The U's Matchzone

Oxford Lose Against Barnsley: Three Talking Points

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Oxford United suffered a second successive home defeat with a 1-0 loss against promotion rivals Barnsley.

On a blustery night at Grenoble Road, it was the Tykes that left with the three points.

Here are three talking points from the game.

Line-up and Formation

Des Buckingham made one change from the side that beat Carlisle last time out with Sam Long making a return from injury in place of Oisin Smyth.

Long, Elliott Moore and Ciaron Brown were the back three with Jamie Cumming making his home debut in goal.

Fin Stevens and Joe Bennett were the wing backs with Cameron Brannagan and Marcus McGuane the midfield duo.

Ruben Rodrigues and Tyler Goodrham sat behind Mark Harris, who was looking for a fifth goal in five games.

Smyth did come into the game, as did Greg Leigh on the left, while Tyler Burey also made his debut.

Conditions

Of course, it was the same blustery, rainy and difficult conditions for both teams but Barnsley appeared to deal with them better.

The visitors had the wind behind them in the first half and they took full advantage, with their goal coming in the opening 45 minutes.

The Tykes also tested Cumming a couple of times in that period.

But after the restart, Oxford used the wind and looked a lot brighter. Brannagan could have scored four, with one effort striking the bar, but long balls were ineffective with several overhit as a result.

Injuries

Not only did Oxford lose the game but they also picked up a further two injuries. Long was replaced in the first half as a result of concussion while Bennett picked up a calf injury on the stroke of half time.

Smyth replaced Long as the third centre-back and put in a strong enough display, even moving to right back when Buckingham switched to a back four, while Bennett was replaced by Leigh, although the Jamaican international is clearly still lacking some match sharpness.

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