Summary
Oxford returned to life in league one with a battling performance, ending in a point a piece, against newly promoted MK Dons.
The game ebbed and flowed, with periods of dominance for both sides, but it was a ninety-fifth minute equaliser from Ciaron Brown that earned the U's a much-deserved point against a well- organised, physical Dons team. At times it was a feisty, all-action encounter, with strong tackles going in from both sets of players, but equally there were lulls in the game, when it's fair to say Aaron Ramsey's side struggled to get going.
MK out-fought us in the air, due to the sheer height in their team, and ultimately scored two headed goals from crosses, as I illuded to as being the area in which they would target us in the match preview. However, when the ball was on the deck, Oxford had some real moments of quality and fast-moving passages of play, turning from back to front very quickly, in which you could clearly see the style Ramsey is trying to imprint on this group of players. Although both goals from Mark Harris and Ciaron Brown could be filed under the 'scrappy' category, the biggest positive was that both goals came from open play, something which has been a real struggle for us in the last couple of seasons.
On another day, and with another referee, there is a very good chance that the result could look much sweeter. Moments like Mark Harris running through on goal but no advantage being played, and a blatant penalty that should have been given for an elbow to the face of Tyler Goodrham, leave a fairly bitter taste in the mouth, but overall there are plenty of positives that Oxford fans can take from this game, in particular the second half, and look forward to only seeing more of this as Ramsey has more and more time to work with the squad on the training ground.
Player ratings
Jamie Cumming - 4/10 - Looked very shaky and failed to claim crosses. Was at fault for the first goal in particular and had a dodgy moment in the second half where the ball came off the post. Made a couple of decent saves in the first half which saves him from having a lower rating.
Brodie Spencer - 5/10 - Didn't do much in possession; had a couple of moments where he was caught out of position defensively in the first half but nothing too costly.
Peter Kioso - 6/10 - Provided more attacking threat down the right when he came on and linked up well with Aidomo Emakhu a couple of times, but without putting any dangerous crosses into the box.
Jack Currie - 7/10 - Had some lovely touches early on in the game and was a big part in our dominant period in the second half, providing an outlet on the left. Defensively solid as ever.
Ciaron Brown - 7/10 - A number of big headers won from defensive corners to nullify MK Dons' aerial threat. Noticeably poor on the ball but scoring an equalising goal in that fashion bumps him up a bit.
Sam Long - 4/10 - Very weak in the air; getting out-jumped for the Dons' second goal and potentially should have cleared the first header off the line. Didn't do much in possession either.
Jamie McDonnell - 5/10 - Wasn't as good out of possession as usual; lost the midfield battle to Ryan Wintle and Dan Barlaser when he was on the pitch. Needs to get on the ball more to warrant a place in the starting line-up of a team that wants to dominate the ball.
Cam Brannagan - 8/10 (MOTM) - Solid first half, but really shone in the second. Dictated the play and had a couple of threatening bursts into the box. Really reminded us of the quality he possesses at this level.
Tyler Goodrham - 5/10 - Really struggled to get into the game and went missing for large parts of it; nothing particularly memorable.
Aidomo Emakhu - 4/10 - Awful first half: didn't touch the ball for the first twenty minutes and wasn't involved at all. Had a better second half, getting the better of the MK left back on a few occasions towards the end of the game, but failed to put any threatening balls into the penalty area.
Siriki Dembele - 7/10 - Similar to his game at Orient: started really well and showed his quality once more, but drifted out of the game as it went on. Linked up really well with Jack Currie in the first period, but as ever, failed in his end product. His deflected shot was turned in by Mark Harris.
Mo Missanga - 7/10 - Had he come on earlier he may well have got MOTM. Very positive with the ball at his feet, taking players on and getting the better of them on both the outside and inside. Heavily involved in the second goal. Incredibly exciting!
Mark Harris - 6/10 - Reminded us of his sharp finishing ability in the box. Pressed really well in the first twenty minutes and really rushed their defenders in possession but struggled throughout the game with his link up play.
Gatlin O'Donkor - 7/10 - Came on as a battering ram and gave us a really strong outlet up top, playing with Harris. Won a very dangerous foul, which arguably should have seen a red card issued to their player, from his pressing and work rate. Will be pushing for a start.
Tactics
As I mentioned throughout in the match preview, MK Dons were an incredibly physical outfit who focused on getting the ball into wide areas, with their wing backs pushing high and whipping in quality crosses to the two high standard finishers in their side, which is exactly how they scored their second goal in particular. They also managed to win the midfield battle for most of the first half, by deploying two men deeper, making them able to not only control possession, but also mark Tyler Goodrham out of the game for most of it.
For Aaron Ramsey, he should be very happy with the substitutions he made, who really impacted the game, something that has been questioned in this Oxford squad. More interestingly, his decision to change formation on the sixtieth minute massively contributed to the dominant spell we had from this point on.
Having started in a standard 4-2-3-1, this evidently wasn't working at this point. In the sixty-fourth minute, Ramsey brought on Gatlin O'Donkor for Jamie McDonnell, which was a very positive, attack-minded substitution. This led to a change in shape, where his side moved to a 4-1-4-1, which allowed Cam Branngan to play his best position, at the base of a midfield three, and dictate the tempo of the game much more. Additionally, having the two more advanced midfield players meant we could shift the ball into wide areas quicker and enjoy more success there. Perhaps most interestingly, Mark Harris was used as one of those midfielders/number tens. This worked incredibly well with him playing in behind Gatlin O'Donkor and the two complimented each other well. We should hope that is something we see more of this season.
Final comments
With a lot of talk off the pitch before the game, and some immature actions from players and their dads, it was a much needed return to focus on what was going on, on the pitch.
Chairman Dusan Bogdanovic being in attendance was a positive, but it ever more begs the question of why he is unable to answer important questions from fans, or why he can't go on BBC Radio Oxford to be interviewed, as many of his predecessors have done.
After all the things as Oxford fans we have been subjected to over this painful summer, a moment like that late on in the game, and a moment like we had with the team just before their pre-match huddle was much earned. Let's hope we can really kick on!
Hope you enjoyed reading, and as always, please leave your thoughts below!
Oxford returned to life in league one with a battling performance, ending in a point a piece, against newly promoted MK Dons.
The game ebbed and flowed, with periods of dominance for both sides, but it was a ninety-fifth minute equaliser from Ciaron Brown that earned the U's a much-deserved point against a well- organised, physical Dons team. At times it was a feisty, all-action encounter, with strong tackles going in from both sets of players, but equally there were lulls in the game, when it's fair to say Aaron Ramsey's side struggled to get going.
MK out-fought us in the air, due to the sheer height in their team, and ultimately scored two headed goals from crosses, as I illuded to as being the area in which they would target us in the match preview. However, when the ball was on the deck, Oxford had some real moments of quality and fast-moving passages of play, turning from back to front very quickly, in which you could clearly see the style Ramsey is trying to imprint on this group of players. Although both goals from Mark Harris and Ciaron Brown could be filed under the 'scrappy' category, the biggest positive was that both goals came from open play, something which has been a real struggle for us in the last couple of seasons.
On another day, and with another referee, there is a very good chance that the result could look much sweeter. Moments like Mark Harris running through on goal but no advantage being played, and a blatant penalty that should have been given for an elbow to the face of Tyler Goodrham, leave a fairly bitter taste in the mouth, but overall there are plenty of positives that Oxford fans can take from this game, in particular the second half, and look forward to only seeing more of this as Ramsey has more and more time to work with the squad on the training ground.
Player ratings
Jamie Cumming - 4/10 - Looked very shaky and failed to claim crosses. Was at fault for the first goal in particular and had a dodgy moment in the second half where the ball came off the post. Made a couple of decent saves in the first half which saves him from having a lower rating.
Brodie Spencer - 5/10 - Didn't do much in possession; had a couple of moments where he was caught out of position defensively in the first half but nothing too costly.
Peter Kioso - 6/10 - Provided more attacking threat down the right when he came on and linked up well with Aidomo Emakhu a couple of times, but without putting any dangerous crosses into the box.
Jack Currie - 7/10 - Had some lovely touches early on in the game and was a big part in our dominant period in the second half, providing an outlet on the left. Defensively solid as ever.
Ciaron Brown - 7/10 - A number of big headers won from defensive corners to nullify MK Dons' aerial threat. Noticeably poor on the ball but scoring an equalising goal in that fashion bumps him up a bit.
Sam Long - 4/10 - Very weak in the air; getting out-jumped for the Dons' second goal and potentially should have cleared the first header off the line. Didn't do much in possession either.
Jamie McDonnell - 5/10 - Wasn't as good out of possession as usual; lost the midfield battle to Ryan Wintle and Dan Barlaser when he was on the pitch. Needs to get on the ball more to warrant a place in the starting line-up of a team that wants to dominate the ball.
Cam Brannagan - 8/10 (MOTM) - Solid first half, but really shone in the second. Dictated the play and had a couple of threatening bursts into the box. Really reminded us of the quality he possesses at this level.
Tyler Goodrham - 5/10 - Really struggled to get into the game and went missing for large parts of it; nothing particularly memorable.
Aidomo Emakhu - 4/10 - Awful first half: didn't touch the ball for the first twenty minutes and wasn't involved at all. Had a better second half, getting the better of the MK left back on a few occasions towards the end of the game, but failed to put any threatening balls into the penalty area.
Siriki Dembele - 7/10 - Similar to his game at Orient: started really well and showed his quality once more, but drifted out of the game as it went on. Linked up really well with Jack Currie in the first period, but as ever, failed in his end product. His deflected shot was turned in by Mark Harris.
Mo Missanga - 7/10 - Had he come on earlier he may well have got MOTM. Very positive with the ball at his feet, taking players on and getting the better of them on both the outside and inside. Heavily involved in the second goal. Incredibly exciting!
Mark Harris - 6/10 - Reminded us of his sharp finishing ability in the box. Pressed really well in the first twenty minutes and really rushed their defenders in possession but struggled throughout the game with his link up play.
Gatlin O'Donkor - 7/10 - Came on as a battering ram and gave us a really strong outlet up top, playing with Harris. Won a very dangerous foul, which arguably should have seen a red card issued to their player, from his pressing and work rate. Will be pushing for a start.
Tactics
As I mentioned throughout in the match preview, MK Dons were an incredibly physical outfit who focused on getting the ball into wide areas, with their wing backs pushing high and whipping in quality crosses to the two high standard finishers in their side, which is exactly how they scored their second goal in particular. They also managed to win the midfield battle for most of the first half, by deploying two men deeper, making them able to not only control possession, but also mark Tyler Goodrham out of the game for most of it.
For Aaron Ramsey, he should be very happy with the substitutions he made, who really impacted the game, something that has been questioned in this Oxford squad. More interestingly, his decision to change formation on the sixtieth minute massively contributed to the dominant spell we had from this point on.
Having started in a standard 4-2-3-1, this evidently wasn't working at this point. In the sixty-fourth minute, Ramsey brought on Gatlin O'Donkor for Jamie McDonnell, which was a very positive, attack-minded substitution. This led to a change in shape, where his side moved to a 4-1-4-1, which allowed Cam Branngan to play his best position, at the base of a midfield three, and dictate the tempo of the game much more. Additionally, having the two more advanced midfield players meant we could shift the ball into wide areas quicker and enjoy more success there. Perhaps most interestingly, Mark Harris was used as one of those midfielders/number tens. This worked incredibly well with him playing in behind Gatlin O'Donkor and the two complimented each other well. We should hope that is something we see more of this season.
Final comments
With a lot of talk off the pitch before the game, and some immature actions from players and their dads, it was a much needed return to focus on what was going on, on the pitch.
Chairman Dusan Bogdanovic being in attendance was a positive, but it ever more begs the question of why he is unable to answer important questions from fans, or why he can't go on BBC Radio Oxford to be interviewed, as many of his predecessors have done.
After all the things as Oxford fans we have been subjected to over this painful summer, a moment like that late on in the game, and a moment like we had with the team just before their pre-match huddle was much earned. Let's hope we can really kick on!
Hope you enjoyed reading, and as always, please leave your thoughts below!
