Home Match Day Thread 20/02/2024 L1: OUFC v Northampton Town

[Northstandboy]

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Interview - Des Buckingham

Interview - Will Goodwin

Interview - Jon Brady

Match Highlights

Match Report

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[captainox]

Took a video of the Northampton equaliser just after the game via iFollow - not the greatest quality.

Video Unavailable

This video is unavailable.

streamable.com

Long pinging a backpass into his own half - daft
Cumming not choosing to go short to Negru or McEachran - annoying but hardly surprising given the shape that had formed off the back of the previous attack/Long pass
Negru letting the ball bounce twice rather than getting it under control, sticking it in the stand or sending it back from where it came - schoolboy
Negru managing to run under the ball - error
McEachran choosing a poor pass rather than just clearing the ball into stand/down the line - error
Matete flat footed to not get onto McEachran's 'pass' - sloppy
Cross being allowed to come in so easily AND their player a) being in space and b ) have two touches before shooting - criminal

Catalogue of errors from a group of players who used no common sense in terms of trying to protect a goal advantage in the closing stages of a game.

Each time we'd got over an error, we then made another.

 

[holdsteady]

Took a video of the Northampton equaliser just after the game via iFollow - not the greatest quality.

Video Unavailable

This video is unavailable.

streamable.com

Long pinging a backpass into his own half - daft
Cumming not choosing to go short to Negru or McEachran - annoying but hardly surprising given the shape that had formed off the back of the previous attack/Long pass
Negru letting the ball bounce twice rather than getting it under control, sticking it in the stand or sending it back from where it came - schoolboy
Negru managing to run under the ball - error
McEachran choosing a poor pass rather than just clearing the ball into stand/down the line - error
Matete flat footed to not get onto McEachran's 'pass' - sloppy
Cross being allowed to come in so easily AND their player a) being in space and b ) have two touches before shooting - criminal

Catalogue of errors.

Just a terrible goal to concede, if you said that was a parks team conceding that on a Sunday morning then it would be believable.

 

[LeftSideLarry]

Took a video of the Northampton equaliser just after the game via iFollow - not the greatest quality.

Video Unavailable

This video is unavailable.

streamable.com

Long pinging a backpass into his own half - daft
Cumming not choosing to go short to Negru or McEachran - annoying but hardly surprising given the shape that had formed off the back of the previous attack/Long pass
Negru letting the ball bounce twice rather than getting it under control, sticking it in the stand or sending it back from where it came - schoolboy
Negru managing to run under the ball - error
McEachran choosing a poor pass rather than just clearing the ball into stand/down the line - error
Matete flat footed to not get onto McEachran's 'pass' - sloppy
Cross being allowed to come in so easily AND their player a) being in space and b ) have two touches before shooting - criminal

Catalogue of errors from a group of players who used no common sense in terms of trying to protect a goal advantage in the closing stages of a game.

Each time we'd got over an error, we then made another.

First time I’ve seen that back and a wave of nausea accompanied it.

Sam Long’s decision to pass the ball back was inexplicable, but he isn’t responsible for that goal.

 

[Sheik djibouti]

First time I’ve seen that back and a wave of nausea accompanied it.

Sam Long’s decision to pass the ball back was inexplicable, but he isn’t responsible for that goal.

Agree, it just out us under undue pressure and we wilted as a consequence of a series of poor decisions and an effective press from Northampton who ha nothing to lose.

If Long had turned towards the South Stand and wellied it into the SSU it would've been a better decision. It was also the fact it was a one-touch pass when there was no immediate pressure on him, rather than surveying the options and taking a touch (there was time) that I found and still find equally baffling.

Anyway....on to Saturday and another mid-table inconsistent team and another opportunity for 3 pts

 

[bazzer9461]

First time I’ve seen that back and a wave of nausea accompanied it.

Sam Long’s decision to pass the ball back was inexplicable, but he isn’t responsible for that goal.

That is poor and totally inexplicable, I do hope Buckingham has given them a right bollocking.

 

[38yearsofpain]

That is poor and totally inexplicable, I do hope Buckingham has given them a right bollocking.

Don't know why but Denis Healey's like being savaged by a dead sheep sprang to mind. It's always a great retort.

 

[uptheus]

First time I’ve seen that back and a wave of nausea accompanied it.

Sam Long’s decision to pass the ball back was inexplicable, but he isn’t responsible for that goal.

He started it though, and was out of position chasing the player because of it.

I feel for Negru here, especially as the player in the offside position impeded him getting to the ball after initially claiming offside then realising very quickly that it wasn't going to be given, then getting another player attacking him from his blind side. Yes, there were errors all round, but most goals are caused by 3 errors generally, but the initial decision by Long was crazy, meaning Cummings has to hoof the ball back up field straight to their player rather than in the direction of any of ours. Even Jerome comments that Long's team mates weren't happy by that ball! Long had options to either go back to Dale or inside to McEachran, but for some reason decided to pass it back 60+ yards

 

[SteMerritt]

but most goals are caused by 3 errors generally

Interesting assertion. Where have you got this from?

 

[uptheus]

Interesting assertion. Where have you got this from?

Heard it loads of times in and around football, but whether it’s scientifically proven which needs to be done these days I couldn’t say hand on heart! May be George knows!!

 

[m]

It's just another comically bad team goal.

So many culpable there.

 

[Yellow River]

On the balance of play we really should’ve won comfortably against Northampton. Individual errors cost us.

The lineup raised a few eyebrows, especially the midfield and formation, but it was working nicely and you could see that Northampton were surprised and very unsure how to deal with our tactics. Buckingham got that right and set the team up well. I thought the substitutions were perfectly reasonable too.

I think in this instance it was the players who should be doing a bit of soul searching, they were given a great platform to go out and win the game. I know it a results business but it can’t always be the managers fault, sometimes players have to take a bit of responsibility too.

I’m expecting a positive reaction and performance on Saturday against Leyton Orient.

 

[Sheik djibouti]

On the balance of play we really should’ve won comfortably against Northampton. Individual errors cost us.

The lineup raised a few eyebrows, especially the midfield and formation, but it was working nicely and you could see that Northampton were surprised and very unsure how to deal with our tactics. Buckingham got that right and set the team up well. I thought the substitutions were perfectly reasonable too.

I think in this instance it was the players who should be doing a bit of soul searching, they were given a great platform to go out and win the game. I know it a results business but it can’t always be the managers fault, sometimes players have to take a bit of responsibility too.

I’m expecting a positive reaction and performance on Saturday against Leyton Orient.

I agree, but the only thing I would add is that the team was clearly set up to counter the press - ie invite Northampton on to us, flood upfield to support Harris and put the ball into the spaces created by the press. We have struggled to counter this at times in previous games and I think maybe Des expected Northampton to employ this tactic to limit our opportunities. However, as we all saw in the first half, Northampton actually sat back and didn't press the ball carrier, hence no gaps appeared for us to exploit and we had the bizarre spectacle of defenders dwelling on the ball, wondering which option to try for a pass, with Northampton in no hurry to close them down. It also goes some way to explain why so many passes were sideways and backwards, and why the only times we really showed forward momentum were when players like Brannagan were carrying it from deep, or a big diagonal (to Leigh for example), or when Murphy etc took their man on.

Maybe this is a better tactic away from home, when we would normally expect the home side to be more attacking and press more when out of possession

 

[ExclusiveOxnews]

anyone else think Long was actually trying to pass it to Negru? It's just a poor pass by a pretty average player. I think the outrage for it on here is really because the action was symptomatic of our play for most of the game; pretty negative. e.g. whenever Brown or Negru stopped passing it along the backline and we drove forward, they couldn't cope at all with it. Very frustrating. Tough to blame one individual for the 2nd goal as it is a dreadful series of errors. Josh Mc running in quicksand to (not) block the cross may even be top of the pile of dreadful-ness

 

[RyanioBirdio]

anyone else think Long was actually trying to pass it to Negru?

Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit, and that makes me feel very sad.

 

[Sheik djibouti]

anyone else think Long was actually trying to pass it to Negru? It's just a poor pass by a pretty average player. I think the outrage for it on here is really because the action was symptomatic of our play for most of the game; pretty negative. e.g. whenever Brown or Negru stopped passing it along the backline and we drove forward, they couldn't cope at all with it. Very frustrating. Tough to blame one individual for the 2nd goal as it is a dreadful series of errors. Josh Mc running in quicksand to (not) block the cross may even be top of the pile of dreadful-ness

It did cross my mind, given that it went over Negru's head and Cumming had to scamper to the right, in behind him to retrieve it . . . .

It was also a one-hit Peter Kay/John Smiths "av it"-style pass, when a touch to bring it under control may have been a better option, given there was enough time to do so . . . .

 

[West Oxon U’s]

Took a video of the Northampton equaliser just after the game via iFollow - not the greatest quality.

Video Unavailable

This video is unavailable.

streamable.com

Long pinging a backpass into his own half - daft
Cumming not choosing to go short to Negru or McEachran - annoying but hardly surprising given the shape that had formed off the back of the previous attack/Long pass
Negru letting the ball bounce twice rather than getting it under control, sticking it in the stand or sending it back from where it came - schoolboy
Negru managing to run under the ball - error
McEachran choosing a poor pass rather than just clearing the ball into stand/down the line - error
Matete flat footed to not get onto McEachran's 'pass' - sloppy
Cross being allowed to come in so easily AND their player a) being in space and b ) have two touches before shooting - criminal

Catalogue of errors from a group of players who used no common sense in terms of trying to protect a goal advantage in the closing stages of a game.

Each time we'd got over an error, we then made another.

That is real X rated stuff. A catalogue of errors. Analysts say you can find three mistakes that lead up to a goal but there is 7 or eight there.

I still maintain the genesis of that goal was Long’s scrambled mind that saw him ping a ball 60 yards back to Cumming.

In nearly 50 years of watching football I’ve never seen a player in a wide right attacking position in the opponent’s half choose to play the ball back to his ‘keeper.

It instantly filled everyone with panic. It was criminal for me.

 

[Chris on a Bike]

That reminds me. We had a free kick some way outside their box in the first half. Three of our players stood over the ball, seemingly for ages, discussing what to do. When the ref blew his whistle, they still didn't seem to have decided and it ended up with one of them touching the ball about a foot away to one of the others, who then tried to control it and shoot. By which time an onrushing defender was right in front of him and it bounced away to safety. We had managed to completely waste an attacking opportunity and it was an example of muddled thinking and a lack of awareness - not only was it a chance for an attempt on goal, but a load of our players were in or around the penalty area, so a breakaway (if the ball had bounced differently) was a distinct possibility.

This is one for the players rather than the manager though - you would have thought they could have organised themselves better!

Yes, my little group laughed ironically at that one

 

[holdsteady]

I thought we picked up second half when Leigh was able to bring the ball out from deep and even Negru and Brown had a few little goes at carrying the ball out. A Dickie or Atkinson has a field day against a team playing like Northampton did, loads of room for a centre back to being it out, would have opened up play.

 

[PottersRightBoot]

Not alone, he even asks for the ball when Matete could just knock it to the side or back sensibly himself. Long has asked for it just to haymaker it back in to our own half and force us in to a defensive state that nobody else in the team is ready for as we’re in possession with everybody high up the field (which in itself could be questioned - what is Des doing throwing so many bodies forward at this point?). But Long is in a position to turn out and cross if he wanted, even if he were caught on the ball Northampton have 70+ yards to go to goal.

Speaks volumes that people would prefer to throw young Negru (who will be learning still and bound to make mistakes just as McNally did) under the bus for his part in it all as long as Sam Long stays out of the spotlight. It’s just pathetic.

There is a few in the squad and now potentially a manager that can do no wrong in the eyes of a section of the fan base.

But Negru and Matete made mistakes. Not Long.

Were you at the game?

 

[uptheus]

But Negru and Matete made mistakes. Not Long.

Were you at the game?

If Long doesn’t play that ball back that goal doesn’t happen.

What would you have done in Negru’s position? Is Matete at fault because of McEachran’s poor pass? Should Cumming have kicked out to an Oxford player? Should Long have got back to track the player inside? Should McEachran have stopped the cross. Should Brown not have been sold the dummy shot?

By the way, Long had a good game, but that pass was odd.