7
www.bristolpost.co.uk
Monday, November 4, 2013
Player Rating (out of 10)
brought down for a penalty which John-Joe O’Toole converted for the win over Oxford
Pictures: Neil Brookman
● Steve Mildenhall: Made a great save to keep out a Dave Kitson header in the final few minutes.
7
● Michael Smith: Another dogged display to keep Rovers old boy Sean Rigg relatively quiet.
7
● Tom Parkes: Produced his best performance for a number of weeks.
8
● Tom Lockyer: Has struggled a bit at left-back since replacing Lee Brown, but showed that he is quickly adapting to yet another unfamiliar position.
8
● Will Packwood: Has proved to be another astute signing by Ward.
7
● Alefe Santos: He posed Oxford a lot of problems during the first half, but was a bit quieter after the break.
7
● John-Joe O’Toole: Looked the Rovers player most likely to score before finally doing so from the penalty spot.
8
● Seanan Clucas: Worked hard and won a lot of headers and second ball.
8
● Eliot Richards: Played well and was felled to win the penalty after bursting through the Oxford defence with an electric turn of pace.
8
● Chris Beardsley: Led the line well for a man who hasn’t played a competitive game for some eight months. It was a promising debut.
7
Star man
9
● Ollie Clarke: Did a great job in anchoring the midfield. Broke up the play and did all the simple things that allowed others around him to flourish.
Oxford United Ryan Clarke – 7 Michael Raynes – 6 Jake Wright – 5 Sean Rigg – 7
David Kitson – 6 James Constable – 6 David Hunt – 6 Ryan Williams – 6
Andy Whing – 6 Danny Rose – 6 Johnny Mullins – 6
Substitutions ● John-Joe O’Toole is booked
Oxford: Alefe Potter for Williams (60 mins), Deane Smalley for Hunt (78mins), Scott Davies for Potter (88 mins). Rovers: Ryan Brunt for Beardsley (84mins), Ellis Harrison for Santos (90 mins).
ing promotion with Stevenage before following manager Graham Westley to Preston North End in the summer of 2012. “I have only seen one game of League Two football all season, so I didn’t really know what to expect from Oxford,” Beardsley said. “I felt they were definitely the more direct of the two teams and that our lads were the ones trying to get the ball down and play in the right way. “Our wide players caused them problems all day and I thought we were very patient in our approach. We didn’t force the play and even at times in the first half we were guilty of over-playing in our midfield third
when it probably wasn’t the right time to do so.” On the award of the penalty from which O’Toole jabbed home what turned out to be the winning goal, Beardsley added: “Eliot (Richards) was well inside the penalty area when he was fouled and I was surprised the defender didn’t get sent off actually. “He was the last man and it was a tackle from behind in a situation where he was never going to get the ball. “John-Joe tucked the penalty away nicely, though, and it was a good win away from home. What more can you ask for on your debut?”
Referee Mark Brown. . . got the penalty decision perfectly correct
Match facts Shots on target Shots off target Corners Fouls conceded Offsides Attendance
Home 6 9 5 13 3 6,374
Away 4 3 7 7 4
EPB-E01-S3
atch-winning penalty
● Oxford’s players can’t believe Dave Kitson’s late effort goes wide