Oxford United ended a frustrating week with an equally antagonizing draw at home against Morecambe.
After a goalless first half, the Shrimps took the lead against a U’s side that has now fallen behind in five of their six games this season, but Kyle Joseph rescued a point.
One other thing of note was the injury to Marcus McGuane, who appeared to pull a hamstring late on.
Here are three talking points from the game.
Formation and Line-Up
Ahead of the match, Karl Robinson insisted there would be a tactical change.
Simon Eastwood remained in goal and the back four was all but the same, apart from Ciaron Brown replacing captain Elliott Moore, who missed out through injury.
Marcus McGuane continued in the holding role but a switch came with a diamond in midfield. Cameron Brannagan played alongside James Henry in the middle with Billy Bodin in behind the attackers.
The other change was two up top – something many fans have been calling for – as Joseph partnered Matty Taylor.
Kyle Joseph
While the wait for a goal continues for Taylor, there will be a relief that Joseph has opened his U’s account.
The striker pounced on a loose ball in the box from a corner to level the game shortly after the Morecambe opener.
He looked sharp and a threat all game but in truth, should have added to his tally with a second-half header and late left-footed strike.
Chances
We’ve eluded to Joseph’s chances, but it was another game where Oxford were far from clinical in front of goal.
The U’s had 27 shots at Connor Ripley’s goal but managed just ten on target. Brannagan saw a couple of long-range efforts parried by the former Oxford goalkeeper but other than that, there weren’t many clear-cut opportunities.
