ALL THE GOALS IN GIFS: SMITH THE DIFFERENCE IN COVENTRY DRAW

In a stunning finish, the Blues rallied from a two-goal deficit to claim a draw against Coventry today.

The match started inauspiciously with a kit crisis – Coventry brought down their Melbourne Victory-esque dark-blue-with-white-chevron shirts, and with no time to find the white away kits, the Blues were forced to don yellow training bibs.

Playing their usual 4-3-3 against Coventry’s long-ball-thumping 4-4-2, the early minutes saw few chances created, and it was Oxford who came closest early on – an interception in the opponents’ third saw a Blues striker one-on-one with a hapless defender, and came up with a beautiful dipping shot that missed the top corner by inches.

On the ensuing counter-attack, Coventry drew first blood – a bumbling touch by a striker guided the ball into the path of the left-midfielder, and the keeper was caught out with a perfectly-placed effort. In spite of the soggy conditions, it wouldn’t be the last such shot of the day…

Oxford 0 – 1 Coventry

In spite of the goal, Oxford generally had the upper hand throughout the first half; they even put the ball in the net at one point, though the crosser and the scorer were the only two to not spot the offside flag going up immediately.

After the break, Oxford continued to have the better of it, but struggled to create chances, their best early-effort being a breakaway that broke down by a great goalkeeping play.

Coventry were able to then extend their lead thanks to a nasty gaffe from an otherwise-reliable Blues keeper – mishitting a goal-kick, the ball bobbled along the ground right between two centre-backs, and a Coventry striker raced onto it and sent it coasting over the keeper’s head from 30 yards out.

Oxford 0 – 2 Coventry

However, Oxford weren’t out of it yet. After a number of close misses from set-pieces, one finally came off; recent acquisition Richard Smith came up with a beautiful kung-fu volley from a corner to bring it back to an one-goal deficit.

Oxford 1 – 2 Coventry

With just 15 minutes to go, the race was now on for a second goal, and for a while, it looked like it wasn’t coming; in spite of some very shaky play from the Coventry goalkeeper, the defence generally held firm.

In the dying moments, however, after several narrow clearances by their opponents, Oxford’s persistence finally paid off. In what can only be described as a scrum in the box, Smith rose above about a dozen players to power in the game-tying header.

Oxford 2 – 2 Coventry

The whistle blew immediately after the kick-off, giving Oxford a valuable point against tough opposition; with four points from four games, next week’s fixture away at Worcester will be vital in aiding their campaign for Midlands 1A survival.