Oxford United kicked off the 2022/23 season with a defeat at recently relegated Derby County.
Backed by over 3,000 U’s supporters, Karl Robinson’s side found chances difficult to come by but will be frustrated not to come away with a point.
Here are three talking points from the game.
Formation and Line-Up
Picking a starting line-up for a new season was always going to be tough to predict, and that was the case against the Rams.
Simon Eastwood was, somewhat surprisingly, selected ahead of Jack Stevens in goal while Steve Seddon was chosen over Ciaron Brown at left-back.
The rest of the back four picked itself, with summer signing Stuart Findlay partnering Elliott Moore in the middle and Sam Long on the right.
The formation change came in midfield with Robinson selecting Cameron Brannagan, who recently penned a new three-year deal having rejected an offer from Blackpool, alongside Marcus McGuane, with Marcus Browne playing ahead of the duo, behind Matty Taylor.
Billy Bodin and James Henry began the match as the widemen, with Josh Murphy on the bench and Jodi Jones not in the squad following his late arrival to the squad.
Stuart Findlay
As far as debuts go, this was a near-perfect display from the Scottish defender. Not only did he win almost everything that came his way in the air, but he also threw his body on the line and blocked several attempts from the hosts.
Unfortunately, his one error came after he gave away possession to the Rams and they scored from the resulting attack with just ten minutes remaining.
Despite that, the defender put in an assured performance.
Chances
Over the 90 minutes, Robinson’s side only managed two attempts on target. Bodin came close with a left-footed effort which was parried by the goalkeeper while Taylor and Henry both squandered attempts.
The chances will come but there will be some frustration about failing to score in their last four games.
