Oxford United 3-3 Coventry City

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Oxford United 3-3 Coventry City

Postby dutchman » Sat Aug 31, 2019 7:32 pm

Late heartbreak for the Sky Blues in thriller

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A stoppage time equaliser denied Coventry City their first League One win on the road in a six goal thriller at seventh from bottom Oxford United.

Zain Westbrooke had put the Sky Blues on course for victory with a brilliant free-kick finish in the first half before Matty Godden doubled the lead early into the second half.

A determined second half fight-back, however, saw Jamie Mackie pull one back for the U’s to set up a tense end to the game when Mark Robins’s men were hanging on to a slender lead.

But just as they looked to be seeing the game out, Fankaty Dabo handed the home side an equaliser when he steered into his own net with a dreadful own goal.

Super sub Callum O’Hare then looked to have grabbed the winner on the 90th minute but the U’s kept battling away and grabbed a stoppage time leveller with a goal that was initially credited to Elliot Moore but later confirmed as another Dabo OG to deny the Sky Blues the full three points.

City enjoyed much of the first half possession but had little to show for their dominance of the ball in the first half an hour when they could have been a goal down had it not been for the woeful first touch of Oxford’s Jamie Mackie.

The striker beat the off-side trap to get on the end of a deep diagonal but his attempted shot was mis-hit and Marko Marosi was able to clutch the ball to safety.

The keeper, however, was called into action shortly after on 25 minutes when Anthony Forde got his head on the end of a cross to the back post and Marosi tipped over the bar with lightning reactions.

Ben Woodburn, on loan from Liverpool, made a good run into the box but hit his effort straight at the keeper as the U’s suddenly looked the more likely to score before the break.

But the home side conceded a free-kick 25-yards out from their goal and Zain Westbrooke stepped up, curling a brilliant effort round the wall and beating Simon Eastwood low at his left-hand post.

The goal came at just the right time for the visitors, helping to take the sting out of United’s mounting pressure and resulting in City finishing the half the stronger of the two sides.

Oxford came out fighting in the second half when City were forced to defend four early corners, the latter of which fell kindly to Woodburn just outside the box to hit a powerful effort that had Marosi beaten but thumped the post.

City then raced out on the counter attack with Westbrooke playing a key role in holding up the ball until his team-mates could join him, spreading wide to Fankaty Dabo who clipped in a cross that Matty Godden rose and headed past the keeper to double the lead,

The home side, however, pulled one back when Mackie curled round the keeper from the edge of the box to spark his side back into life and back on the front foot, forcing City to defend in numbers and play on the counter attack.

Marosi pulled off another big save 12 minutes from time when he palmed away an Alex Gorrin header to deny an equaliser as they continued to hang on to their sender lead.

Callum O’Hare added a bit of attacking spark when he replaced Jordy Hiwula and looked lively as he helped City hit their opponents on the break to ease the mounting pressure.

But disaster struck on 84 minutes when Dabo went to deal with a routine ball into the back post, only to somehow hit it first time past his own keeper to hand the U’s the equaliser.

O’Hare then looked to have scored the winner on 90 minutes when hit thumped the underside of the bar and it crossed the line but Dabo somehow got the final touch at the death to a Shandon Baptiste ball into the box to hand the home side a point and deny his own team the full three.

Attendance: 8,080 (1,810 away)

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