Oxford United 1 (Davis 89) Fleetwood Town 2 (Crowther 28, Brown 55)

9:55pm Tuesday 12th February 2013 in Sport Photograph of the Author By David Pritchard, Chief Sports Reporter covering Oxford United. Follow us on twitter: @oxfordmailoufc. Call me on 01865 425458

Oxford United's Deane Smalley had this header disallowed Oxford United's Deane Smalley had this header disallowed

A STUNNING strike from Liam Davis was of scant consolation as Oxford United slumped to a fourth defeat in five games tonight.

The full back gave the U's some late hope by finding the corner of the net from long range.

It set up a stirring finish, when the hosts played with an urgency and intensity which had been lacking for the rest of the game, but Fleetwood had built enough of a cushion to see off the charge.

Ryan Crowther finished off a flowing move on 28 minutes to put the Cod Army in front and Junior Brown doubled the advantage ten minutes after the break.

United, who looked low on confidence, had their moments.

James Constable hit the post, while Alfie Potter and Sean Rigg also had good chances, but again the clinical touch deserted them.

Deane Smalley made his first start in more than four months, replacing the injured Justin Richards as United reverted back to 4-4-2.

The hosts' other change to the starting line-up from Saturday's 2-0 defeat to Bristol Rovers saw Alfie Potter come in for Tony Capaldi.

Melted snow had done the playing surface no favours and both sides took no chances in the first ten minutes.

When the game began to settle it was Fleetwood who looked more coherent, with the U's struggling to make an impact in possession.

One whipped cross saw Michael Raynes mis-kick his attempted clearance and the centre back was mightily relieved to see the ball fly straight to goalkeeper Luke McCormick.

United had the ball in the net on 19 minutes, when Smalley nodded in from a yard at a corner, but the referee ruled it out for a foul on Scott Davies.

The Cod Army goalkeeper made an excellent save midway through the half, denying Lewis Montrose's left-footed effort.

United appeared to be finding a foothold, but just as in Saturday they fell behind after building some momentum.

The home side's defence were caught completely cold by a move from right to left, where Crowther was waiting unmarked to steer a shot past McCormick.

United had a glorious chance to level the scores just three minutes later.

Rigg freed Potter, whose lack of confidence was visible as he turned down the chance to shoot instead of a pass which missed its target.

Howls swirled around the Kassam, but the home fans were very nearly cheering with the next attack.

Smalley flicked on for James Constable, who laid off for his strike partner to fizz a shot a whisker wide.

United made an encouraging start to the second half, with Davies saving from Potter.

But again Fleetwood hit back with purpose, doubling their lead ten minutes into the second half.

A high hanging cross was headed back across goal by Dean Howell and Brown reacted first to bundle a finish home from close range.

The tension among the home fans went up a notch as another game looked to be slipping away.

Constable came agonisingly close to halving the deficit with a run and shot which struck the post. The ball fell to Rigg, who blazed a tricky chance over the bar.

There was still half an hour to play, plenty of time to salvage something, but United badly lacked a spark.

Fleetwood were happy to sit back and soak up the pressure, as their opponents searched for some inspiration.

Jean-Michel Fontaine should have made it 3-0 on 75 minutes, but after the offside trap was spring by a neat move the striker fired wide.

Josh Parker's energy was again useful from the bench and with ten minutes left he laid on a fantastic chance for Rigg.

The winger could not find a way past Davies' legs and Raynes headed the rebound wide.

When the Fleetwood goalkeeper made a superb parry to deny Damian Batt with two minutes to go the game looked over.

But Davis injected some drama into the closing stages with a brilliant strike from 25 yards which flew into the corner.

With five minutes of time added on United suddenly came alive.

Constable had two sights of goal almost immediately, but both ended up high in the Oxford Mail Stand.

Fleetwood still had to weather another corner, but United ran out of time.

Comments(33)

oldun says...
10:01pm Tue 12 Feb 13

Serious question – if all of our players were match fit , how would our best eleven compare ‘man for man’ with our side which ended third in the Conference?

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Richard Wickson says...
10:23pm Tue 12 Feb 13

this present side would be relegated from the BSP on current form, my worry if we are relegated is that the big attendances that we had in the BSP last time wouldnt follow again, i dont think we would survive it again as i think the club would fold, Kassam wouldnt reduce the rent so how can the club possibly survive ? Answers on a postcard please.

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WindsorYellow says...
10:55pm Tue 12 Feb 13

Built by KT and cw !! Destroyed by fk,IL, and you guessed it cw !!!! I'm so glad I don't waste my hard earned cash watching that dross.!! I will however come back if and when we're a top 3 side and pushing for promotion from league 2.

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Doctor69 says...
11:06pm Tue 12 Feb 13

WindsorYellow wrote:
Built by KT and cw !! Destroyed by fk,IL, and you guessed it cw !!!! I'm so glad I don't waste my hard earned cash watching that dross.!! I will however come back if and when we're a top 3 side and pushing for promotion from league 2.
You won't be watching the yellows anytime soon then!

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Doctor69 says...
11:09pm Tue 12 Feb 13

Absolute rubbish, again. Useless.
I won't renew my season ticket until wilder is gone. Many other season tickets around me are saying the same. Can the club afford to keep him on much longer?

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Brenda Jackson says...
11:17pm Tue 12 Feb 13

We've been dire for a long looong time, IL does not seem likely to kick wildurr into touch- he'll wait until this bleak season is finished. Reason, he won't pay off cw, but could be a massive gamble, if the current 'run' continues..

The pitch looked great, if you enjoy making sandcastles or mud pies. Funny, the fleetfoot team coped ok on it.

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BigAlBiker says...
11:21pm Tue 12 Feb 13

If you were there tonight and looked at the bench you would have seen at least one,usually two of the opposition staff up and encouraging there layers while our man was sat on his backside.

No passion. No skill, no speed, no idea all over the pitch and he sends Tyrone out, leaves Max on the bench and don't get me started on the players he has let go let alone the donkeys he has brought in like Lewis Guy and others.

We could lose eight players easily and stay the same, Mark Yates or someone like him is needed to bring some sort of idea to the club, it's time for Wilder to go with our thanks before he completely ruins it and takes us back down.

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Manor Born says...
12:04am Wed 13 Feb 13

It just seems that there is a massive air of resignation around the place. As soon as wee went 1-0 down, the players seemed to shrug their shoulders and say well at least we made it this far. The supporters seem resigned to the fact that no matter what we are stuck with this manager until at Least the end of the season so there is no point in calling for his head.

It's gone beyond a joke now. This is nothing short of embarrassing and history seems to be repeating itself. We are toothlessly heading towards relegation if a change isn't made ASAP. Wilder won't do the honourable thing, it now needs to be made clear that he has to go. If we don't start voicing our disapproval and make it clear that he needs to go then we will be just as culpable for our relegation as Wilder.

All we want is a decent football team. One that plays with a bit of pride, a bit of passion and a bit of desire. We're not getting any of that. The only reason the crowd was given as 5003 tonight is because all season tickets are included in that figure. Looking around the ground there was 4,500 tops inside there. This is only going to get worse whilst that man is manager. He needs to go, he needs to go now. The future and survival of our club is at stake.

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hawkeye1 says...
12:15am Wed 13 Feb 13

I hope I did not jinx the team when I mentioned in an earlier post, that I had a bad feeling Fleetwood might do the double over us, I even got the score right Oxford1-Fleetwood 2, feel bad about that, pitch looks bad, stands looked empty, it is like the life blood is draining out of our club,
need someone to come in and invest, maybe look into moving out of the Kassam and tell the owner to shove it where the sun does not shine, and his rent, and we can start a fresh by
rebuilding somewhere else, to tell the truth I will be glad when this season is over, as it has become so depressing the way it is going.

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AylesburyOx says...
6:31am Wed 13 Feb 13

Wilder out. I'll keep saying it until he goes. Utter rubbish last night and bigal was right, I was watching the bench and Wilder did and offered nothing in the way of support and more importantly management for the players

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The Black Prince was off-side says...
7:48am Wed 13 Feb 13

Our three 'leaders' stayed either cowed in the shelter or stood like statues with hands in their pockets throughout. All three have to go, no passion or any scrap of leadership. Why not put them on gardening leave until the end of the season thus not incurring the £150k cost that IL referred to and put Dubes in charge until the break. All my previous comments were just accentuated last night.

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Grandpont Tom says...
8:52am Wed 13 Feb 13

I don't think there will be 'Wilder going to Coventry' rumours this time!

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PT1 says...
9:05am Wed 13 Feb 13

Last night was a shower of sh*t, no passion from the team and Mr Wilder was sat down most of the game unlike the Fleetwood Manager who was encouraging and motivating his team for the majority of the game. Attendances will start wittling down until something is done and we start winning some games!

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A Scroat says...
9:05am Wed 13 Feb 13

BigAlBiker wrote:
If you were there tonight and looked at the bench you would have seen at least one,usually two of the opposition staff up and encouraging there layers while our man was sat on his backside.

No passion. No skill, no speed, no idea all over the pitch and he sends Tyrone out, leaves Max on the bench and don't get me started on the players he has let go let alone the donkeys he has brought in like Lewis Guy and others.

We could lose eight players easily and stay the same, Mark Yates or someone like him is needed to bring some sort of idea to the club, it's time for Wilder to go with our thanks before he completely ruins it and takes us back down.
I totally agree with you. This was my last game until Wilder goes and we get a striker who can score. JC is very poor now.

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adlibber says...
9:06am Wed 13 Feb 13

Season is over - Relegation fight a serious possibility now and Wilder doesn't have an ounce of dignity otherwise he would walk away now and talk his inept coaching staff with him.

My anger drifts more towards Lenagan these days because of his reluctance to make a bold decision. If he's prepared to put £125 grand into a rescue pot to save his investment why is he also happy to keep a manager in charge who is taking the club backwards and increasing the chances of Lenagan incurring more losses? Bizarre Management from top to bottom.

Wilder and co have to go now.

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BezzaYellow says...
9:11am Wed 13 Feb 13

Duberry in as player-manager for the rest of the season. Raise spirits.

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bigchet says...
9:12am Wed 13 Feb 13

right now it looks as if the very best we can hope for is a midtable finish and even that may be a bit optimistic. realistically il will stick with cw until seasons end when his contract runs out as we cannot afford to pay him off and bring in someone else as apart from us being basically broke its too late for a new man to reignite promotion hopes. always a fan but sometimes its bl**dy difficult and depressing.!

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AylesburyOx says...
9:53am Wed 13 Feb 13

BezzaYellow wrote:
Duberry in as player-manager for the rest of the season. Raise spirits.
I'd love to see Dooobes in charge for the remainder of the season; at least he'd show some passion and get the fans going!

I'd like to say that last night was as bad as I've seen it but sadly I went there expecting to lose, we lost and nobody from the chairman, manager, coaching staff or players seemed to care. If Lenegen is going to have a pop at the fans for falling attendances he must see why we are staying away.

This is probably the lowest I've felt as an Oxford fan

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oldun says...
10:05am Wed 13 Feb 13

This is as bad as the last days of Asprey - at Xmas 1980 we were next to bottom of a division which we would now love to get up into!! Enter Ian Greaves - beat top of the table Charlton in his first game - same players lost just 3 matches out of the remaining 24!! same players

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northampton yellow says...
11:42am Wed 13 Feb 13

Yeah ive had enough of this crap now i will not be going back until wilder lewis and melville leave its a shame as once what was a good club is ruined

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BicesterBod says...
12:01pm Wed 13 Feb 13

Mickey Lewis, for me is one who should go for a start. I do not think he has been of benefit to the club since he joined in the late 1980's and frankly I think he's a drain on the resources and I don't know how he's kept his job. From the start in 1988 when he travelled to The Manor in his chauffeur driven car, and scrounged false petrol receipts off cashiers in the garage next door, he was arrogant and I can't see how he's contributed anything since becoming part of the management in '99.

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kibby says...
12:28pm Wed 13 Feb 13

northampton yellow wrote:
Yeah ive had enough of this crap now i will not be going back until wilder lewis and melville leave its a shame as once what was a good club is ruined
Oxford City at home in local(ish) derby against Gloucester City on Saturday. OC still just outside play-offs...is there an outside chance of a City/United derby next season if CW stays on!!?

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foxvox says...
12:34pm Wed 13 Feb 13

Bicester Bod is right, I can't see how Lewis has contributed either. Since Wilder has been here he has seemed more purposeful but before that he just seemed to like kicking a ball about with the lads - and we were paying him to do that! I remember an away defeat at Wrexham in the Conference when he was playing around before we went on to lose and I wondered then what he did. Do we need a midfield coach? I think that's his role - we need a midfield first. And as for the pitch excuse - 9 teams have done as well as or better than us on it so far this season in the league, it's our pitch and we've only won 6 league games out of 15. Pathetic.

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northampton yellow says...
2:20pm Wed 13 Feb 13

kibby wrote:
northampton yellow wrote:
Yeah ive had enough of this crap now i will not be going back until wilder lewis and melville leave its a shame as once what was a good club is ruined
Oxford City at home in local(ish) derby against Gloucester City on Saturday. OC still just outside play-offs...is there an outside chance of a City/United derby next season if CW stays on!!?
yeah we should all go to watch city and put money in their coffers they will proberly spend it better than us mike ford must be laughing at us and the way its going will be having a drink when city bypass us in th league

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matty99 says...
4:20pm Wed 13 Feb 13

I will be at Marsh lane Marston on Saturday to watch Fords boys
Cook Benjamim and Basham, are worth the entrance fee alone with concessions for OUFC season ticket holders!

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OX26Hound says...
5:23pm Wed 13 Feb 13

oldun wrote:
This is as bad as the last days of Asprey - at Xmas 1980 we were next to bottom of a division which we would now love to get up into!! Enter Ian Greaves - beat top of the table Charlton in his first game - same players lost just 3 matches out of the remaining 24!! same players
I had great concerns when we returned to playing in the same style of kit that we wore in the 1970's (the awful striped affair and then this year's). Sadly, the team performances are also beginning to immitate the form of those days!

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AylesburyOx says...
8:08pm Wed 13 Feb 13

I think it would be a damning indictment of the current management if for the next home game anyone who would normally see United went to go and watch City play instead.

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burnseykidlington says...
9:36pm Wed 13 Feb 13

In 2005 at this point we were 7 pts clear of relegation, in 2013 we are 9 clear, are we safe? Not at all. We need another 10 pts to be safe and where are they coming from?

Wilder thanks for getting us back in the league, 3 Swindon wins and for wembley now it's time to go.

WILDER OUT WILDER OUT

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oldun says...
5:56am Thu 14 Feb 13

50 years ago this coming Saturday (during the ‘big freeze’ of 62/63) , the Beatles played their only gig in Oxfordshire – at the Carfax Assembly Rooms (just five days after the recording of their first album, Please Please Me). At that time, United were in a spell of over three months (Dec 15- Mar 16) of not playing at home! The only away game they played between Dec 22nd and Mar 9th , was the FA Cup tie at Highbury (undersoil heating) . The Beatles emerging (inter)nationally and United’s first ever Football League season – very happy days for this then teenager . COYY – keep that League status.

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DnBayst says...
9:25am Thu 14 Feb 13

I do wish that people would get their tongues out of CW backside. Yes he did get us out of the conference (even though we did only finish 3rd) but for me thats all he has done, we are not improving we are just sitting in exactly the same place every season, and also do some of the people who comment on here in support of CW and some of the 'better players' actually go to the games every week? For the majority of this season Leven has been poor at best, Craddock is just a lazy poacher who hardly ever puts any effort in. yes he does score goals (or did) but saying that I will say that in a couple of games he started to look a very decent player but then started slipping back into the realms of being lazy and expecting the ball to be played directly to him and not have to work for it. I do agree with the majority of comments on here and Wilder should think about packing his bags but i can't help but say he has tried to get us to play 'Football' which would work very well in say the championship or even league 1, but we aren't in league 1 we are in League 2 and a different approach is required which CW doesn't seem to be able to cope with especially as we seem to be Sh1t scared of shooting in front of goal. Your Time is up my Friend, Thank you for the memories but time to move on....

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Grandpont Tom says...
10:33am Thu 14 Feb 13

Re DnBayst- I don't think anyone is overpraising Mr Wilder on this thread. If you read the posts most want him to go and any support for him staying is based on the fact that the club cannot afford to ditch him before the contract expires. I cannot find one fan on this site who says sign him uo for next year.

No-one wants anyone to lose their job - and I don't think we will go down (lucky there are not 4 relegation places though!) - but he is doing a really bad job and I am sure there are lots of people who could do better -
He is completrly uninspiring and at the end of the day Football is part of the entertainment industry. Not many OUFC fans have enjoyed this season

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DnBayst says...
2:54pm Thu 14 Feb 13

@Grandpont Tom, I probably should have made it more clear, I meant the people on the OM site in general and not just the people on this particular thread. I do agree though its not nice for anyone to lose their job but if you are not performing then you should expect that to happen.

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oldun says...
3:18pm Thu 14 Feb 13

Grandpont Tom wrote:
Re DnBayst- I don't think anyone is overpraising Mr Wilder on this thread. If you read the posts most want him to go and any support for him staying is based on the fact that the club cannot afford to ditch him before the contract expires. I cannot find one fan on this site who says sign him uo for next year.

No-one wants anyone to lose their job - and I don't think we will go down (lucky there are not 4 relegation places though!) - but he is doing a really bad job and I am sure there are lots of people who could do better -
He is completrly uninspiring and at the end of the day Football is part of the entertainment industry. Not many OUFC fans have enjoyed this season
BYS is a big fan!!. Anyone who goes into professional football management must know that it is very likely that (A) they won't last more than 4 years in most jobs (B) their total managerial career at pro level will not pass ten years (including periods out of work) - it has been that way for at least 50 years. Stay out of the kitchen if you don't like the heat. Many earn far far more than the fans who criticise or praise them . There won't be a shortage of applicants even to a probably not highly paid Conference managerial post

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