Fleetwood Town face Oxford United on Good Friday at Highbury in Sky Bet League One, and we have all you need to know ahead of the 3pm kick-off in our match preview.
Fixture: Fleetwood Town v Oxford United
Competition: Sky Bet League One
Date: Friday 15 April 2022
Kick-off: 15:00
Venue: Highbury Stadium, Park Avenue, Fleetwood, FY7 6TX
FLEETWOOD TOWN
Town head into this league clash after narrowly losing out to Accrington Stanley at Highbury in their last outing, after an injury-time goal saw the visitors take all three points on the afternoon.
Stephen Crainey’s side found themselves going into half-time with a 1-0 lead as Ellis Harrison headed home from Dan Batty’s inch-perfect corner minutes before the first 45 came to an end, but Accy clawed their way back into the game through Sean McConville’s well-taken half-volley.
Despite Callum Camps’ best efforts in goal, after Alex Cairns’ red card late on, he couldn’t keep Michael Nottingham’s 94th minute effort out.
Before that, the Cods were on a three-match unbeaten streak as they drew against both Lincoln City and Doncaster Rovers and ended up beating Crewe Alexandra 3-1 away from home in between those results with Harvey Macadam, Anthony Pilkington, and Ellis Harrison all scoring in that one.
OXFORD UNITED
The U’s will be hoping to get back to winning ways this Friday after not winning any of their last four League One games, with their last outing being a 2-1 loss to Sunderland at the Kassam Stadium on Saturday.
It was heartbreak for Karl Robinson and his side in that one as they pulled the game back through an Elliott Moore strike after the Black Cats took the lead through Corry Evans early on. It was an 89th-minute goal that decided the game and it fell to Elliot Embleton of Sunderland, who found the back of the net to finalise the result.
Oxford’s last win came away from home, which was a 2-1 win over Shrewsbury Town in the middle of March, and they will be wanting to do the same at Highbury. In that one, Cameron Brannagan netted a penalty seven minutes from time, adding to Matty Taylor’s opener to secure all three points.
LAST THREE MEETINGS BETWEEN THE TWO SIDES
Fixture: Oxford United 3-1 Fleetwood Town
Competition: Sky Bet League One
Date: Tuesday 23 November 2021
Venue: Kassam Stadium
Fixture: Oxford United 1-0 Fleetwood Town
Competition: Sky Bet League One
Date: Saturday 30 January 2021
Venue: Kassam Stadium
Fixture: Fleetwood Town 2-0 Oxford United
Competition: Sky Bet League One
Date: Saturday 31 October 2020
Venue: Highbury Stadium
|
|
Fleetwood Town |
Draws |
Oxford United |
|
H2H results |
10 |
2 |
2 |
PRE-MATCH QUOTES: STEPHEN CRAINEY
Head Coach Stephen Crainey spoke to the press on Wednesday afternoon ahead of his side’s league fixture against Oxford United at Highbury. Here is what he had to say in his interview:
“It will be a tough game as they are pushing for the play-offs so we will need to be on our toes. We’ve prepped today and we will do the same tomorrow so we will be ready for the game come Friday. I’m going to pick a team that I think can hurt Oxford and push towards our strengths as well as we are wanting to win the game and that’s what we are aiming to do.
“They are a good side who play good football and can be a threat in the final third as they can score a lot of goals so we need to be ready for that, but at the same time, I feel that we can hurt them at the other end of the pitch. We need to get the game plan and the balance right, on and off the ball, and if we do that, we can get the points we need.
“Every game is going to be vital, so we’ll need every single person, whether they are a youth player or a senior player, we are going to need everyone and that starts on Friday. I’m going to pick teams to win games of football, that may be a mixed blend, but I need to get that balance right so hopefully, I can do that for the Oxford game.”
