Oxford United’s winless home run stretched to five games with a 1-1 draw against Fleetwood.
The visitors took the lead inside two minutes but the U’s scored a quick-fire goal themselves with Gatlin O’Donkor netting just four minutes after the restart of the second half.
Here are three talking points from the game.
Line-Up
With Sam Long injured and Matty Taylor and Billy Bodin suspended, there was going to be a change to personnel but it felt like Karl Robinson reverted to square pegs in round holes.
Steve Seddon came in for Long on the right-hand side of defence while Marcus Browne led the line in attack.
Our predicted line-up saw Djavan Anderson drop into right back while Browne and Kyle Joseph flanked O’Donkor, although the youngster began the game on the bench.
A Game of Two Halves
Fleetwood started in emphatic style and opened the scoring in the second minute. However, the Cod Army could have scored even earlier in the match but missed the target. Their game plan was simple – get an early goal and sit back behind the ball – which they did very well for the first 45.
Oxford were unable to get any meaningful passes together but that changed after the break as the hosts grew into the game. That was helped by O’Donkor netting his first senior Oxford goal just five minutes after replacing Browne at the break.
Fleetwood continued to be resolute in defence and it forced the U’s to shoot for distance. While the majority were on target, the goalkeeper didn’t have too much to worry about.
Fleetwood Time Wasting
Again, part of the game plan from the visitors was to waste as much time as possible. Every time the U’s began to grow into the game, there would be a Fleetwood player on the ground, kicking the ball away or delaying a set piece.
It was an extremely gritty and scrappy game with both sides picking up bookings and giving away unnecessary fouls over the course of the match.
