan Agyei and Mide Shodipo came on for McGuane and Obita. Agyei and Shodipo offered little, if anything, going forward and left Matty Taylor alone up front. The duo also failed to cover defensively, leaving Swindon with additional men in attack. As for Sykes, it could have been one of his worst performances. He has played in big games before (Newcastle and Wycombe among others) and hasn’t looked out of place, but he was unable to string any passes together and failed to keep control of the ball.
Even when Swindon equalised, Robinson still had two substitutes available. It is easy in hindsight but John Mousinho should have been introduced to add experience and game management when the U’s needed it most, while Anthony Forde, another experienced player, should have replaced Liam Kelly who clearly had nothing left in his legs.
Robinson’s Post-Match Interview
Robinson certainly felt let down in his post-match comments. When describing the players that came on, he said “made our team worse”, before labelling the winning goal as “disgusting.”
“We put on Dan Agyei who played wonderfully well on Tuesday, Mark Sykes who everyone tells me is a very good player with loads of energy and they let people run past them.” When asked about Eastwood, he refused to comment. The decision to call out his three subs and throw them under the bus as he did, yet fail to address the problems in goal raises a number of questions.
I for one felt the defeat against Crewe could have been a turning point. As a club, we aren’t where we should be this season and that defeat clearly hit home. Results have improved since, but it feels like we are back to square one again. Oxford have played 13 league games this season and have already lost eight. In 35 matches last season in League One, the U’s lost nine.
Has the dressing room been lost? Has the recruitment been poor? Have players downed tools? Are the tactics wrong? Are players being played in the wrong positions? The answer to these questions, to an extent, is yes. Maybe not fully, but there is certainly an element of all of these at the club at the moment.
