Chair-ity Begins At Home vs Wycombe (L2)

As some of you may have noticed, there was no match report for the Bury game. I didn't go. I went off for a weekend at the seaside instead. To be honest I am fed up of driving up and down the M6. Turns out to have been a good decision, but as always I feel a bit of guilt that I didn't go. On the other hand, the 50 quid I didn't spend on petrol will go a long way towards paying for next year's season ticket! If previous results had all but confirmed to me that we aren't playoffs-bound this year, then the Bury game seems to have convinced the manager of the same fact.

So what is there left to play for this season? Well, we are playing many of the top teams, so beating them would REALLY annoy them - which appeals! The players must be playing for a place in next year's squad.

Wycombe were the latest high-flying team to come and try their luck. They were lying second at the start of play and would be a stern test. We'd been the better team in the goalless affair earlier in the season, but had managed to hit the woodwork more than once.

The weather was lovely and warm, and I passed a car full of fellow yellows in Northampton who were also presumably on their way to the match. Hello, whoever you are! For some reason, it always gives me a lift seeing other people on their way to a game, especially when still a long way away from the stadium. I guess it helps to confirm that there are other people as daft as me!

The 'M40 Derby' (as it had been billed) promised a bumper crowd, so I set off good and early, getting to the Kassam in time to get a spot in the East Stand car park. Which was good, as I needed to make a timely getaway after the game to pick up my back-from-Uni-for-yet-another-holiday daughter from Didcot Station afterwards. Sitting in the car park before the match eating my interesting cheese roll (interesting because I'd managed to put chilli sauce rather than tomato sauce in it!) the news was that Paul McLaren was recovered from his cut leg and replaced Josh Payne and Alfie Potter was starting (for the first time since Methusalah were a lad) in place of Tom Craddock. The rest were as at Bury. The Wycombe team contained Stuart Beavon (whose Dad played for us of course and who has been linked with the Us numerous times), Nikki Bull (the goalie who kept us out previously) and Scott Rendell, who is always a bloody nuisance!

Wycombe had brough an exellent and fairly noisy away support but not as many or as noisy as we took to their place. It made for a decent atmosphere. There was a bit as shennanigans in the North Stand as half a dozen spotty Wycombe youths tried to get to the Us supporters in the other half of the stand. The stewards restrained them without much difficulty - much to the relief of the half a dozen, who were really just posturing and whould have pooed themselves if there had actually been any nawtyness!

As happens more often than not, we started on the back foot. Wycombe were moving the ball about nicely and there was very little tackling from the men in yellow and blue stripes. However, the Chairboys (they're really The Blues - Chairboys is a recent invention, named after a fanzine. By that yardstick, we should be called the Ragings!) failed to make any kind of significant chance and Oxford came into the match.

We than created several chances, all of which we failed to take. Beano had a free header after about a quarter of an hour that he should have at least got on target. Heslop had a chance to shoot from the left of the goal, but again failed to make the keeper work by blazing over (keep your head over the ball, boy!) and MacLean forced a decent save from the Wycombe keeper. At the other end, a free kick whizzed into the East Stand.

We than tried to create the comedy own goal of the season, which Clarke kicking a clearance into Jake Wright's arse. The ball luckily rebounded sideways rather than into the goal, but it would have been funny!

After about half an hour, there was a shout for a penalty in the Wycombe box as Beano was tackled clumsily. Now I made a bit of a fool of myself (surely not!) a few matches ago by berating a ref for a penalty decision, which it later turned out he got spot on. So I'll reserve judgement. But it looked like a stone wall penalty to me, and it wasn't the last strange decision the ref made as the match went on.

Stuart Beavon went down and Wycombe took a water break while he was treated, being serendaded with 'Are you Steveneage in disguise?' for their trouble. To be fair, both teams had a drink and a bit of a team talk, and the injury wasn't a fake. But when the match restarted, the Us took the lead. Heslop played a lovely ball through the Wycombe defence for the lively Potter, who took his chance, smashing the ball into the Wycombe net by the far post. Excellent, and on the balance of play and chances well deserved.

Before the restart, Beavon went down again (so it was a real injury) and was replaced by ex-Crawley Pitman. The role he would go on to play in the match would be anything but miner though. Pitman, miner. Get it? Oh, suit yourselves. Burge had the next chance, the ball being pushed away at pull stretch by the Blues goalie and Burge not able to get to the ball before it was cleared.

Wycombe had a couple of chances to draw level before the break. Pitman shovelled the ball onto the bar with a lob, and Ryan Clarke made a couple of excellent close range saves from Betsy within a couple of seconds to keep the lead intact. The ref blew for half time and the teams left the pitch to a standing ovation. We had been second best for the first 10-25 minutes, but very much in the ascendency for the rest of the half.

Half time. There was a crossbar challenge. ZZzzzzz

The second half started with the vistors again quicker out of the blocks. Worley gave away a ridiculous free kick on the edge of our penalty area. A long ball from the back was clearly (even from the other end of the ground) not going to roll over our goal line. Worley tried to do that silly almost-obstruction thing and shepherd the ball out. It didn't go, he lost the ball and then brought the man down. All could have been avoided if he'd just booted it into the stands. As it was, he got a yellow card and gave away a dangerous free kick that fortunately came to nothing. More thought about what you are doing please Mr Worley. That goes for some others as well. Passing to a man who is surrounded by three opponents is not a good idea, passing it back to the goalie without looking to see where the opposition centre forward is, is just daft.

However, Potter was still doing a lot of good work up the other end and a fine run and low cross across the six yard box lead to a Wycombe defender prodding the ball into his own net. 2 up! It was almost three a minute or two later when Potter had another chance, this time hitting it straight at the grateful goalie.

And then. And then. And then, for some bizarre reason we decided that attacking was a bad idea. We'd been doing it successfully for long periods of the match, pushing Wycombe back. Why on earth didn't we keep doing it? There was room at the back of the Blues defence - they'd just put an extra striker on and left only three at the back. We'd been giving four of them a horrible time, surely we'd take advantage. My neighbour in the stand looked at his watch and remarked that it was a long time until ten to five. How right he was!

We'd retreated so far back that it was attack (theirs) against defence (ours). And with our complete inability to keep a clean sheet, we all knew what would happen next. It was only a question of how long it would take. Not long was the unfortunate answer.
A Wycombe player ran down the left, the Oxford players backed off and off and off and didn't make any sort of challenge (not for the first or last time), the ball was crossed easily enough - straight onto the head of Rendell. He was completely unmarked (why?) and had about three hours to decide where to put the ball with his head. He put it where Clarke wasn't. 2-1.

We weren't being helped by the ref, who was giving a free kick against us at every possible opportunity, while ignoring blatant fouls the other way. A very poor performance from him.

Let down by our defending AGAIN. And that wasn't it. Rather than learn our lesson we retreated again, and after some poor play by McLaren, the ball fell to Pitman who equalised. The defence was panicking big-time. Balls were being hoofed sideways (Tonkin) up in the air (Worley), straight to Wycombe players (Wright). Batt was as ever halfway up the pitch.

It looked like we were again about to snatch defeat from the jaws of vitory. Any more backs to the wall defending and it was a certainty. But this Oxford team is made of sterner stuff than some previous outfits. The quality may be lacking in certain areas, but they aren't quitters. We very pleasingly then went back on the attack. That stemmed the flow of attacks at the Oxford end (attack really IS the best form of defence), and the ball again started to be spread wide to Potter. Craddock came on for Maclean (sensible) and new boy Ryan Doble for Constable (a bit odd).

It almost paid off. Both Craddock and the lively-looking Doble went close but neither team could now break the deadlock, and the match ended with honours even. Alfie was (deservedly) made man of the match.

A quickish car park exit, through the back roads to Didcot to pick up my daughter and back home.

My pearls of wisdom:

A match that summed the season up really. Great in parts, sloppy in others. Frustrating, but with definite signs of hope for the future.
That really, really, really is it. We will not get into the playoffs.
If Doble is likely to be a season long loan next year, then fine. If he isn't then give Woodley a chance or two.

Not going to Accy - see you all vs Chesterfield.