Oxford United lost their latest game with a 2-0 defeat on the road to league leaders, Sunderland.
Goals in each half for the Black Cats was enough to secure the three points, with the U’s struggling on Wearside.
Here are three talking points from the game.
Oxford United Lose at Sunderland
Squad Depth Hampered By Injuries
Heading into the game, this was the first time this season that both the starting line-up and substitute bench began to look slightly depleted.
Siriki Dembele joined fellow wingers Kyle Edwards, Przemyslaw Placheta and Matt Phillips on the sidelines with injury, while influential midfielder Cameron Brannagan and defensive stalwart Joe Bennett have also been missing for several weeks.
Due to the lack of wingers, many supporters expected a change of shape but Des Buckingham stuck to his guns, with Mark Harris being deployed as a wide man with Tyler Goodrham, while Dane Scarlett led the line.
However, at the break, he did make a switch to the formation with Greg Leigh replacing Idris El Mizouni and switching to a 5-3-2.
Minutes for Oxford United Squad Players
Following on from the opening point, it provided some vital minutes for several players when Buckingham made changes.
With Ciaron Brown seemingly being the first-choice left-back, Leigh came on at half time while Louie Sibley and Josh McEachran both got 15 minutes, along with Hidde ter Avest who made his first Oxford appearance.
There was also a ten minute spell for striker Will Goodwin, who got his first league minutes of the campaign.
Sunderland Just Too Good
Sometimes you just have to accept that the opposition are clearly the better team, and that was the case on Wearside.
Sunderland had six shots on target from 13 attempts, with Jamie Cumming making some decent stops, while Oxford only tested the opposing goalkeeper twice from five shots.
The Black Cats also dominated possession, with the U’s having just 35 per cent, and played almost double the amount of passes than the visitors.
Another key point highlighting their strength was that they were the first team to beat the U’s by a scoreline of more than one goal.
