Oxford United suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat at home against league leaders Leeds on Good Friday.
The U’s battled hard against the Whites and will take plenty of positives from their display.
Here are three talking points from the game.
Oxford United Lose Against Leeds
Moment of Quality
Unsurprisingly, Leeds dominated the statistics. More shots on goal, more shots on target, more possession, and more passes.
Despite that, Jamie Cumming was only forced into a couple of saves but the game’s only goal was one of real quality.
In two quick passes, Leeds got in behind Tyler Goodrham down the Oxford left with Joe Bennett caught high and on-loan Tottenham striker Manor Solomon timed his run behind the U’s defence to slot home the goal.
It was a similar move to a couple of goals that Oxford shipped in the reverse fixture at Elland Road but that was all it took to break the deadlock.
Matos in Midfield
Alex Matos has come on leaps and bounds following his loan move from Chelsea in January but this was arguably his best performance in a yellow shirt so far.
The 20-year-old was tackling firm but fair in the first half and his driving runs was causing plenty of problems for the Leeds defence.
His composure in the final third was also on point and he’s taken to the number ten role really well, giving the U’s another outlet when attacking.
Heads Held High and 12th Man
While it was a defeat, Oxford will be pleased with their performance against an in-form Leeds side.
There were two divisions between the sides last season but the U’s matched them for much of the game.
As touched on earlier, Cumming only had to make two noteworthy saves, but both were top-drawer. In the other net, Karl Darlow was also on hand to deny Cameron Brannagan early doors with a fierce strike.
Backed by another sell-out crowd and an impressive display from the Yellow Division, the fans kept up their support and helped the team throughout the 90 minutes.
