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
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