OXFORD United remain the only Sky Bet Championship team not to concede a goal from a set piece this season, but Will Vaulks wants to see more of a threat at the other end of the pitch.
The U’s have conceded 18 goals in 15 Championship matches, equating to the 10th best defensive record in the division.
Sixteen of those goals have been conceded from open play, with another on the counter-attack, plus the penalty scored by Nahki Wells in Bristol City’s 2-1 home win against United in September.
Only the U’s have yet to concede from a set piece, while top six sides Burnley, Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion have let in just one goal each from set pieces.
When the tables are turned though, and it is goals scored from set pieces that are looked at, United have managed just three goals, with their other 14 scored from open play.
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The above statistics are sourced from WhoScored, a website used for the official Football League teams of the week, and which offers detailed statistics provided by Opta.
U’s midfielder Vaulks said: “Defensively we’ve got the best record in the league, but I would imagine that offensively, we’ve probably got one of the worst.
“We haven’t scored many, but we’ve just got to keep trying to put it in the right areas, and we’ll keep working on that.
“Sometimes there’s no explanation in football for why the ball isn’t hitting the back of the net.
“You have to ride those times and stick together, and I think we’re doing that at the moment.”
One technique though which has paid off for United has been Vaulks’ long throw-in.
With the U’s 1-0 down at home to West Brom last month, Vaulks hurled in a long throw two minutes into second half stoppage time.
The ball was flicked on by Elliott Moore, with Scarlett reacting quickly inside a crowded six-yard box to direct a wonderful header inside the far post for what was the Tottenham Hotspur loanee’s first goal in United colours.
Vaulks said: “I think it’s something that at the end of the day, if you had a free kick there, would you put it in the box? I think you would.
“We’re not going to use it all the time, but I think if you ask defenders, nine times out of 10, they’d say they don’t want it to come in the box.
“We’ve got a few big boys as well, so now and then, it would be nice to score a few more goals off them.”
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