Summary
Oxford earned their first three points back in league one, with a hard-fought and impressive victory at Stevenage. With the game panning out largely as expected in the first half, Aaron Ramsey's side really turned it on in the second period, injecting quality into the game; ultimately giving Ramsey his first win in permanent management.
In the first half, there was very little quality on display from both sides, with Stevenage making it the type of game that they so often thrived in last season: scrappy, frustrating and very physical. Apart from Jamie Cumming going off injured after 9 minutes, not much happened in the first 25 minutes of the game. However, after that, Stevenage resorted to playing countless long balls into the channels, and with the physicality of their two strikers, we really struggled. Then at the end of the first period came a bombardment of Boro set pieces, with Carl Piergianni going closest; heading wide from a few yards out. Oxford were lucky to go in to half time at 0-0.
The second half was a completely different story. From almost the very start of the second period, the U's really ramped up the attacking play and dominated large spells of the game without ever really testing the Stevenage goalkeeper. This changed when the returning Stan Mills and the ever-more impressive Gatlin O'Donkor came off the bench. From this point on, Oxford's wingers constantly got the better of the Boro full backs, and just 2 minutes after coming on, Mills tuned provider for O'Donkor to head home, giving us a much-deserved lead. From then on, Ramsey's team showed real professionalism and intent to keep trying for the second goal, until a penalty was awarded and Cam Brannagan fired home. We were then unlucky not to keep a clean sheet, with a scrappy goal right at the end for the opposition, but I don't think too many will be complaining after the result and second half performance.
With Aaron Ramsey saying in his post-match interview that "we can still get better", it's hard not to get excited by the potential of his side as he has more and more time with the players on the training pitch. Additionally, given that Stevenage only lost two games at the Lamex throughout the whole of last season, this result looks even more impressive at a notoriously tough place to go!
Player ratings
Just for reference, if a player comes on for a couple of minutes at the end, it's not worth giving them a rating, in the case of Spencer and Goodrham here.
Simon Eastwood - 6/10 - Was brilliant to see him back out there, and didn't put a foot wrong. Didn't have much to do but made one really strong save in the second half.
Peter Kioso - 7/10 - Much improved both defensively and in possession. Not much got past him and made a couple of good darts down the right hand side. Good to see him back to his best as he's a really likeable bloke.
Jack Currie - 7/10 - Had a poor first half by his standards but so much better in the second. Lots of the play went through him and thought he picked out some brilliant passes in-field in the second half. Struggled a bit with the physicality defensively.
Ciaron Brown - 8/10 - Swept up everything in the first half and commanded the back line. Showed why he is one of the best defenders in this division.
Michal Helik - 7/10 - Similar story for him. Massively improved us aerially in defence and won lots of duals as he so often does. Hopefully proved why he should be starting every week.
Jamie McDonnell - 5/10 - Maybe slightly harsh but was really poor in possession in the first half and got overrun at times in the midfield.
Cam Brannagan - 7/10 - Didn't do much outside of the penalty but drove us up the pitch at times in the second period. Blasted a free kick which was unlucky not to go in.
Louie Sibley - 6/10 - Suited this game with his tenacity off the ball but was poor on the ball. Expect this to be the type of game that he is deployed in across the season.
Siriki Dembele - 6/10 - As he did last week: started the game well but really drifted out of it as it went on. Think he'd be much more useful off the bench in that regard.
Aidomo Emakhu - 7/10 - Pretty ineffective first half, but absolutely superb when he moved to the left wing in the second. Beat his man time after time, just needs to work on that final delivery.
Stan Mills - 7/10 - Assist with his first touch of the season, clipping a delightful ball into the box. Wasn't really involved much after that. Hope to see more of what he can do at this level.
Mark Harris - 6/10 - Struggled with the physicality in the first period but so much better when he dropped behind O'Donkor. Two games in a row where he's looked much better playing as a number 10; will be interesting to see if this is something Ramsey turns to often.
Gatlin O'Donkor - 9/10 (MOTM) - Headed finish for the first goal is something we've been missing up front for so long. Used his pace and strength to trouble the Stevenage back line, and did brilliantly well to win the penalty by running in behind. So pleased for him!
Key talking points
#1: Second half surge
That's now two games in a row where the performance has been considerably better in the second period. Why is that?
Well, the key to this improvement is the formation shift from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-1-4-1 in both the MK Dons game and this one, both around the 60th minute mark. This change allows Harris to drop in behind O'Donkor and effectively play as a number 10, something we haven't seen him do before, but a role he's really thrived in, in the first couple of games. This switch also allows Brannagan to play either as the single 6 and dictate the tempo of the game, as he did against MK Dons, or, with McDonnell staying on the pitch in this game, allows Brannagan to play further forward and drive the team into the box. Both of these are roles that he can do incredibly well, but in the 4-2-3-1, we are continually seeing him struggle in a double pivot with the balance of getting forward and getting on the ball in deep areas.
#2: Aaron Ramsey
A bit broad, but I am just so impressed with everything about Ramsey's start to life at Oxford, whether it be from a communication point of view or an on-pitch, tactical one.
He made some bold decisions with the team selection, starting the likes of Kioso and Sibley and benching Spencer and Goodrham, yet for a manager taking charge of only his third competitive game at the club, I felt so much trust in his decision making. Additionally, the experience he showed in a game like that to weather the storm and get into half time at 0-0, before using the quality he had left on the bench to win the match was remarkable, as it is this kind of experience that is often questioned in young managers.
He has already built a relationship with the fans, despite his reluctance to join in the celebrations at the end, and this will only improve if he carries on delivering results like this!
#3: Stan's the man (kind of)
The return of Stan Mills to the matchday squad was definitely the most talked about thing pre-kick off, with him receiving a mixture of positive and negative reception. Ultimately, he is here until January and we should make the most of having the best right winger in the league in our ranks, by getting behind him and encouraging him to give his all. That's not to say the way he has behaved is right, and the negative reaction towards him is understandable, but at this point, when he is putting the shirt on and playing for the club, it makes no sense not to support him.
All that aside, it was great to see him deliver a quality assist with his first touch of a football this season, showing the level we all know he can reach in this division.
What does this all mean?
Well, Oxford sit in 4th position, and although it's only early days, this result sends a clear message out to the other teams in this league, and to fellow league one fans who had maybe expected us to be towards the bottom end of the table this season. Of course, nothing is settled after two games but there are certainly encouraging signs.
This is our highest points return after two games for five years and is a brilliant start to this particularly tough first five games of the season.
Many thanks for reading and let me know your thoughts on the game and the start to the season as a whole!
Oxford earned their first three points back in league one, with a hard-fought and impressive victory at Stevenage. With the game panning out largely as expected in the first half, Aaron Ramsey's side really turned it on in the second period, injecting quality into the game; ultimately giving Ramsey his first win in permanent management.
In the first half, there was very little quality on display from both sides, with Stevenage making it the type of game that they so often thrived in last season: scrappy, frustrating and very physical. Apart from Jamie Cumming going off injured after 9 minutes, not much happened in the first 25 minutes of the game. However, after that, Stevenage resorted to playing countless long balls into the channels, and with the physicality of their two strikers, we really struggled. Then at the end of the first period came a bombardment of Boro set pieces, with Carl Piergianni going closest; heading wide from a few yards out. Oxford were lucky to go in to half time at 0-0.
The second half was a completely different story. From almost the very start of the second period, the U's really ramped up the attacking play and dominated large spells of the game without ever really testing the Stevenage goalkeeper. This changed when the returning Stan Mills and the ever-more impressive Gatlin O'Donkor came off the bench. From this point on, Oxford's wingers constantly got the better of the Boro full backs, and just 2 minutes after coming on, Mills tuned provider for O'Donkor to head home, giving us a much-deserved lead. From then on, Ramsey's team showed real professionalism and intent to keep trying for the second goal, until a penalty was awarded and Cam Brannagan fired home. We were then unlucky not to keep a clean sheet, with a scrappy goal right at the end for the opposition, but I don't think too many will be complaining after the result and second half performance.
With Aaron Ramsey saying in his post-match interview that "we can still get better", it's hard not to get excited by the potential of his side as he has more and more time with the players on the training pitch. Additionally, given that Stevenage only lost two games at the Lamex throughout the whole of last season, this result looks even more impressive at a notoriously tough place to go!
Player ratings
Just for reference, if a player comes on for a couple of minutes at the end, it's not worth giving them a rating, in the case of Spencer and Goodrham here.
Simon Eastwood - 6/10 - Was brilliant to see him back out there, and didn't put a foot wrong. Didn't have much to do but made one really strong save in the second half.
Peter Kioso - 7/10 - Much improved both defensively and in possession. Not much got past him and made a couple of good darts down the right hand side. Good to see him back to his best as he's a really likeable bloke.
Jack Currie - 7/10 - Had a poor first half by his standards but so much better in the second. Lots of the play went through him and thought he picked out some brilliant passes in-field in the second half. Struggled a bit with the physicality defensively.
Ciaron Brown - 8/10 - Swept up everything in the first half and commanded the back line. Showed why he is one of the best defenders in this division.
Michal Helik - 7/10 - Similar story for him. Massively improved us aerially in defence and won lots of duals as he so often does. Hopefully proved why he should be starting every week.
Jamie McDonnell - 5/10 - Maybe slightly harsh but was really poor in possession in the first half and got overrun at times in the midfield.
Cam Brannagan - 7/10 - Didn't do much outside of the penalty but drove us up the pitch at times in the second period. Blasted a free kick which was unlucky not to go in.
Louie Sibley - 6/10 - Suited this game with his tenacity off the ball but was poor on the ball. Expect this to be the type of game that he is deployed in across the season.
Siriki Dembele - 6/10 - As he did last week: started the game well but really drifted out of it as it went on. Think he'd be much more useful off the bench in that regard.
Aidomo Emakhu - 7/10 - Pretty ineffective first half, but absolutely superb when he moved to the left wing in the second. Beat his man time after time, just needs to work on that final delivery.
Stan Mills - 7/10 - Assist with his first touch of the season, clipping a delightful ball into the box. Wasn't really involved much after that. Hope to see more of what he can do at this level.
Mark Harris - 6/10 - Struggled with the physicality in the first period but so much better when he dropped behind O'Donkor. Two games in a row where he's looked much better playing as a number 10; will be interesting to see if this is something Ramsey turns to often.
Gatlin O'Donkor - 9/10 (MOTM) - Headed finish for the first goal is something we've been missing up front for so long. Used his pace and strength to trouble the Stevenage back line, and did brilliantly well to win the penalty by running in behind. So pleased for him!
Key talking points
#1: Second half surge
That's now two games in a row where the performance has been considerably better in the second period. Why is that?
Well, the key to this improvement is the formation shift from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-1-4-1 in both the MK Dons game and this one, both around the 60th minute mark. This change allows Harris to drop in behind O'Donkor and effectively play as a number 10, something we haven't seen him do before, but a role he's really thrived in, in the first couple of games. This switch also allows Brannagan to play either as the single 6 and dictate the tempo of the game, as he did against MK Dons, or, with McDonnell staying on the pitch in this game, allows Brannagan to play further forward and drive the team into the box. Both of these are roles that he can do incredibly well, but in the 4-2-3-1, we are continually seeing him struggle in a double pivot with the balance of getting forward and getting on the ball in deep areas.
#2: Aaron Ramsey
A bit broad, but I am just so impressed with everything about Ramsey's start to life at Oxford, whether it be from a communication point of view or an on-pitch, tactical one.
He made some bold decisions with the team selection, starting the likes of Kioso and Sibley and benching Spencer and Goodrham, yet for a manager taking charge of only his third competitive game at the club, I felt so much trust in his decision making. Additionally, the experience he showed in a game like that to weather the storm and get into half time at 0-0, before using the quality he had left on the bench to win the match was remarkable, as it is this kind of experience that is often questioned in young managers.
He has already built a relationship with the fans, despite his reluctance to join in the celebrations at the end, and this will only improve if he carries on delivering results like this!
#3: Stan's the man (kind of)
The return of Stan Mills to the matchday squad was definitely the most talked about thing pre-kick off, with him receiving a mixture of positive and negative reception. Ultimately, he is here until January and we should make the most of having the best right winger in the league in our ranks, by getting behind him and encouraging him to give his all. That's not to say the way he has behaved is right, and the negative reaction towards him is understandable, but at this point, when he is putting the shirt on and playing for the club, it makes no sense not to support him.
All that aside, it was great to see him deliver a quality assist with his first touch of a football this season, showing the level we all know he can reach in this division.
What does this all mean?
Well, Oxford sit in 4th position, and although it's only early days, this result sends a clear message out to the other teams in this league, and to fellow league one fans who had maybe expected us to be towards the bottom end of the table this season. Of course, nothing is settled after two games but there are certainly encouraging signs.
This is our highest points return after two games for five years and is a brilliant start to this particularly tough first five games of the season.
Many thanks for reading and let me know your thoughts on the game and the start to the season as a whole!
