THE opening goal is often crucial, but Pep Clotet believes striking first will carrry extra significance tomorrow.

Oxford United may be only two points adrift of the Sky Bet League One play-offs ahead of Northampton Town’s visit, but their momentum has stalled in recent weeks.

A feature of their five-game winless run in all competitions has been the way goals have been conceded cheaply.

Clotet drew a parallel between the Cobblers’ likely approach at the Kassam Stadium and Port Vale, who knocked United out of the Emirates FA Cup a week ago.

While the U’s performance was well below par, the underdogs’ hopes were significantly boosted by taking an early lead.

And Clotet admits falling behind would make the hosts’ task similarly challenging tomorrow.

“They (Northampton) try not to lose and defend very well with a lot of bodies behind the ball and a lot of shape work,” he said.

“Then they try to exploit the opposition, being very direct and see what they can get out of the game.

“I’m expecting them to be very difficult to beat and they will want to exploit any mistakes we make.

“So it’s very important that our focus is there not to get very open or have a false sense of thinking we’re controlling possession and leave us too open.”

He added: “Port Vale is similar in that sense.

“What affected that game most was they had the early goal.

“That favoured their game because if a team like that scores first it’s a perfect scenario because they force you to be open and then they will exploit it.”

At Vale and in the previous game, at Fleetwood Town, United’s response to a side sitting deep was to keep the ball.

But a feature of both matches was how little they created – and Clotet does not want to see possession without purpose.

For the Spaniard it is merely the latest problem to solve, having helped his side overcome an issue in September where teams looked to pack the middle of the park.

“The team is working on it but I have the feeling we’re going to face this situation more and more,” he said.

“The more that we improve and other teams respect the way we’re playing the more they close themselves and try to nick a goal on the counter-attack or using physicality.

“We would never suffer these problems if we were matching the opposition and trying to counteract them, but I think everyone has seen this team.

“Fans stop me in town and they’re happy with the work we’re doing because we’re trying to put this culture and mentality in the team that we do it our way.”