Oxford's steely performance at Wigan illustrates how far they've come from last year

Oxford started 2022 with one point from three games, culminating in a demoralising defeat to ‘high flying’ Wycombe Wanderers which left them eight points off the promotion places and threatened to derail their promotion challenge.

Since then, it has been seven points from a possible nine, and they are now just six points off Wigan in 2^nd place, and a mere two points behind their Buckinghamshire rivals.

Tuesday night saw Oxford miss the opportunity to go ahead of the Chairboys on goal difference, but their result against Wigan proved how far they’ve come since last season.

They put in a gritty, hard-working performance to earn a valuable point away at a side who are probably favourites to gain automatic promotion.

United may feel it could have been more, too, given how well they started the game, dominating the early exchanges and deservedly taking the lead through a sublime team goal, capped off by Matty Taylor, after 23 minutes.

Wigan grew into the game, and United would have been frustrated with the manner they conceded before half time. The space behind Left-Back looked a danger all game, and it was not surprising that Lang capitalised on it.

Oxford never really got a grip on the game after that, but rather than wither away to an intimidating Wigan side, they stood up and fought for a point which helps keep them just about in touch with their opponents in the race for the top two.

Wigan piled on the pressure, and were it not for a few smart saves from Stevens and some fine defensive work from Elliot Moore, who enjoyed an outstanding game, United could easily have lost this match.

They didn’t, though, and Robinson’s side must be given credit for the character they showed to see off a game where they were not allowed to play at their free-flowing best.

United rallied against the physical battle offered by Wigan showing the right amount of tenacity and anger which led to this determined performance.

Marcus McGuane showed fight in the face of the numerous fouls made on him – most of which were ignored by referee Andrew Kitchen, who did his best to make himself centre stage of this encounter.

Steve Seddon meanwhile got himself involved in a feisty battle with Callum Lang, and whilst Lang scored the equalising goal, the winger was kept quiet other than that.  

Elliot Moore got a rare booking for his complaints at the referee, Cameron Brannagan too getting himself in the book when he took issue with Lang.

Luke McNally and Herbie Kane both earned yellow cards with cynical challenges.

Altogether, Oxford recorded four yellow cards against Wigan, their joint second most all season.

This was not vintage Oxford, but in the face of adversity they made themselves difficult to beat, and showed a character which was simply not present last season, when games like this seemed to fall away from them.  

Oxford made 36 clearances against the Latics, triple their opponents, with 19 clearances between the centre back pairing of Moore and McNally alone. 

All Oxford United Clearances vs Wigan, courtesy of Whoscored.com

United also made 10 blocks, 19 tackles and 15 interceptions, outnumbering their opponents on two of those three metrics.

They did not shy away from the aerial battle, either, winning 19 aerial dules to Wigan’s 16.

This was particularly important in the final exchanges, with Wigan repeatedly launching corners, free kicks and even throw-ins into Oxford’s area. United completed eight headed clearances in the final 20 minutes of the match.

For comparison, Wigan only made three headed clearances all game.

Perhaps this speaks more about Wigan’s dominance in the later stages, and the whole second half, but Oxford were prepared for the bombardment and defended admirably for their point.

Wigan may feel they deserved victory from this game, but Oxford would be hard done by had they left empty handed from the DW Stadium.

This was what happened far too often last season, as United struggled to take their chances and consistently conceded cheap goals at bad times, leading to their awful record against the better sides in the division.

Oxford started this game with supreme confidence, and were excellent in the opening 25 minutes. Even when they faded later on, they showed a willingness to put bodies on the line, slow the game down, and manage affairs.

They could have easily nicked a goal on the counter, too, if it were not for some poor passing and touches in the closing exchanges.

These are the kind of results which will keep Oxford in touch with the promotion chasers, and ensure they maintain their current playoff spot.