Oxford United saw their relegation survival take another significant blow with a narrow loss at home against Wrexham.
The U’s fell behind in a lacklustre first half but despite improvements after the break, were unable to get themselves back in the game.
Here are three talking points from the game.
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Oxford United Lose Against Wrexham
Lack of Urgency
Given how big of a fixture this was, there was another worrying tendency with how much of a lack of urgency there was from Oxford.
Wrexham didn’t need to get out of second gear in the first half with the U’s lacking energy in back to back important games, as was the case in the first half against Derby.
Again, like at Pride Park, there was a significant improvement after the break but Matt Bloomfield’s side should have been on the opposition right from the off.
Struggles in Front of Goal
The U’s have now failed to score in back to back games for the first time under Bloomfield which highlights Oxford’s weakness.
They did have 16 attempts on goal but the five on target were all routine saves for Danny Ward in the Wrexham net.
With Oxford needing to win the final two games, alongside hoping that Blackburn lose both, they need to find the back of the net.
Failure From Set Pieces
One of Oxford’s main strengths this season is scoring from set pieces but they wasted every opportunity they were presented.
The U’s had nine corners in the game but none were effective, the long throws failed to beat the first man and free kicks were often over hit.
It was underwhelming to say the least with Bloomfield’s side looking unable to score from open play.
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