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| Oxford's First Goal |
Andy Wood reports from Oxford.
A friend in Vigo, a Meadow End veteran of the early seventies, sent an obituary cutting this week remembering Colin Addison’s season in charge in North East Spain at Celta Vigo in 1986/7.
“Few managers have been able to generate such an impact in so little time and there aren’t many fans over fifty who don’t remember with affection that authoritarian, dynamic and somewhat brazen coach.”
In that one season he got them promoted to La Liga but then left after falling out with the chairman.
Now Celta, after many seasons in the doldrums are in this season’s Europa League and we are in an unloved corner of Oxford and, as the wind and rain picks up, are very much back in the doldrums. The Vigo obituary refers to Addison’s roots with “El Hereford, el modesto equipo” and tonight we end up looking as modest an equipo as we have seen in the last couple of seasons.
It all started much better on Oxford City’s plastic pitch with Hereford taking the game to our modest hosts who hadn’t won for two months.
Osborne, who looked our best player all night, cut into the Oxford box after 7 minutes and looked to curl a shot into the far post. Two minutes later Sterling James drove the ball low into the box and it just needed a touch for a Hereford opener.
Remaye Campbell teed up new boy Callum McFarlane in on loan from Solihull, but he needed more time to finish.
Oxford didn’t seem to have that much to offer although came close to an early lead when a direct corner came back off the far post.
Osborne sprung Oxford’s defensive line after a weak back pass but hit his shot across the keeper and back off the far post.
On thirty-one minutes Preston went in the book for a pretty gentle foul, or perhaps for his words afterwards.
In the last minute of the half City’s Josh Parker turned Preston and was through on goal. Preston brought him down as the last man and got a second yellow for a foul perhaps worthy of a straight red. Preston walked and Ashby dispatched the free kick into the far corner in a way that followers of Sterling James would recognise.
The Hoops started the second half more smartly to test our new defence with the kind of sharp passing and a ball through the channels which so often seems to be our undoing. Within the first minute of the second half Josh Parker again ran through and his deflected cross was met with a downward header which Theo Robinson turned around with a great point blank save.
Michael Parker had dropped into central defence to the left of Howkins following Preston’s dismissal and the change meant that Sterling James sat further back in the second half as a right back. A necessary change on the night maybe but having seen him demolish Hereford single-handedly for Rushall Olympic last season in a completely free-roaming role across the field I do feel we waste his creative talents when he is stuck out on the right wing anyway.
Hereford had a better spell after the early scare and on 53 minutes Osborne turned his man and got a shot away from the outside of the box which was well wide. Our best passing move came a couple of minutes later and ended with Campbell heading into their keeper’s hands. Osborne then just failed to get on the end of a Parker cross but a minute later Oxford dealt a sucker blow.
Robinson passed out to Parker on the edge of the box with two attacking players close, Parker stumbled over the ball and Scott dispossessed him to slot home. No credit for either Robinson who put his defender under pressure or for Parker losing the ball under his feet.
Hereford’s heart was not in comeback mode after this and a long-range looping shot from Cooper which hit the top of the Oxford net was as close as we came.
On seventy-three minutes Caddis threw on Williams, Nto and Edwards for McFarlane, Campbell and Mafuta. Worth making the change as playing with ten players on that surface was going to be tiring but it did nothing for our creativity and gaining any kind of control in the middle of the pitch.
On 82 minutes Hooper sub Bearne was set free through the channels by a good pass from Westendorf through our flat backs and he slotted in with his first touch.
With five minutes of added time was it time for Sterling James to take things into his own hands as he had on Saturday? Well not quite and his free kick from just outside the box in the ninetieth minute knocked out the first Oxford defender and added another minute or two to our misery.
And that was that. A 3-0 defeat to a very poor side lacking in confidence but who nonetheless made us look like a very poor side lacking in confidence. Whilst our current authoritarian, dynamic and somewhat brazen coach keeps bringing in new strikers we are being found out week after week at the back with our slow and unsteady defenders.
Bottom club Southport at home on Saturday and we’re eight points off the playoffs.