Did he get a kick today for Stevenage?
That was his first league start for them today and given that in form striker
Gavin Grant was on the bench it was a kind of a strange decision by
Peter Taylor.
Anyway on to the Yellows who were simply terrific today. I cannot remember
us dominating a match from start to finish for a long while until today. The team is developing nicely and I hope we can finish strongly. That will give us all a big confidence booster for 2008/2009.
The midfield looked compact and Murray swaggered through the game with a swashbuckling display along side a fast improving Jamie Hand.I like Blackwood as an orthodox left back too - he looks superb there.
Would n't it be great to keep Matthew Green for next season?
JEROME ANDERSON
I thought Anderson had a good first half...in the second he didn't get a touch.
What a great performance by us though. The whole team performed really well.
Green is an absolute class act. He could play 2-3 divisions above where he is now. If the referee had given him any slack at all he'd could have had 3 or 4 goals - I doubt their central defenders have had to deal with anyone like him in a while. And credit to Richards and McAllister, how nice to have all these mobile strikers.
A mention too for Murray...absolutely ran the show.
But a really good team performance, really enjoyed watching us for the first time in ages.
What a great performance by us though. The whole team performed really well.
Green is an absolute class act. He could play 2-3 divisions above where he is now. If the referee had given him any slack at all he'd could have had 3 or 4 goals - I doubt their central defenders have had to deal with anyone like him in a while. And credit to Richards and McAllister, how nice to have all these mobile strikers.
A mention too for Murray...absolutely ran the show.
But a really good team performance, really enjoyed watching us for the first time in ages.
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recordmeister
- Middle-Aged Spread
- Posts: 1808
- Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2007 11:34 am
- Location: London
It was intersting to hear on RadOx before the game that S'age had been interested in 2 Oxford players. Unnamed but the S'age media seemed convinced that they needed a ball winning midfielder so it would have been Pets or Hutch. That was evident from today. Muzza was playing fairly deep in Central Mid but had so much room. If S'age had a ball winner in the middle of the park, they'd have been a much, much better team.
great show today. The faith is creeping back.
great show today. The faith is creeping back.
Best home performance for ages.
Murray - a really class act. He was always available for a colleague to pass to. Was he just brilliant at finding space or were Stevenage pathetic at denying it to him? He has good control, is confident and has the ability to play telling passes. Well complimented by the improving Hand who plays more simply that his partner. Both worked extremely hard.
The defence was excellent again and a couple of Quinn's tackles had something of the timing of Bobby Moore about them. Foster won loads in the air.
Up front Green is something else & Richards is strong and holds the ball up better than anything we have seen for some time. He's not afraid to run with the ball either.
Perhaps being a little churlish here but there are down sides too - mustn't get too carried away.
The way Richards swings a leg when in sight of goal one would thing he had never seen a football before.
We nearly paid dearly for the over confident Foster trying to dribble instead of hoofing when under pressure. (Quinn to the rescue)
Other than beating his man and producing a quality cross from the by line for Trainer's goal I didn't think Eddie did a lot attacking wise.
For a wide man Trainer's lack of pace showed today and he should have done better than hitting the post.
But these are only minor issues - we have fairly easily beaten a side that started in 2nd place and have been entertained along the way. If only the season started now.
Murray - a really class act. He was always available for a colleague to pass to. Was he just brilliant at finding space or were Stevenage pathetic at denying it to him? He has good control, is confident and has the ability to play telling passes. Well complimented by the improving Hand who plays more simply that his partner. Both worked extremely hard.
The defence was excellent again and a couple of Quinn's tackles had something of the timing of Bobby Moore about them. Foster won loads in the air.
Up front Green is something else & Richards is strong and holds the ball up better than anything we have seen for some time. He's not afraid to run with the ball either.
Perhaps being a little churlish here but there are down sides too - mustn't get too carried away.
The way Richards swings a leg when in sight of goal one would thing he had never seen a football before.
We nearly paid dearly for the over confident Foster trying to dribble instead of hoofing when under pressure. (Quinn to the rescue)
Other than beating his man and producing a quality cross from the by line for Trainer's goal I didn't think Eddie did a lot attacking wise.
For a wide man Trainer's lack of pace showed today and he should have done better than hitting the post.
But these are only minor issues - we have fairly easily beaten a side that started in 2nd place and have been entertained along the way. If only the season started now.
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Paul Cooper
- Dashing young thing
- Posts: 658
- Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2006 9:16 pm
Anderson looked like Fisher to me- not yet ready.
I was surprised that he started and even more surprised that he went off after Morrison.
Excellent performance though by Oxford. Murray, Hand Green, Quinn and Foster were all excellent (witht eh exception of Foster's dribble out of defence).
Like Snake suggests, one of the keys for next season will be keeping Green or getting another natural goalscorer.
I was surprised that he started and even more surprised that he went off after Morrison.
Excellent performance though by Oxford. Murray, Hand Green, Quinn and Foster were all excellent (witht eh exception of Foster's dribble out of defence).
Like Snake suggests, one of the keys for next season will be keeping Green or getting another natural goalscorer.
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GodalmingYellow
- Senile
- Posts: 5178
- Joined: Tue May 16, 2006 10:22 am
We were very good today.
I wouldn't say we completed dominated but we were strongly on top for most of the game.
No one had a bad game, though Hand looked slightly weak despite a very good chase back when Foster cocked up. Hand had his good moments but also gave the ball away when under no pressure and doesn't put in sufficient tackles to be the defensive midfielder. Personally I would prefer Rose in central midfield alongside Murray. The argument that Rose isn't strong enough doesn't sway with me as Hand is not using any strength, but Rose would add improved passing through midfield.
I feel a bit sorry for Richards, who I suspect is being constantly unfairly compared to Green. Green is a League 1 player at least. Richards is a decent Conference striker who is reasonably quick, good in the air and mobile, not dissimilar to McAllister. Richards isn't as good as Green and never will be, but that isn't the point. The issue is whether he is good enough for our team, and I for one am happy that he is, provided he scores enough goals.
Blackwood looked good at left back, so we now have two players very capable in that position, which we haven't been able to say for a long time.
Day has improved imensely under Patto, and with Clarke we now have two players capable of playing right back as well.
Eddie had a pretty good game despite a slightly unconfidant start. I do think we need more players capable of attacking wide play.
Murray was excellent as was Green, Foster (bar the one silly mistake) and Quinn.
Overall very pleasing. I had a worry before the game that although we had beaten two weak sides on our travels, converting that into beating a strong promotion contender might be somewhat tougher, but the team proved my doubts unnecessary.
I wouldn't say we completed dominated but we were strongly on top for most of the game.
No one had a bad game, though Hand looked slightly weak despite a very good chase back when Foster cocked up. Hand had his good moments but also gave the ball away when under no pressure and doesn't put in sufficient tackles to be the defensive midfielder. Personally I would prefer Rose in central midfield alongside Murray. The argument that Rose isn't strong enough doesn't sway with me as Hand is not using any strength, but Rose would add improved passing through midfield.
I feel a bit sorry for Richards, who I suspect is being constantly unfairly compared to Green. Green is a League 1 player at least. Richards is a decent Conference striker who is reasonably quick, good in the air and mobile, not dissimilar to McAllister. Richards isn't as good as Green and never will be, but that isn't the point. The issue is whether he is good enough for our team, and I for one am happy that he is, provided he scores enough goals.
Blackwood looked good at left back, so we now have two players very capable in that position, which we haven't been able to say for a long time.
Day has improved imensely under Patto, and with Clarke we now have two players capable of playing right back as well.
Eddie had a pretty good game despite a slightly unconfidant start. I do think we need more players capable of attacking wide play.
Murray was excellent as was Green, Foster (bar the one silly mistake) and Quinn.
Overall very pleasing. I had a worry before the game that although we had beaten two weak sides on our travels, converting that into beating a strong promotion contender might be somewhat tougher, but the team proved my doubts unnecessary.
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Swissbloke
- Mid-life Crisis
- Posts: 717
- Joined: Tue May 23, 2006 2:07 pm
- Location: Oxford & Brentford
Nice Suprise
What a superb performance, Foster, Green and Eddie were outstanding.
Also Quinn had his best game of the season imho.
Brilliant.
Keep this up and I'll be getting a ST and crap from the shop too.
Also Quinn had his best game of the season imho.
Brilliant.
Keep this up and I'll be getting a ST and crap from the shop too.
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Matt D
- Middle-Aged Spread
- Posts: 1436
- Joined: Thu May 11, 2006 10:45 pm
- Location: Stayed at the Manor.
really encouraging. i think it says that the team must be improving if one mistake from foster means he's picked out for criticism. i thought he had another excellent game, and his desire to play the ball keeps the team moving forward in a way that quinn doesn't. yesterday it looked to me like quinn had been told to play the ball to day whenever possible for him to then pick a pass. but the foster/quinn pairing works as a partnership though.
what i was really pleased to see was that for the first time in a while, we looked like a home team, and the opposition looked like an away team. most of the game was played in the opposition's half, we applied the pressure, and (other than the corners) stevenage's chances came on the break. when we conceded the equaliser, we didn't panic, but just carried on doing what we'd been doing.
really encouraging.
players who seem to have found a new lease of life at the moment:
trainer,
anaclet, (i don't think i've seen that eddie anaclet play since pre-season last season!)
foster,
day...
someone seems to be doing something right.
what i was really pleased to see was that for the first time in a while, we looked like a home team, and the opposition looked like an away team. most of the game was played in the opposition's half, we applied the pressure, and (other than the corners) stevenage's chances came on the break. when we conceded the equaliser, we didn't panic, but just carried on doing what we'd been doing.
really encouraging.
players who seem to have found a new lease of life at the moment:
trainer,
anaclet, (i don't think i've seen that eddie anaclet play since pre-season last season!)
foster,
day...
someone seems to be doing something right.
That's the most I've enjoyed a game for a very long time. Even during our long unbeaten run at the start of last season we didn't play as convincingly as that. What a huge difference to the concession of a goal. After the first Burton goal we totally disintegrated. After the equaliser on Monday we carried on playing football and got our just desserts. It highlighted the importance of not sitting on a one goal lead, as we have been prone to do in the past, because one freak deflection could have ruined our afternoon. Because we were still in 'attack mode' the second goal was always on the cards. If we had retreated after scoring our first, it might have been a different story. I was expecting a great deal more from Stevenage. If they're an example of the calibre of playoff teams then we're definitely moving in the right direction.