Home Match Day Thread +++ 2/3/19 OUFC v Scunthorpe United Matchday Thread +++

Apparently Scunny are that good they should have beaten us and Gillingham "on paper" according to that podcast.

I rather enjoyed the neutral fan basically putting them straight with his opinion on the game after some of the guff they'd talked about earlier.
 
i know it’s been mentioned before but just watched the highlights and blimey the pitch is looking poor. don’t really notice as much from where i sit in north stand
 
Great result !!

Didn’t see that coming after the 1st 60 minutes but once Whyte came on it was clear the players had a lift and showed more energy and determination.

After the 1st goal the confidence started flowing.

But true to form we had to make it a squeaky bum finish ?.

Now on to next Saturday to make it 3 league wins in a row!!

COYYs

Yes we seemed to come alive when Whyte came on. Thinking about Sinclair's contribution, I wonder when the last time an Oxford striker scored twice in one game? I am happy to be proved wrong, but I can't think of anyone since Danny Hylton.
 
Yes we seemed to come alive when Whyte came on. Thinking about Sinclair's contribution, I wonder when the last time an Oxford striker scored twice in one game? I am happy to be proved wrong, but I can't think of anyone since Danny Hylton.
McAleny scored two separate hat tricks for us two years ago. Chesterfield and Bury.
 

Any one want a Sunday night dose of bitterness?
Interesting comments on McMahon. They reckon he’s the leader of their back line, and his absence lead to the poor shape and marking from which sinclair scored twice. Masterstroke loaning him to them from our perspective!
 
I agree he’s better than Hanson. All round really. Defensively he was sound, not that he was tested massively by Scunthorpe. It would be good to see the data from @Shosho
But I think we stopped much getting at us down the channels, which takes the pressure off of Dickie and Nelson.
His energy was world class today! Up and down the pitch for 90 minutes. But most importantly it was at the right times!!!!! Not leaving us exposed or chasing back. He read the game very well.
He looked like he wanted to keep the shirt and KR should reward him likewise.

Impressive by long but where does that leave the big money (for us) signing of Hanson?

Just had a look at this!

Scunthorpe had 13 crosses, 8 accurate. 4 came from Tom Pearce, the left back. Oxford had 23 crosses, 5 accurate. Graham the most productive crossing 8 times from open play.

Form an Oxford perspective, I still think we are too wasteful once into the final 3rd and should be making use of cutbacks more...however, this was our shot map:
1177

Just shows quality of chances is preferable to volume (preferably both!)

Specifically on Sam Long vs Scunthorpe...
  • He was involved in the most defensive duels (13, winning 54%)
  • He made the most interceptions (10)
  • Along with Ruffels he made the joint most clearances (7)

As a defensive display, Long was very good and certainly appears to be more positionally aware than Hanson. The downside, if I was being critical is his quality on the ball (I think the same of Ruffels). Our play relys on us carrying the ball (we attempted and completed the most dribbles in league 1 on Saturday) and therefore relys on Long/Ruffels supplying Graham/Whyte/Browne. Long certainly appears to make us more defensively stable (based on Scunthorpe...yet to look at Blackpool!)
 
Interesting comments on McMahon. They reckon he’s the leader of their back line, and his absence lead to the poor shape and marking from which sinclair scored twice. Masterstroke loaning him to them from our perspective!
Family reasons he wanted out
 
Watching the game the old-fashioned way, Long looks far better positionally than Hanson.

Hanson seems pretty keen to get in front of the attackers, make interceptions. He has been caught out several times this way. Long is much more solid but doesn’t offer as much on the ball
 
Hanson seems pretty keen to get in front of the attackers, make interceptions. He has been caught out several times this way. Long is much more solid but doesn’t offer as much on the ball

Right now we NEED a defender not someone who goes missing every now and again.
 
Hanson seems pretty keen to get in front of the attackers, make interceptions. He has been caught out several times this way. Long is much more solid but doesn’t offer as much on the ball
He's been caught out far more often by being nowhere near the player he is meant to be covering.

I also dont think Hanson is as good with the ball as people seem to be claiming.
 
Hanson seems pretty keen to get in front of the attackers, make interceptions. He has been caught out several times this way. Long is much more solid but doesn’t offer as much on the ball
Agree with that.
At the moment Long is making a difference defensively.
He has been playing as CB in the U23s this season. I wonder if that has been a mistake as it is a very different position going forwards to a full back.
 
Agree with the general sentiments here - Long was excellent defensively on Saturday (as, to be fair, was the entire back line other than the first five minutes and a bit of an injury time panic).

He is also very limited on the ball - there were a couple of passes at the weekend that he overhit by a good twenty yards.
However, that would only really be a prime consideration if his competition for the right back spot had Baldockian prowess (figured George deserves his own adjective) going forwards. Hanson doesn't, and we're in a scrap for our League One lives here, so you take the defensive solidity every time.

Scunthorpe had 13 crosses, 8 accurate. 4 came from Tom Pearce, the left back. Oxford had 23 crosses, 5 accurate. Graham the most productive crossing 8 times from open play.

So essentially 23 crosses, 18 crap and 5 decent.

But of those 5 - two were of the highest order. Mousinho's in particular was sublime - almost nothing you could do to defend that one (Sykes' for the first goal was great too, although I feel like the left back should have done more. He didn't exactly make Sinclair's life difficult for that one).
 
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Right now we NEED a defender not someone who goes missing every now and again.

Agree! Wasn’t being critical of Long, he certainly adds defensively, just could improve on the ball (IMO!). Can’t moan about some of the interceptions and tackles he’s made
 
Agree with the general sentiments here - Long was excellent defensively on Saturday (as, to be fair, was the entire back line other than the first five minutes and a bit of an injury time panic).

He is also very limited on the ball - there were a couple of passes at the weekend that he overhit by a good twenty yards.
However, that would only really be a prime consideration if his competition for the right back spot had Baldockian prowess (figured George deserves his own adjective) going forwards. Hanson doesn't, and we're in a scrap for our League One lives here, so you take the defensive solidity every time.



So essentially 23 crosses, 18 crap and 5 decent.

But of those 5 - two were of the highest order. Mousinho's in particular was sublime - almost nothing you could do to defend that one (Sykes' for the first goal was great too, although I feel like the left back should have done more. He didn't exactly make Sinclair's life difficult for that one).

Yep! As I’ve been banging on crossing isn’t very efficient and normally ends up giving possession back to the opposition or being blocked. We crossed from better areas and Sinclair stayed in the six yard box.

I think getting Graham and Whyte to the touch line for cut backs is the way to go but KR highlighted after that they worked on crossing from better areas (Sykes inside the box) which is certainly an improvement on just throwing the ball in the box as we have done previously
 
I think the penny has dropped a little bit in the last few weeks and the team have realised that to creat chances, when we are in the final 3rd, get the bloody thing into the box as quickly as possible. Things will happen.
 
Agree! Wasn’t being critical of Long, he certainly adds defensively, just could improve on the ball (IMO!). Can’t moan about some of the interceptions and tackles he’s made
Interesting as usual.

It seems like a long time ago now. But it seemed as soon as Whyte came on and the game changed. Long got forward more? I felt he was reading the game better not leaving us exposed and just bombing on.
 
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