After winning the Championship Manager of the Month for January, it was a frustrating February for Gary Rowett’s Oxford United.
The U’s scored just once and failed to win in any of their five league fixtures, while picking up a couple of injuries along the way.
Oxford United February Round-Up: Winless Run and Attacking Problems
Steady Start
Oxford began the month with a point against Bristol City. The Robins were reduced to ten men just 30 minutes into the game and Greg Leigh fired the U’s ahead after the restart, but former Oxford midfielder Mark Sykes netted an equaliser shortly after.
It was a quiet deadline day for Oxford as they saw two fringe players depart. First, Owen Dale joined Wigan on loan before Kyle Edwards joined Stevenage on a permanent basis after his contract expired last month.
Back to on the pitch matters and Oxford suffered a first league defeat under Gary Rowett at Burnley. An unfortunate Michal Helik own-goal was the difference between the two sides at Turf Moor.
The U’s then played out a goalless draw on the road at Derby. It was a physical, scrappy and frustrating evening for both teams but Oxford will be happy to leave with a point and a clean sheet.
Tom Bradshaw would miss the upcoming Portsmouth game through injury. The striker, who arrived during the January transfer window, has been ruled out for “a good few weeks.”
Back-to-Back Defeats
Rowett’s side then lost for the first time at Grenoble Road with a 2-0 defeat against Portsmouth. Goals at the beginning and the end of the second half sealed the win for John Mousinho’s side.
The U’s ended the month with another 2-0 defeat, this time on the road at West Brom. The hosts took the lead during a dominant opening 30 minutes but added a second in stoppage time when Jamie Cumming came up for a corner.
