Well that was one of those games which could be said to be interesting for the neutral but for anyone in a yellow shirt it was deeply frustrating. My concerns were raised when Captain Marvel failed to emerge but there were enough regulars to give me confidence. However, James Constable as captain? Strikers rarely flourish in that role given that they are meant to be facing forwards for most of the game.
For all the difficulties it would be churlish to criticise the effort the team put in and the early period of play was great, with attacks going in from all sides. How we failed to score is difficult to understand.
Kidderminster Harriers seemed to have a better understanding between their players and they were the better passing side today but they were also decidedly free with their challenges and they clearly had a great fondness for Oxford United's players, given the amount of time they spent climbing all over them.
Which brings us on to the ref. Now I always fight shy of criticising the ref as he has an impossible job but even I found myself screaming some choice comments at the man in black over a number of his omissions. By my count we had two obvious penalties in the first half and the number of fouls by Kidderminster Leapfroggers was in double figures after the first 45 minutes.
He rather lost control of things during the second half but I can't say that was surprising given the level of abuse he was being subjected to. Seriously, this is no way to treat a fellow human being.
Miserable Old Git in front of me insisted on shouting out the ref's name and telling him what he thought of him throughout the second half. I do wonder why he bothers coming along.
My son made a telling point when he said it seemed that Oxford's season had started to slide with the introduction of the new signings. That's a bit of an 'out of the mouths of babes' moment. It does seem to be the case that the team, which established itself as a hard-working and effective unit and which earned and thoroughly deserved its place at the top of the Blue Square through verve and style, has struggled to accommodate the new members. Still, you've got to have confidence in the manager's decisions as he's got us this far in some style.
Lady Orgasm provided a rare insight into evolution as she had brought along what must have been a close family relative - a granddaughter I'd guess - who joined her gran in screaming inanely throughout the game. Their running commentary consisted of shouting "Go on [PLAYER'S NAME HERE]" repetitively and very, very loudly. They also took very vocal umbrage at ever challenge by Kidderminster, whether legal or not. At one stage towards the end of the game Kidderminster were attacking the Oxford goal and the granddaughter screamed at the top of her voice "DON'T SCORE!". Kidderminster duly didn't and I am sure I heard her boyfriend administering CPR as the ball was played away. He's a lucky boy...Like a couple in the adjoining house making noisy love, I don't mind what they are doing I just wish they'd be a bit quieter about it. A few less inane comments would also be most welcome.
But I digress. Back to the action and Oxford had a series of attacks on the Kidderminster goal as the game worked its way to a conclusion, all of which would have seen them wheeling away in triumph on another day but this time there was just no finish and sadly no joy.
Good effort as ever from Alfie Potter who always seems to have double the work rate of the others. Sam Deering was unstoppable and created many of the chances, especially in the second half, through his midfield work, where he was central to breaking up the Kidderminster play. Ryan Clarke remains reassuringly solid in goal and Beano ran himself to a standstill in his new role, sadly to little effect. That's the point of a captain: during the pretty dismal performance against Tamworth, Murray worked and worked to try to deliver a result, without success but not due to a lack of effort. Constable didn't seem to play such a pivotal role today.
But then again, we were treated to Stevenage losing, we returned to the top of the league and we still have two games in hand so there's not too much wrong with the world when you think about it. We remain on track.
And that's pretty much where I part company with a lot of people, the ones who left early and the ones who were dismissive of the players. The best comment came from one of Lady O's brood who simply said "Same old Oxford United" like he could make that effort for 90 minutes. They worked hard, they tried, they didn't succeed. Well, no sh*t. That is football after all.
Keep up the good work.
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