Home Match Day Thread 7/4/2023 L1: OUFC v Sheffield Wednesday

[Eaststanding]

Hit with no pace… only place he was ever going to put it. Reacts too late. Accuracy was great but a decent goal keeper reads that all day long.

Funniest f*****g comment I’ve seen all day.. So if Bannan had whipped it in near post, that would have been the only place he could put it? Or top right corner? Do yourself a favour, watch it again and see how much bend he puts on it. I’m not saying it’s unstoppable but the Eastwood hating over that shot is laughable. Ball bobbling around first half and he miskicks, but then goes and keeps us in it with two excellent saves second half. The life of a goalkeeper, mad eh?

 

[RyanioBirdio]

Stevens had a good first season but I think he was overhyped by a lot of our fans, as is often the way with football fans.

Aston Villa tried to buy him and Arsenal scouted him for a full year, so not sure it’s just a few Oxford fans thinking he was better than he was.

 

[Blox21]

Eastwood was poor. At fault for the goal- beaten from distance again. A great strike but he was out of position, and looked frail throughout

Disagree with you about Eastwood being at fault for the goal , a great strike which would of beaten most keepers before this yes he was poor

 

[Eaststanding]

Eastwood was poor. At fault for the goal- beaten from distance again. A great strike but he was out of position, and looked frail throughout

And another one…this must be a wind up.
The hating on Eastwood after the game he had today? He kept us in it, at least twice. How many crosses did he come for? How many times did he put himself where it hurts? Frail? Behave.

 

[tim lane]

Eastwood was poor. At fault for the goal- beaten from distance again. A great strike but he was out of position, and looked frail throughout

'at fault for the goal', 'out of position', 'looked frail throughout', what utter crap! After a dodgy first few minutes - including having to deal with two very poor back passes - he had a tremendous game, including a superb save at the beginning of the second half.

 

[Orkney Islands Yellow]

Results elsewhere didn't go our way however. Must win on Monday.

 

[Osei Yaw]

If we really need to blame someone for their goal today then it should be Wildschut, not Eastwood. Absolutely no way you should let Bannan cut in on his left foot from there, he had to be shown down the line.

Eastwood made a brilliant save from Wilks and made a lot of good claims and punches under pressure. He looked like his old self in the second half.

 

[Swaby39]

Funniest f*****g comment I’ve seen all day.. So if Bannan had whipped it in near post, that would have been the only place he could put it? Or top right corner? Do yourself a favour, watch it again and see how much bend he puts on it. I’m not saying it’s unstoppable but the Eastwood hating over that shot is laughable. Ball bobbling around first half and he miskicks, but then goes and keeps us in it with two excellent saves second half. The life of a goalkeeper, mad eh?

His save in the second half was exceptional and more than made up for anything else.

If you’re not saying it’s unstoppable then you’re acknowledging another goalkeeper would get there which was my first reaction when I saw it. The near post isn’t really on thanks to Wildschut’s pretty lazy press. By place I meant direction.

Criticism might be slightly excessive but I’m tired of seeing him beaten from range and I feel this was another exposure of that weakness in his game.

 

[bazzer9461]

Just took a look, comments range from Stevens being a clown to never want him in a Vale shirt again. Additionally they don't seem impressed with Taylor commenting that he constantly falls over.

Does he? Well I never

 

[Eaststanding]

His save in the second half was exceptional and more than made up for anything else.

If you’re not saying it’s unstoppable then you’re acknowledging another goalkeeper would get there which was my first reaction when I saw it. The near post isn’t really on thanks to Wildschut’s pretty lazy press.

Criticism might be slightly excessive but I’m tired of seeing him beaten from range and I feel this was another exposure of that weakness in his game.

So am I, but this was no daisy cutter that we’d expect him to save. Top keepers, and I mean championship/ premier league level, might get to it but it would be some save.

 

[werthersoriginal]

So am I, but this was no daisy cutter that we’d expect him to save. Top keepers, and I mean championship/ premier league level, might get to it but it would be some save.

I was in line of the shot for the goal and there was ridiculous curve on it, Eastwood wasn’t at fault though he looked as nervous as a kitten for the first few minutes.

 

[Foley]

Monday's game is so critical.

Port Vale have just lost back-to-back to Cambridge and Accrington; they'll be missing their holding central midfielder because he got sent off today and missing their striker because he's ours. Plus, we're all of a sudden organized and competent again. It's the game that should be the end of our winless run.

Win it, and I think we'll stay up relatively comfortably.

Don't win it, then we're facing three more tough games back-to-back, and I reckon it'll all end up coming down to the final day........

Spot on
We need to win Monday and really should
A massive game

 

[Foley]

Oh, and one final point. Please can we avoid using words like bint and bitch to describe female commentators and the ref. It's really unnecessary!!

I was walking back to the car and passed a Wednesday mini bus.
One of their supporters said 'what division are we in... a female referee" wtf?

 

[ZeroTheHero]

Aston Villa tried to buy him and Arsenal scouted him for a full year, so not sure it’s just a few Oxford fans thinking he was better than he was.

He was definitely very promising when we first saw him. His bout of glandular fever didn't help, but maybe he is just one of the many young footballers who show ability but never really develop into being top class pros? He certainly doesn't seem to have impressed them in Burslem.

 

[RyanioBirdio]

He was definitely very promising when we first saw him. His bout of glandular fever didn't help, but maybe he is just one of the many young footballers who show ability but never really develop into being top class pros? He certainly doesn't seem to have impressed them in Burslem.

Maybe. I’m merely pointing out that big Premier League clubs bidding for him means he was never only hyped by a few Oxford fans.

 

[Thomas/Brock/Jones]

Maybe. I’m merely pointing out that big Premier League clubs bidding for him means he was never only hyped by a few Oxford fans.

He certainly looked and showed all of the qualities of a potentially very decent keeper.
The glandular fever came at a poor time and he hasn't hit the same heights since sadly

 

[Scotchegg]

Stevens was exceptional whilst playing in empty stadiums during covid and it may also be an issue with him adapting to playing in front of crowds. Complete guess work of course, but his form has dropped off considerably over the last two seasons and could be a factor alongside the illnesses he suffered.

There's definitely potential there, we've all seen it. But Stevens needs a good season to reestablish his career and rebuild his confidence. Hopefully he puts this year behind him and works his nuts off in preseason to regain the no.1 spot here but I think it's more likely that his future will be elsewhere.

 

[Osleroad]

I was in line of the shot for the goal and there was ridiculous curve on it, Eastwood wasn’t at fault though he looked as nervous as a kitten for the first few minutes.

I think the strong sunlight down that end can't have helped but at least he was smiling to himself and not in a complete lather!

 

[uptheus]

Just had a read through the thread. Firstly, I'm not sure we were as bad as some were suggesting at half time. We looked nervy at times, and Easty had a bit of a mare, but we also had some moments where we really took the game to Sheff.Wed and Moore's head a foot either side gives us the lead.

Wildschut and Murphy weren't great, but I don't think they were the liabilities that some were labeling them as. In fact, overall I though Murphy had a reasonable game and was more involved in the second half.

Easty knew that he'd had a bad half and pulled out 2 or 3 great stops early in the second half that set the tone for what was to come. Gats was excellent, but I do worry that he looks like someone perfect to bring on rather than someone to start the game. He links well with Joseph, who worked incredibly hard all game and both just need to add the finishing touches to become very good strikers at this level.

Browne and Brown were both very good too, but I also thought that McGuane was excellent but plays the sort of game that often goes under the radar. Brannagan was more effective too in the second half and was constantly talking and encouraging those around him. Moore, Findlay and Long were all solid at the back, although Long's distribution wasn't great in the first half. Negru looked the part when he came on and I'd have no worries if he started against Port Vale, although after his display I wouldn't be surprised to see Fleming on the left and Brown alongside Findlay.

However, the most impressive thing was how we saw out the game. I wasn't at all worried to see 8 minutes go up and thought that it would just give us longer to snatch a win. The Fleming clearance made my a-hole twitch and I wasn't sure what was going on with the drop ball at the end, but that aside we dealt with the last 20 minutes with a real calmness that can only be a good thing as we go through the next 4 weeks.

Not sure what game you were watching, but Eastwood had a great game today. Yes, one dodgy kick in the first half, but the ball bobbled just in front of him, plus a very poor back pass by Long on another occasion which he did the right thing. Other than that his handling was excellent, took crossed and made 2 world class saves.

Oh, and how McGuane got MOTM is beyond me. I actually thought it was either Eastwood or Brown.

And lastly, I actually think it’s very much the same in out overall okay. Yes, we look more structured, but we still lack anything in the final third. Joseph still runs around a lot, and you certainly cannot question his effort, but lacks any kind of finesse/cuteness or the ability to read the flight/bounce of the ball.

Was disappointed with Murphy yet again, and how he gets ahead of Goodrham is beyond me too.

Lastly, we’re a long way from looking like we’ll avoid relegation. In fact, due to our lack of ability to create good open chances or ever really looking like we’ll score in open play makes me think we’ll get relegated, but I hope I’m wrong.

Has much changed, not really, but I guess Manning can only play with the hand he’s been dealt.

 

[uptheus]

Very well deserved point in the end. O'Donkor was a game changer and everyone else played a tremendous part despite a few dodgy moments. Ciaron Brown was fantastic from start to finish and Eastwood went on to make key saves. Joseph was unlucky not to be fed a couple of chances on a plate late on but we definitely have the potential to attack, create chances and score goals. Wildschut was the only majorly disappointing player today and Murphy could've done better but it was always tricky and tense tie and the first half wasn't great from anybody.

If we play like that monday, we can win.

O’Donkor wasn’t the game changer. Actually thought he was quite lazy at first and couldn’t hold the ball up or win anything, but he did improve. I think the game changer was actually having 2 up top.