Skip to main content

Oxford vs Crewe: Pre Match Stats Pack

Fortunately, Oxford didn’t have as much trouble starting their season off as they did starting the coach to get to Accrington last weekend, with the vehicle being rendered useless in farcical fashion as Coronavirus nearly stopped the football again. 

But once at the WHAM stadium, United got right into their work scoring their first goals of the season in a 4-1 victory.

The only other team going into last weekend having not scored a goal was Crewe Alexandra, but they also put to bed that record with a win of their own, two early goals enough to see off MK Dons. 

The two sides not only shared poor starts to the season but also a reputation of playing a passing and possession-based game.  

Only a few sides played more short passes per game than Oxford’s 373 last season and they also had the highest average possession in League One.

But no side in League One or Two had more passes per game than Crewe last year and they also had more short passes than anyone else in the two divisions. Additionally, their total of 48 goals from open play was bettered by only Brentford in the entirety of the EFL. 

This makes their route to a first league win of the season all the more surprising as they had just 31% possession at home to MK Dons making just 284 passes with 23% of them being long balls.

Though a switch from possession to a slightly more direct route to goal may be the secret to victory in League One this time, as Oxford boss Karl Robinson made a similar change to get his first win of the season against Accrington.

Over the last three games Oxford have averaged 77 less passes per game than they did last season, and nearly 200 less than they managed in their first three matches of the 2020-21 campaign. The tactic saw 24% of their passes against Accrington being long balls.

This shift to marginally more direct football has payed off in the results for both teams - moving from propping up the table to mid-table comfort.  




Goals, Goals, Goals!    

Despite opening their account for the season last time out, Crewe remain the league’s joint second lowest scorers - not something David Artell’s side are used to having topped the charts in league two last season.  

Notably neither Chris Porter nor Daniel Powell, who bagged 21 goals between them last season, have featured this campaign due to injury and are not expected back for the clash this weekend.

It leaves a lot of responsibility to young Charlie Kirk who signed a new two-year deal with the Railwaymen in the summer.

The winger’s 21 goal involvements last season made him Crewe’s most creative force, and no League Two player had more assists than him in the regular season, making him one of the biggest threats to the Oxford goal on Saturday.  

Oxford though will also be looking to keep their goal tally flowing, as will Matty Taylor - who is hoping his two late strikes at Accrington will kickstart his season, like it did in a similar situation at Lincoln last year.  

Taylor had failed to score in his first six league appearances, but went on to score five goals in as many games after opening his account against The Imps.  

Robinson mentioned other similarities between the trip to Sincil Bank and Accrington last weekend, with two big away wins coming after disrupted travel to the game.

Fans would be happy if their form after the Lincoln game was replicated this season, as it prompted a run which saw Oxford record just one defeat in fifteen to catapult themselves into promotion contention. 

Another spell like this would be much appreciated at Oxford after a disappointing start to the season - though the same could be said for Crewe who will be hoping to push on from the win against the Dons. Another three points may shake off any early season blues, but defeat would send one or other back towards the bottom. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why more Teams should Press High Against Oxford

It is not often that Oxford get played off the park, but when they do, their opposition always seems to have one thing in common; their press.  It would be harsh to say Oxford were played off the park against Wigan, but they certainly struggled to implement their usual crisp, passing game, after the first 25 minutes.  Oxford's passing accuracy against the Latics was 68%, compared to their season average of 74.2%.  Part of this could be down to the physicality which Wigan play at, but Leam Richardson's side intense press all over the park certainly helped unsettle their opponents and stop them playing their usual passing style.  United's next opponents are Portsmouth on Saturday, the best pressing team in the League, which is explored further in this piece .  For teams so far this season, pressing high and intensely has proved the most effective route to victory, so Oxford will need to be at their best against Pompey.   ...  The most accurate way o...
Post a Comment
Read more

Oxford have been the Kings of Late Drama since Robinson arrived

Games between Oxford and Portsmouth are rarely without drama. But this weekend's clash at a blustery Kassam Stadium was particularly action infused.  Yet the dramatic finish has almost become the norm this season.  Not only was this the fourth 3-2 Oxford have been involved in (three of them coming in League One), but it was another instance of United scoring late to snatch three points from a major competitor.  These late goals have become something of a habit, and has been ever since Robinson took charge of the Us.  Games at the Kassam are not ones to leave early at the moment, as only Wigan Athletic (13) have scored more goals in the last ten minutes plus injury time than Oxford (12) in League One this season.  Late goals scored in League One 2021-22 That remains the case when extending it to all of England's top four divisions.  Late goals scored in England's top four divisions 2021-22 Oxford have been excelling in the closing stages well before this sea...
Post a Comment
Read more

The key areas Oxford can expect to change under Manning

Liam Manning is the new Oxford head coach, and has been propelled directly into a relegation scrap as he prepares Oxford for a trip to fellow strugglers Morecambe.  It is difficult to tell how much Manning can change the style of play this season as he look to make up the points to avoid an unexpected drop to League Two, but fans should be optimistic about a manager who was so successful at MK Dons just last season.  He's already using exciting words like improving Oxford's counter pressing, transitions, and even floated the idea of actually playing a holding midfielder.  Manning's approach at MK was well documented, and seemingly makes him a good fit for the ball playing philosophy Oxford at Oxford. But with results going stale, how might Manning look to shake up play at the Kassam?  Looking back at his highly successful 2021-22 season at MK Dons, we draw a picture of some of the key areas Oxford fans can expect to change under the new boss.  Slower Build-up On...
Post a Comment
Read more