Oxford United remain unbeaten in the league under Gary Rowett after the U’s played out a goalless draw at Stoke.
It was a scrappy match in the Potteries but a draw was arguably a fair result.
Here are three talking points from the game.
Oxford United Draw at Stoke
Lineup
Rowett made two changes from the side that battled back twice to earn all three points against Luton, with Ruben Rodrigues and Tom Bradshaw coming in for Matt Phillips and Mark Harris.
Jamie Cumming started behind the same back four of Greg Leigh, Ciaron Brown, Michal Helik and Peter Kioso.
Will Vaulks and Cameron Brannagan continued in the deeper role with Siriki Dembele and Przemyslaw Placheta as the wide men. Rodrigues was in the middle behind Bradshaw.
There was also a return to the bench for Tyler Goodrham, who has finished his three-game ban following a red card in the FA Cup defeat at Exeter.
Clean Sheet
It’s clear that Rowett has built this team to defend first and that’s highlighted by a fourth clean sheet in eight league games.
While it was the same back four that lined up against Blackburn, it’s promising to see the U’s look organised in defence, having kept just the same amount of shutouts in 21 league games under Des Buckingham.
This will continue to breed confidence going forward with the attackers knowing their backline is solid, while Cumming also made a couple of key saves between the sticks.
Attacking Debutants
It was a first start for Bradshaw, having come off the bench in his last two league games.
While he didn’t press as much as the likes of Harris or Dane Scarlett, his presence was enough of a threat to the Stoke backline.
He was only presented with one goalscoring opportunity but the goalkeeper came out quickly to block his lifted effort.
Romeny also made his debut, albeit from the bench, and sat in behind Harris who had replaced Bradshaw in the second half.
The former Utrecht man also found himself out on the left at times and this is where he was presented with his best opportunity to score as he pressured the goalkeeper, who was trying to see the ball out for a throw in, before surging into the box only to hit the bar with the goal gaping.
In his defence, he had already done the hard work and a defender came in and forced a challenge, which meant he had to lift the ball rather than slot it in.
