The 'defensive' full backs at the heart of Oxford's annihilation of Burton

Having just written a piece on the impressive performances of Sam Long (here) – I was not displeased to see him add to his wonderful goal against Plymouth with a hattrick of assists against Burton.

In fact, he and his partner on the other flank ran the game. Oxford’s robust defensive full backs found themselves transformed into marauding wingers who were instrumental in the 5-1 victory.

The Oxford midfield - Marcus Mcguane being the slight exception - were tidy in defence and on the ball but generally saw the thrashing fly by them. 

Anthony Forde only registered 25 touches in his 65 minutes and whilst Gorrin was active in helping Oxford keep the ball, he was rather absent in United's forward moves and we rarely saw him moving forward in the manner he has at points this season.

The bulk of the attacking work was left to a very impressive front three and – an even more impressive – pairing of constantly attacking full backs. 

It’s hard to ignore their influence on the game given that all five goals were either scored or assisted by Ruffels and Long – and the fifth goal combined them both as Sam Long assisted his compatriot.  

Oxford's full backs vs Burton

Only Burton centre back John Brayford recorded more passes than Sam Long’s 54 or Josh Ruffels 52, and no Oxford player had more touches than Long, with Ruffels bettered by only two others.

From the very start the two of them were playing a big role in the match – Sam Long found himself on many occasions pressing higher than anyone else in the team, continuing the tactic which worked so well for Robinson’s side in their last away match.

With both Gorrin and Forde back in the side – two players more than happy to sit in as the fullbacks advanced – there was a license for Ruffels and Long to stride forward at their own will.

Though the front line also deserve credit for their role in allowing the defenders to get forward.

James Henry in particular played very narrow – partly down to a Burton side which looked to make the pitch as small as possible, maybe thinking Oxford’s prominently defensive right and left backs would not hurt them – and invited Long forward at every opportunity.

The three central midfielders of Burton – two of which were above 30 and not known for their mobility – focussed on nullifying the midfield and marked Forde and McGuane tightly, swiping the latter down at every opportunity.

The still below illustrates this Burton tactic and how it allowed Long and Ruffels to play a central role in the game. 

This was one of the many moments where Sam Long had the freedom of the Pirelli to attack.  

This image – seven minutes into the game – is taken directly from a long kick from Burton's goalkeeper.

Watch how narrow their set up is. As Atkinson wins the first header, Henry – playing very centrally as he did for much of the game – picks up the ball and there is acres of space on the right wing for Long.

This time, Long was slightly slow off the mark and though Henry gets the ball to him it is cleared out for a throw-in without too much fuss. But so early into the game, this was a warning sign. And as Long and Ruffels began to realise the opportunity presented by Burton’s set up, they started to charge forward and exploit the space left on these wings by the narrow Brewers set up.

James Henry continually came infield and was followed by Burton’s wing backs - who in all honesty didn’t seem entirely sure of what formation they were actually playing – and McGuane’s presence repeatedly took two or three Burton midfielders out of the game.

It was actually Oxford bypassing the midfield that proved so lethal.

McGaune, despite being at the heart of some excellent moves, rarely picked the ball up within his own half and was operating as more of a number 10 than we have seen in recent weeks, as shown by the his touch map below. 

Marcus McGuane had the majority of his touches in the opposition half and played a lesser role in building Oxford's attacks. (Image courtesy of WhoScored.com)

He – along with his midfield partners – were generally used as decoys to attract the Burton midfield, to create space for the full backs, and at other times runners in behind.

Take Ruffels’ assist to Matty Taylor for United’s first goal (below). 

Marcus McGuane attracted the Burton midfielders so Ruffels could play a ball directly over the top to Taylor. 

This is a prime example of Oxford bypassing the midfield in order to get in behind Burton.

Marcus McGuane (Orange boots) drags three players towards him – though Akins realises later that he has left Shodipo and attempts to track after him as we can see in this image – and one long ball takes Burton’s entire midefield out of the game.

Here, Ruffels is the one playing the ball, but at many other times, him and Long were the players finding the space that was left by Burton's midfield as they consistently followed McGuane and Forde.

Look at the top of the image above. James Henry (the yellow circle) has once again come narrow and drags the left wing back infield. This not only creates greater isolation for Taylor, but also makes more space on the right wing for Long to burst into.

On this occasion Oxford don’t need this option, but the space created for Long would prove to tear Burton apart throughout the game.

Josh Ruffels – although he received the ball slightly deeper than Long due to Shodipo’s wider starting position and relied more heavily on timing his runs to the edge of the box – was also clearly enjoying the space that was created with his two goals paying great tribute to this.

So many times – some may say too many times – this and last season, oxford have relied on their midfield acting as sole creators, and when it doesn’t come off for them, it often doesn’t come off for Oxford.

Saturday was different. Not only were forward runs in behind more prominent but the full backs – who Ruffels in particular has come under stick this season whilst Long’s lack of attacking impetus has also faced some criticism – were at the heart of most of United’s moves.

The midfield acted largely as a distraction and a Burton side - whose communication and positioning looked in disarray – simply couldn’t handle it as Oxford's defensive full backs created five goals, and with some of the chances created by Long, he and Ruffels will be aggrieved it wasn't six or seven.