Southend Utd 2-1 Oxford Utd

I have started my final year of university in West London. With this comes the inability to attend many home games. It does, however, present the opportunity to see United more on the road. Tonight, after a day of lectures I made the long journey to Essex.

Rush hour in London is one of them things you try to avoid at all costs, tonight I had no option but to commit to the underground to Liverpool Street Station and onto Prittlewell, Southend.

At Liverpool Station I met my friend Jonny who is lives in East London, and we boarded the hour long train.

Tonight I was hopeful of three points. We are playing a Southend that have just come off a 4-0 away defeat at the weekend and we had managed to get a 1-1 draw at home to Charlton - by all accounts we had played well. But this is Roots Hall, a bogey ground for the Yellows, I have been here once before and we lost 1-0 in a terrible game.

One change for Oxford today and that saw the introduction of Kane Hemmings up front replacing Wes Thomas. Michael Appleton is obviously a big fan of the 4-3-3 formation.

It was a terrific atmosphere in the away section behind the goal. Approximately 400 of us were making ourselves heard - we were well up for it. Compared to Milton Keynes away this was a louder, more genuine football away day with the floodlights shining down. The plastic seats and rotting stands a far cry from the comfort of Milton Keynes and I far prefer it this way.

As the game got underway it was clear Oxford had the quality to win because of our control in the centre of midfield. But our failure to create any meaningful chances was our downfall. Southend broke forward at pace and purpose more often than us, a volleyed shot flew just over with ten minutes on the clock.

But just three minutes later Ryan Leonard made no mistake with his volley from the edge of the box. A tame headed clearance fell to him and four yards from the edge of the box and he tucked it into the corner with power, Simon Eastwood could only get a fingertip to it. It was a fantastic goal by Leonard and you can't have many complaints when you fall behind to goal of that quality.

The Oxford fans behind that goal kept up the fine voice and forced their eleven forward. Marvin Johnson and Chris Maguire tried their luck down the wings to no avail. Hemmings should have had us level with half an hour played, Maguire looped in a fine cross with Hemmings out jumping his marker he just headed just over.

Phil Edwards was in the right place to clear a Southend shot off the line five minutes before the interval, a real let off for Oxford who wouldn't have deserved to concede two goals in the first half.

In the second minute of injury time Hemmings forced a fine save of Mark Oxley to tip over the bar. But from the resulting corner the U's were level. Maguire's short corner to Johnson was whipped into the middle for Hemmings to glance into the back of the net.

A fantastic goal, the quickly taken corner took the Southend defence by surprise who hadn't regrouped after Hemmings went close seconds earlier. Euphoria in the away end; a goal on the stroke of half time often means you deflate the opposition and can carry your momentum into the second half.

Half time was greeted with chants of 'Yellows! Yellows!' as the players made their way into the tunnel.

Oxford started the second half stronger and went on the attack with more vigour than they had done in the first. Chances came and went for Johnson and Joe Rothwell, John Lundstram also saw his shot fly wide.

It was promising for United, who were also getting lucky with some refereeing decisions, to the fury of the home fans.

However, with United prospering forward Southend won a penalty. Edwards was adjudged to have handled inside the box and Anthony Wordsworth stepped up to put the Shrimpers ahead.

The penalty decision was harsh. A cross was struck with such venom, Edwards who was three metres away could do little to change his boy position and prevent the ball striking him on the arm. Appleton was fuming on the touchline, himself and assistant, David Fazakerley having heated discussions with the fourth official.

The goal came 13 minutes from the end. For the remainder of the match Southend begun a series of time wasting tactics to the annoyance of us away fans. Their goalkeeper in particular showing no rush whatsoever to restart proceedings after Oxford attacks.

Oxford continued to bombard forward, creating numerous goalscoring opportunities with no result. Johnson looked lively at times and Liam Sercombe often penetrated through their midfield line to find our attackers but we were always quelled. I would have liked to have seen the introduction of Alex MacDonald to offer more pace out wide, with Maguire perhaps tucking inside to play as a number 10.

Instead Ryan Taylor was introduced in place of Joe Skarz, we were now playing a 3-3-4 formation as the onslaught on Southend's goal continued.

With the continuous Oxford pressure Southend were able to muster a chance of their own on the counter attack. One on one with Eastwood, Adam Barrett saw his shot saved superbly by the Oxford number 1.

But it was the Southend goalkeeper who had the final say, the introduction of Wes Thomas off the bench hadn't changed much but he forced a fine save from Oxley at point blank range. I have no idea how he saved that.

That chance came in the fifth minute of an additional six added on by the officials. So that was full time.

Southend did not deserve to win tonight. It's fair to say they were lucky with the penalty decision and fortunate to have a goalkeeper in some fine form. They offered little up front but dealt with our sidemen very effectively.

Marvin Johnson's night was summed up with the last kick of the game as we ran forward on a counter attack and he over hit a routine touch. He needs to produce soon or else the fans will grow in frustration at our expensive summer signing from Motherwell.

I would like to see two in central midfield perhaps, or a change in the central trio. It's interesting that Arsenal loanee, Dan Crowley is still our of the team despite obvious playmaking ability.

On the bright side, our defence looks solid this season, with Chey Dunkley and Charlie Raglan now our main centre back partnership.

Time to make the long train journey back across London. We were unlucky tonight, the remainder of the season still excites me greatly.


-Michael

MK Dons 0-0 Oxford Utd

Today I would be heading to Stadium MK for the first time to watch my beloved Oxford United. A new ground for me, and from what the papers have been saying, I am making the trip with 3,500 other Oxford fans. Terrific effort.

I picked up my friend Will at 12.30, gave him a spare Oxford shirt of mine and begun the hour drive to Milton Keynes. Will is not an Oxford fan, all my life he has cared about how we perform and is interested in the players we have, he's happy when we do well. However, the interest from Will in the club, like so many others, has risen given our recent success.

We make the drive easily, following the mayor of Oxford pretty much for the entirety of the journey,  he has the numberplate 'FC 1' - very sort after.

Parking was easy enough to find in the residential areas around the stadium. There were no pubs near the ground though which was disappointing; a distinct lack of pre-match atmosphere as it looked as if MK Dons had very few fans.

We took our seats in the upper tier and admired the away following. This following is unprecedented, our largest since West Ham away in 2010. It is special to see so many travelling fans at this stadium, having all been through so much together, up and down the country at FAR less attractive grounds than the padded seats of Stadium MK.

But those grounds had far more character than this stadium. It was strange. As we kicked off there were tonnes of empty seats and the atmosphere non-existent from the MK fans. I'd take Dagenham or Southend away any day over an empty, characterless stadium like this.

United were unchanged from the eleven that started against Swindon. The bench saw one change, Tyler Roberts replacing the injured Kane Hemmings. Chris Maguire had barely trained this week due to illness and immediately you could tell he looked a shadow of the player we saw last week in the derby.

Milton Keynes' main threat came up front in the form of Kieran Agard, the striker netted consistently for Bristol City last season in the Championship. The Dons also had George Baldock at right-back, the player hugely admired from us Oxford fans as he performed incredibly in his stint with us last season. Writing in the programme, Baldock spoke of his love for the club and fans of Oxford United.

Immediately Baldock reminded us of his class, overlapping with pace and cleverly positioning himself when needing to defend. He has improved.

Milton Keynes, like many other teams, were keen to man mark John Lundstram. Lundstram has the ability to dictate the tempo of the game with his fantastic range of passing. It's interesting to see Joe Rothwell alongside Lundstram, a similar sort of player and it raises a problem for the opposition of who to mark: Lundstram or Rothwell? To man mark both would be detrimental.

Liam Sercombe had the difficult task of linking up with Wes Thomas today. The fitness levels required for this role are truly impressive, and today Sercombe was left isolated with too much responsibility so struggled.

The opening to the game saw little in the way of chances for both teams, Thomas went close but for a fine save. In the process he injured himself and limped off to be substituted by Ryan Taylor on 25 minutes.

Our style of play was altered immediately, longer balls forward favoured Taylor.

At the other end, Chey Dunkley and Charlie Raglan were doing a tremendous job quelling the threat of Agard. They both stood tightly to the centre forward, allowing no through balls to reach the fast striker.

Come half time both teams had mustered relatively little. There were interesting battles between players developing, but neither had forced the issue. Marvin Johnson was having no luck against Baldock.

Half time gave us a chance to sit down on the padded seats. Unbelievably comfortable.

No changes for either team at the break, but Maguire and Johnson repeatedly swapped wings as the match developed to try and break through the Dons defence.

United were rewarded for their perseverance by winning an indirect free kick on the penalty. Maguire stepped up and saw his shot deflect out from the nine-man wall.

The Yellows had numerous shots from outside the area to no avail. Lundstram coming the closest with a drive from 30 yards. All that was missing was a piece of star quality, quality we had in the form of Kemar Roofe last season.

Both wingers looked out of sorts for United today, which was a shame. Johnson looked unfit and Maguire had no spark.

Sercombe had a chance from the edge of the area that David Martin tipped over well. But more often than not United would fumble in position on the edge of the box.

Agard got behind the United defence for the first time on 89 minutes, one on one with Simon Eastwood he saw his shot saved with legs of the keeper. A fine save from Eastwood, who is proving quite the keeper. Great distribution and a fine shot stopper; the replacement we were looking for after the inconsistent Sam Slocombe.

That was full time. A very poor game if you like goals and action (like most people), but good if you like analysing individual battles.

A draw was the fair result, we could not complain with that. Baldock came over to the 3,500 Oxford fans and gave his shirt to a young Oxford fan, never has a player made such an impression in such a short space of time at the club.

Man of the match for me, was Joe Rothwell. He show real glimpses of genuine quality as he ventures forward. He has balance and composure coupled with an eye for passing. All that needs improving is his fitness. The real dilemma for United is who to drop from central midfield; we have the likes of Ryan Ledson and Dan Crowley who also play centrally.

It's a nice problem to have, and this club is heading in the right direction! Yellows!


-Michael

Oxford Utd 2-0 Swindon Town

I'd timed my return from travelling Europe rather well. Sure, I'd missed Oxford's opening few fixtures but I was back for the first massive fixture of the season - Swindon at home. I was excited to see the new names take centre-stage after hearing much about each individual signing from my friends and Dad whilst away.

Oxford had won their last two games at home going into today's fixture; less than convincing wins against Rochdale and Peterborough had given us some momentum ahead of the derby clash.

Today's line-up saw a change in central midfield as Joe Rothwell would partner John Lundstram in dictating the tempo in front of our defence. Liam Sercombe would be the central midfielder that plays higher up the pitch, linking up with lone striker Wes Thomas. Big money signing Marvin Johnson, whom I was very excited to see was to play left midfield, with Chris Maguire on the right. He always thrives on the big crowd.

And today's crowd was big! A sellout, and as the teams came out every person in the East Stand waved a flag strapped to their seat pre-match to reveal a yellow and blue pattern - quite the spectacle. The blue touch paper was well and truly lit.

I noted Swindon still had their keeper Lawrence Vigoroux between the sticks, telling my Dad 'can't believe they've kept hold of him over the summer'. I've seen dodgy performances from this keeper more often than not, often over-confident and nonchalant.

The game started at a slow pace, both teams wanted to play football. And for the early part Oxford were more successful in breaking down the five man Swindon back line. Swindon, despite their efforts could not set free any of their strikers and lacked a playmaker.

Shots flew in from far from Maguire and Lundstram, but there was nothing clear-cut of note as half an hour passed. Thomas looked isolated up front and needed the likes of Johnson and Maguire to run in behind him. It begged the question, why didn't we start one of our more physical players such as Kane Hemmings or Ryan Taylor?

Oxford efforts came and went, the crowd were simmering without boiling over until Maguire jogged passed the Swindon fans with the 'calm down' gesture waved at them. This cranked the decibel level up.

But it was Sercombe's tireless efforts brought the first flash point of the affair. He drove down the left and cut inside, before being tripped on the edge of the area. Referee Stuart Attwell deemed it outside the box but the linesman had flagged for a penalty. I must admit I thought the trip was outside the area, although Sercombe did fall well inside the box.

Maguire stepped up, the protests meant there was quite the delay before he struck a fierce shot into the top right corner, Vigoroux only managing a finger on the ball. One nil - delight in the home end. Maguire ran off to celebrate in front of the Swindon fans who unsurprisingly proceeded to throw bottles of beer at the celebrating players. There is a new hatred developing today!

The goal came on 44 minutes. Swindon managed to muster a chance before the whistle, some neat interchanging play brought a penalty appeal that was waved away by the referee to the horror of the Swindon players. Lloyd Jones saw yellow for his choice words.

That was half time. A half Oxford edged, but only just. The difference between the two teams had been Oxford's confident play in the final third.

Swindon made the brighter of starts to the second period, Simon Eastwood was called on early on to make a save from Johnny Goddard. A superb blocked save it was too, the ball ricocheting to the alone, onside Goddard, who will feel he should have scored with the time he had.

The game felt far more open than the first half, we had a real corker in stall here. Rothwell had a shot tipped round the post by Vigoroux, who showed his shot stopping ability.

But a matter of minutes later he was left red-faced as The U's doubled their lead. A routine back pass was chased down by Maguire, who optimistically slid to block the clearance, but Vigorous's clearance came off the sole of his foot into the back of the net! It was an amazing moment. The crowd erupted, such a rare moment and it came in a derby, an unforgettable derby moment.

Now Swindon were riled, they failed to muster anything before Jones, who was booked for dissent in the first half, picked up a second yellow for colliding with Sercombe.

Despite the reduction to ten men, Swindon faced another golden chance to score. Darnell Furlong shot wide from close range and you felt that if The Robins were going to get back into the match then that had to hit the back of the net.

The U's had a golden opportunity to make it three. Marvin Johnson escaped down the left flank with just one defender in his way. He could have picked out Maguire for a tap in and a hat trick for the Scotsman, but Johnson wanted his first goal for the club and shot narrowly wide to the disgust of Maguire. He should have passed, that much was obvious.

Alex MacDonald was introduced late on and went into a challenge with Swindon keeper Vigoroux with both feet and studs up, this could have caused serious damage to the keeper. Thankfully, he wasn't hurt but proceeded to fight MacDonald, luckily a defender intervened so his punch didn't make contact with MacDonald's face.

The Swindon keeper saw red for his reaction which really did cap off a shocking day at the office for him. Somehow MacDonald only received a yellow for double-footing the keepers face.

Down to nine men and with an outfield player in goal, it was quite the way for a derby to end for Swindon. But that was the final action, six wins in a row for Oxford against their rivals! Delighted.

As the players shook hands a Swindon player booted the ball at our left-back, Joe Skarz. Big mistake. This caused about the fifth fight of the day, Skarz FUMING, he pushed the linesman out the way and continued his pursuit for the man who whacked the ball in his face. A cheap blow it must be said from the Swindon lad. Eventually, the players made their way down the tunnel and Swindon fans were held inside the grown until Oxford fans departed the stadium car park.

Today was a brilliant reintroduction to football for me. It was great to see the players that had given me so much joy last season again and some new faces.

Standout performances include Maguire, who's antics and goals today will go down in Oxford folk law. I thought Sercombe was excellent, it was him who won the penalty for Oxford and got Jones sent off. Lundstram also had a terrific game; fired up and lively without boiling over. It must be said Wes Thomas looked out of his depth as a lone striker despite a much improved second half performance from the lad.

And so we march on! MK Dons away next week, see you there.


-Michael