Oxford United suffered a third straight defeat as the U’s lost 2-1 at home against Barnsley.
Karl Robinson’s side were two goals down in the game but a late goal made for a dramatic ending. However, it was too little, too late.
Here are three talking points from the game.
Formation and Line-Up
With Matty Taylor sent on loan to Port Vale, there was almost a laughable irony that Billy Bodin was asked to lead the line.
Ciaron Brown came in at left back with Sam Long and Elliott Moore in the middle and Djavan Anderson back on the right.
Marcus McGuane was dropped with Robinson opting for Cameron Brannagan and Lewis Bate as a middle two, although the former went off injured in the opening 25 minutes.
Yanic Wildschut and Kyle Joseph played on the wings, either side of new signing Ateef Konate behind Bodin.
Quick Start but Poor First Half Display
Oxford started quickly, as they have in games this season, and Bodin was presented with an early opportunity to score inside two minutes but it was another early chance that Oxford missed. From there, Barnsley were on top and could have been a couple of goals up by the break, despite leading 1-0.
The U’s had six attempts on goal in the opening 45 minutes but failed to hit the target, and the early tempo tailed off.
2-0 Is a Dangerous Scoreline
When Barnsley netted their second on 57 minutes, the game looked dead and buried but the match then hinged on two moments.
First, Eastwood made a terrific save with his foot from James Norwood to deny a third goal, before deadline day addition Tyler Smith missed a great opportunity to reduce the deficit when he tried to lob the goalkeeper.
If Eastwood conceded the goal, the game would have been dead and buried but if Smith scored, it would have given the U’s a push – as it did when Moore headed home a late consolation.
