Match preview: Oxford United v Fleetwood Town

1 November 2022

Fleetwood Town are set to face Oxford United at the Kassam Stadium on Tuesday 1 November, and we have all the information you need to know ahead of the 7:45pm kick-off in our match preview.

Fixture: Oxford United v Fleetwood Town

Competition: Sky Bet League One

Date: Tuesday 1 November 2022

Kick-off: 19:45

Venue: Kassam Stadium, Grenoble Rd, Littlemore, Oxford, OX4 4XP

FLEETWOOD TOWN

The Cods come into this game off the back of a 3-0 home win over their local Lancashire rivals, Accrington Stanley. After a goalless first half, the 45 minutes that followed saw Carlos Mendes Gomes score the first, and assist the other two goals for Shaun Rooney and Josh Earl - who both bagged their first of the season.

Luton loanee Mendes Gomes will be looking to provide the magic and the dancing in midweek to add to his four games in six matches. The former Morecambe forward is enjoying his time on the Fylde Coast, with freedom in the attacking area of the pitch.

Fleetwood's last win on the road came in their 1-0 victory at Burton Albion. Midfielder Harvey Macadam scored that evening, and a performance and result like that this Tuesday night will surely send the travelling fans home happy after a 6 hour round trip.

OXFORD UNITED

The U's have started the season in good form, sitting 18^th after the 15 games they have played so far. Their last win came in a 3-1 away win at Bolton Wanderers. Goals from Djavan Anderson, Ciaron Brown and Steve Seddon sealed all three points for Karl Robinson's men.

Their last home win came back in September when they welcomed Burton Albion to the Kassam Stadium. Cameron Brannagan and Kyle Joseph scored two second half goals that afternoon. They will be looking to get back to back home wins for the first time this season when Scott Brown's side are in town.

The one to watch for Oxford United is Cameron Brannagan. The former Liverpool midfielder was linked with a move to Championship side, Blackpool in the summer but turned that down to sign a long-term deal at the Oxfordshire based Club. Brannagan has scored 7 goals in 19 appearance in all competitions this season, with his last goal coming in his sides 4-2 win over Exeter City.

The 26-year-old did have a loan spell at Highbury back in 2017 when he joined from Liverpool in January until the end of the season. He played 14 times for the Cod Army in that loan move before returning back to Merseyside that summer.

WHAT STEVEN WHITTAKER SAID AHEAD OF THE GAME

“It’s a momentum thing and a mindset we need to have; today is a hurdle that we overcame as we scored, and then went again straight away. We know we are capable of that as we constantly tell the boys how good they are, so they have the belief to do this kind of performance week in, week out.

“You need to try and assess where you are and what you want to get out of each game, but Tuesday is a new game. We will recover and regroup tomorrow and watch some games of Oxford [United] so we can get the lads prepared to travel – this is so we are in the best position possible to do it again.”

IFOLLOW DETAILS

On the day of the game, there will be two matchday packages available for both overseas and, one for UK-based supporters:

Video Match Pass - £10 (U.K and Overseas)

Audio Match Pass - £2.50 (U.K and Overseas)

Those who choose the Audio Match Pass option will get access to just the commentary, which will be provided by our partners, BBC Radio Lancashire.

Season passes are available with audio passes for only £45 for the season, for all UK-based members of the Cod Army!

Overseas supporters can now pay just £170 for the season, giving you video access to all league games for the 2022/23 season.

You can find more details by heading over to our iFollow page.

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Match Previews

Match Reports

Report: Town's Oxford clash ends one apiece away from home

1 November 2022

Fleetwood Town played out a 1-1 draw with Oxford United in their latest Sky Bet League One outing at the Kassam Stadium.

Under the floodlights in Oxfordshire, the Cods took the lead with the first attack of the game as Carlos Mendes Gomes carried on his great run of form, scoring an overhead kick just 65 seconds into the game.

This was cancelled out, however, by substitute Gatlin O’Donkor for the hosts midway through the second half meaning both sides would take home a point apiece.

It was a blistering start from the Cods, who managed to break the deadlock less than two minutes into the clash as Shaun Rooney’s venomous effort could only be parried into the box where Mendes Gomes was lurking, and he pulled off a brilliant overhead kick to beat Simon Eastwood at his far post.

Town carried on the pressure from the front as they looked to extend their lead when Rooney picked up a loose ball in the opposition’s half in the 13^th minute before unleashing another strike from distance, which troubled Eastwood again as he dove down to his right to push it wide.

In a first half which saw limited chances, Dan Batty looked like he might have forged a chance to get the second of the night two minutes after Rooney’s effort, but he didn’t get enough power behind the strike, making it an easy save in the end.

Oxford then started coming into the game with 10 minutes left in the half as Cameron Brannagan saw he had a yard of space just outside the box and his luck, but Jay Lynch was a match and easily stopped the effort, keeping the game at 1-0.

With the last meaningful chance before the break, Callum Morton picked up the ball in the opposition’s box, controlled the ball brilliantly, and stole a yard of space in a tight area, with his eventual effort needing to be saved by Eastwood between the Oxford sticks.

From the start of the second half, it was Oxford on the front foot as they managed to level up the scoring as O’Donkor, who came off the bench at halftime for Marcus Browne, hit the bar with his effort from close range before converting the follow up in the middle of a goalmouth scramble.

A chance apiece soon followed as Danny Andrew picked out Morton inside the Oxford area, who poked a shot towards goal after some brilliant passing play in the build-up, but Stuart Findlay was there to stop the shot. A couple of minutes later, Lewis Bate had a shot at the other end which flew wide of the mark.

Karl Robinson’s side then looked to go the aerial route to try and forge some chances around the hour mark as crosses were whipped in towards Elliott Moore and Findlay on separate occasions, but neither ended up in the home side hitting the target from inside the Town penalty box.

This was recognised by Town who had a spell of their own with less than 20 minutes to go as Mendes Gomes picked out Morton, who let the ball run to Andrew, but his effort was wild and flew over the bar. Then, our loanee Luton winger was at it again on the left as he forced another save out of Eastwood.

After a lengthy break due to an injury to Rooney – who needed to be replaced by Carl Johnston – Lynch was called upon two more times as he had to stop Marcus McGuane’s ambitious effort from range before denying Brannagan in added time.

Oxford XI: Eastwood (GK), Findlay, Moore (C), Brannagan, Browne (O’Donkor 46’), Bate (Henry 73’), Brown, McGuane (Jones 90+4’), Joseph, Anderson (Goodrham 73’), Seddon.

Unused subs: McGinty (GK), Gorrin, Mousinho.

Town XI: Lynch (GK), Andrew, Mendes Gomes, Vela (C), Morton, Warrington, Holgate, Batty (Wiredu 66’), Rooney (Johnston 83’), Earl, Baker.

Unused subs: Stolarczyk (GK), Lane, Hayes, McMillan, Glenfield.

Attendance: 6,286 (69 away).

Match Reports

Ticket News

Buy your tickets today for this weekend's FA Cup clash

2 November 2022

Tickets remain on sale for Saturday's First Round Emirates FA Cup match against Oxford City at Highbury Stadium - so get yours today!

The match will take place on Saturday 5 November 2022, with kick-off at 3pm.

Tickets for the match can be purchased in-store at the Club Shop, or supporters can buy match tickets online via the official online ticket store. Click HERE for full details.

Onward Cards cannot be used as entry into the stadium. Tickets will need to be purchased.

SEATING (Parkside Stand + Highbury Stand)

£12 for Adults

£6 for Concessions (65+)

£2 for Under-18s

STANDING (Memorial Stand)

£10 for Adults

£5 for Concessions (65+)

£1 for Under-18s

If you would like to call us at Highbury Stadium, please call us on 01253 775080. We will make sure we can help you with any queries you may have regarding the FA Cup fixture against Oxford City.