Oxford United were beaten by a strong Portsmouth team which meant that Appleton’s side are still to pick up any points this season.
The U’s dominated the first half with Danny Hylton coming close on a number of occasions, however the closest rattled off the post. Oxford also entertained the crowd with their beautiful new-look style of play as the U’s looked to unlock the Portsmouth defence. However the main talking point of the game came just before half-time when Hylton was seemingly tripped inside the penalty area leaving both sets of fans thinking a penalty was imminent. The referee waved it away. A lucky escape for Portsmouth.
After the break, the U’s continued a similar tempo to their first half performance and continued to impress, however they were caught on the break by a swift counter-attack from Portsmouth, which saw ex Premier League star Nicky Shorey cross for Portsmouth forward Craig Westcarr who bundled home. Portsmouth ultimately went 1-0 up and the demoralised Oxford were unable to respond. It therefore finished 1-0 and Oxford will be left wondering how they came away with nothing to show for their efforts.
Oxford United
| George Long – Had a few nervous moments in goal today which almost cost Oxford however a good save to deny Westcarr made up for his errors. | 7.0 |
| Joe Riley – Riley played well today as he was very sold defensively and also gave good support to the interchanging midfield in behind Morris on the right flank | 8.0 |
| Jake Wright – Jake Wright played very well today as he contained the tricky Westward very well indeed. He was almost faultless in the air and was very unlucky to not obtain a clean sheet. | 8.0 |
| Johnny Mullins – Mullin’s performance was almost a carbon copy of Wright’s as the centre-half pairing had a very solid game. | 8.0 |
| Tom Newey – Newey really showed his critics what he can do as the highly criticised left-back had a very strong performance both in he defensive and attacking thirds | 8.0 |
| Michael Collins – Collins once again was faultless from the first minute to the very last. The seasoned grafter was pivotal in the United midfield and opened up the game in Oxford’s favour. | 8.5 |
| Josh Ruffels – Ruffels too had a good game. His job was to pull the strings and involve the forward players and he excelled in that role exceptionally. | 8.5 |
| Danny Hylton – His work ethic was fantastic and he was very unlucky not to get on the score sheet. More so than that, Hylton really should have won a penalty as he was blatantly tripped in the Portsmouth area | 9.0 |
| Danny Rose – Rose brought invention into the side and the Oxford number 10 had a lively game. Good performance from Rose. | 8.5 |
| Junior Brown – Brown brought pace and trickery into the side however his efforts were unable to undo the Portsmouth defence. Brown also squandered a very good chance in the dying embers of the game which would have seen Oxford level the scoring. | 8.0 |
| Carlton Morris – Oxford’s number 9 had a very quiet game but still held the ball up nicely and involved the wide midfieders | 7.0 |
Substitutions
| Callum O’Dowda – O’Dowda had a quiet game after appearing from the subs bench and the tricky youngster failed to make an impact. | 6.0 |
| Alfie Potter – Potter only appeared for ten minutes and had very few touches on the ball. | 6.0 |
| Alex Jakubiak – The 17 year old striker had a big task on his hands to try and rescue a point for the U’s but could not find enough time on the ball. | 6.0 |
Portsmouth FC
| Paul Jones – Made a number of smart saves to deny the Oxford attacks and had an overall good performance. | 8.0 |
| Joe Devera – Had a fairly solid game and held the defensive line very well making it difficult for Oxford to penetrate. | 7.5 |
| Paul Robinson – Robinson had a good game after letting a couple of free headers to be allowed in the opening exchanges of play. Other than that he played well. | 7.0 |
| Ben Chorley – Chorley had a strong performance alongside Robinson but seemingly gave away a clear cut penalty in the first half. Luckily enough for him the referee waved it away. | 7.5 |
| Ricky Holmes – The forward was lucky not to get sent off and didn’t seem to threaten the United defence at all | 6.5 |
| Danny Hollands – Had a good game in the centre of the park but didn’t seem to make a significant impact in disputing the forwards. | 7.0 |
| James Dunne – Dunne had a fairly good game but was overplayed by the opposing Michael Collins | 7.0 |
| Nigel Atangana – Had very good work rate in the first half but seemed to tire in the second. This lead to some clumsy tackles being made and overall carelessness | 8.0 |
| Nicky Shorey – Looked dangerous in attack as well as solid defensively. Managed to get the assist for Westcarr’s goal to top his performance | 8.0 |
| Miles Storey – Storey had a very quiet game and didn’t give any extra options up front. Less than impressive from Storey. | 6.0 |
| Craig Westcarr- Grabbed the only goal of the game to see of the U’s. This topped off a lively performance from the forward. | 8.5 |
Substitutions
| Jack Whatmough – The centre half was brought on with 10 minutes to go and he managed to prevent the U’s from getting an equaliser | 7.0 |
| Jed Wallace – Wallace brought liveliness into the Portsmouth side with his pace and trickery. This made it difficult for the U’s defence to handle | 7.5 |
| Ryan Taylor – Had little time on the ball when he came on and didn’t impress that much. | 6.5 |
Man of the Match
| Danny Hylton – His energy and perseverance was key to Oxford’s promising performance. He should have won a penalty and was very unlucky not to score. | 9.0 |
