Oxford United’s playoff hopes were dealt a slight blow as the U’s only managed a draw at home against Stevenage.
The visitors, who failed to hit the target all game, scored thanks to a Sam Long own goal but the U’s were denied two spot kicks before eventually being awarded one, which Cameron Brannagan equalised from.
Here are three talking points from the game
Starting Lineup
Elliott Moore was still missing with a hip problem so Des Buckingham stuck with the same back four.
There was a return to the starting lineup for Brannagan although Josh McEachran and Marcus McGuane both missed out through injury.
Marcus Browne in for Owen Dale was the other change from the side that lost against promotion rivals Lincoln last time out.
Penalties
Having lost to a controversial penalty decision last time out against the Imps, it looked as though the decisions were going against the U’s yet again.
Browne cleverly took the ball round the goalkeeper but was wiped out. Although the referee wasn’t in a great position to see the incident, it was no more than 15 yards away from the linesman, who failed to acknowledge the foul.
Stevenage scored shortly after, despite failing to secure a shot on target over the course of the 90 minutes, when Sam Long nodded the ball into his own net.
After the restart, Oxford were denied another spot kick when the ball struck the Stevenage captain’s arm, but the decision would come later despite Ruben Rodrigues being fouled outside the box!
Brannagan stepped up and levelled the tie but the U’s were unable to snatch a winner, despite creating several chances.
Stevenage Game Plan
If Oxford scored the first goal in the game from what should have been a legitimate penalty, it could have been a comfortable night for the U’s.
However, once Stevenage took the lead they executed their game plan to perfection.
The visitors sat deep, didn’t allow the wingers any space and slowed down the momentum of the game. It’s no surprise that Oxford have picked up just one point from their last two games with Lincoln adopting a similar tactic in their recent win over the U’s.
