Oxford United remain unbeaten under Gary Rowett after the U’s picked up a point at Preston.
Ruben Rodrigues gave the visitors the lead in the first half but the hosts levelled in the second 45.
Here are three talking points from the game.
Oxford United Draw at Preston
Players Gave All
Oxford had their backs to the wall for the majority of the game but Rowett will be delighted with the work rate from his players.
They threw their bodies on the line, chased loose balls and didn’t stop for the entire 90 minutes, plus stoppage time.
The U’s were chasing the game for the majority so to give that level of performance given the busy Christmas period will be good to see.
Jamie Cumming and Defensive Changes
Jamie Cumming put in another solid display and was on hand to make a couple of important saves throughout the game.
But it wasn’t just him, with Rowett forced into a makeshift defence. Elliott Moore missed the game through injury so the head coach started with the same back four that ended the match at Millwall, with Sam Long in the middle and Peter Kioso on the right.
But Kioso picked up a knock in the second half, forcing Rowett to make changes. Hidde ter Avest replaced the full back while Jordan Thorniley made a rare appearance as Oxford switched to a back three.
Oxford United Injuries
So, as previously mentioned, Moore missed the game with injury while Przemyslaw Placheta, who has two assists and two goals from his previous three, was dropped to the bench.
Things got worse when Mark Harris was forced off in the opening ten minutes, which saw an early introduction of Dane Scarlett.
Then in the second half, Kioso was another to be forced off ahead of an FA Cup tie away at Exeter next week.
That fixture provides an opportunity for some fringe players to get some minutes and for those sidelined players to get additional recovery time.
