I was hoping to finish this 2016 blog with a more upbeat or exciting match to write about, but Walsall at home brought provided little in the way of entertainment.
Still, it was interesting to see how tactically poor we seem to be against teams that we are expected to overcome, in a similar mid table position to ourselves.
It was the same starting XI that began the loss to Northampton only five days ago. This meant Marvin Johnson continued at left back despite Joe Skarz being fit to play, to my disbelief.
Oxford started confidently, they pressed forward in numbers and had a few shots well blocked by a stubborn Walsall defence.
It is noteworthy how quick the defenders were for The Saddlers. This meant Kane Hemmings was isolated for the most part of the game, similar to our last home fixture. However, Hemmings did brilliantly to work his way into the box, but couldn't deliver a simple cross to the waiting Maguire and MacDonald.
Maguire came close with a free kick before the interval as the referee continued to award decisions in favour of us, to the disgust of the travelling Walsall fans. And Maguire should've probably put the U's in front, he lashed a shot over from the middle of the box after some good build-up play from Johnson.
Walsall threatened little, and couldn't get striker Simeone Jackson involved enough. Instead, they were left looking to shoot from range.
Oxford midfielders John Lundstram and Ryan Ledson failed to influence the game enough. Both of them are ill-equipped to run confidently forward with the ball. With two such similar players working alongside each other, it left United rather stagnant in attack. The injury of Liam Sercombe, someone who runs forward from central midfield, will hurt United for the rest of the season.
The second half was one of frustration for Oxford. Chances were at a minimum for the home side, Ryan Taylor was brought on in place of Hemmings, with little effect. Amongst other comments, "Should've kept [Danny] Hylton" struck a chord with me, because it was games like today where we missed his tireless endeavour to hustle defenders.
Jackson had Walsall's best chance but he poked a cross over the bar when he should have really hit the target.
Rob Hall had another poor game for us today, he was subbed off for Tyler Roberts midway through the half. Himself and Alex MacDonald seemed afraid to take on any players today. MacDonald's game is mainly about beating a man one-on-one, today he seemed low on confidence with an inability to shoot effectively.
Simon Eastwood had quiet game but produced a quite wonderful save with five minutes to go. A shot deflected off Chey Dunkley, prompting the keeper to quickly readjust and tip round the post.
The fourth official's electric board had broken so no one knew how much time was added on, so full time came out of no where!
A disappointing game against an admirable Walsall side. A draw was fair, but there are problems amongst the United team, Appleton does not know what his best squad is and there is a lack of desire from too many.
-Michael
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