Oxford United earned themselves a point against an in-form Portsmouth side on the south coast. The hosts took the lead inside 20 minutes through Sean Raggett but an Alex Rodriguez Gorrin penalty earned the U’s a vital point.
Here's how #oufc line-up tonight pic.twitter.com/WECFoeFKFc
— Oxford Mail OUFC (@OxfordMailOUFC) November 24, 2020
Karl Robinson made four changes from the side that won at Wigan at the weekend. Anthony Forde and Mide Shodipo returned to the starting line-up while Sean Clare started on the right of midfield. Dan Agyei replaced Matty Taylor upfront.
The back four remained the same. Simon Eastwood sat behind Josh Ruffels, Rob Atkinson, Elliott Moore and Sam Long.
Gorrin kept his place in the holding role while James Henry dropped into the centre of midfield, alongside Forde. Shodipo and Clare were the wingers with Agyei up top.
In what was the first meeting between the two sides since last seasons playoff semi-final, it was the struggling visitors that started the brighter.
Despite a confident start, neither side managed to create any meaningful opportunities inside the opening 15 minutes. But, when one fell to the hosts a few minutes later, they made no mistake. A free-kick was cleared as far as Ronan Curtis and his cross was met by Raggett to give Kenny Jackett’s side the lead.
The hosts, who headed into the game with the most goals scored in the league, should have doubled their advantage shortly after. Ellis Harrison miss-hit his shot but top-scorer John Marquis reached the ball, only to fire over from close range.
Jack Whatmore then struck the bar from a corner as Pompey began to assert their dominance on the game.
The U’s best chance of the half came five minutes before the break. Clare played in Long down the right before finding Forde, but the midfielder was unable to keep his shot down.
Moments later, Portsmouth felt they should have been awarded a penalty when Moore looked to have brought Harrison down, but the referee waved away any claims.
The hosts began the second half strongly. Clare was booked for a fifth time this season following a challenge on Curtis, meaning he will miss the derby against Swindon Town at the weekend.
Chances for Raggett and Marcus Harness went begging for Pompey as Robinson rung the changes with Jordan Obita, Marcus McGuane and Mark Sykes all coming on.
And it was McGuane who almost made an immediate impact. The on-loan Nottingham Forest man forced Craig MacGillivray into a smart save.
Moments later, the U’s were presented with the chance to level from the spot. Atkinson cleverly ran out of defence with the ball and fed Agyei though, but the striker was bundled down in the box. With Henry off the field, Gorrin stepped up and calmly sent the goalkeeper the wrong way to score his first Oxford goal.
Taylor came on with just under ten minutes remaining, but it was Sykes that would force MacGillivray into another save.
The final few minutes saw the U’s hanging on. Curtis had a great chance to take all three points but his header was straight at Eastwood.
The game ended with an on-pitch skirmish. Both sides had peacemakers involved but it surpassed two minutes before all the players had left the field.
Unbeaten in two – the U’s longest run this season – Robinson’s side welcome Swindon to Grenoble Road at the weekend as they look to extend their unbeaten run against the Robins to nine games.
