Oxford United blew a two-goal lead as promotion rivals Derby left Grenoble Road with all three points.
The U’s raced into a two-goal lead with a Cameron Brannagan brace but the Rams netted in first-half stoppage time and twice in the final ten minutes to pick up the points.
Here are three talking points from the game.
Set Piece Goals (For and Against)
Oxford have relied on set-piece goals in recent weeks, with Tyler Goodrham’s solo effort against Cambridge the only one in open play from the last three league games.
Brannagan cooly slotted home a first-minute penalty before belting a free kick in just ten minutes later.
However, a string of corners eventually led to the Rams scoring seconds before the half time break while their third, and winner, also came from a set piece. In fact, all three Derby goals came from efforts at the back post, as was also the case when Cambridge scored on Boxing Day.
Tale of Two Halves (Again)
A depleted Oxford side raced into the lead against Paul Warne’s side and were deserving of their half-time advantage.
However, with the Rams netting on the brink of half time, the U’s struggled to get going after the restart.
Derby asserted their dominance and battered Des Buckingham’s side as they were forced to sit deep and go ultra-defensive. In the end, the tactic failed to pay off with the visitors netting two late goals.
Substitutions
Buckingham named an unchanged lineup and bench which, for the second game running, raised concerns about the lack of options on the bench.
Against Cambridge, the experience of Josh McEachran and James Henry actually guided the U’s to victory but against the Rams, the changes didn’t have the legs to match.
Henry really struggled to get into the game, playing as a left winger for the most part, while McEachran failed to make an impact with his passing. Jordan Thorniley replaced Mark Harris with the score at 2-1 to try and help tighten up the defence but the Rams simply had too much for Buckingham’s side.
