Penalty saves Blues
Blues come under pressure yet again from a marauding Brookes forward line.
After two fairly comfortable wins to start off their BUSA campaign, the Blues managed to snatch only a late point from an afternoon spent largely in the thrall of the superior passing, movement and motivation of an exciting Brookes team.
The gulf between the two teams in the first half verged on the embarrassing, and yet it was a rejuvenated Blues team that emerged in the closing period of the match invigorated by a bold triple substitution with Brookes leading 1-0 and seemingly coasting to a second consecutive victory on Blues soil.
At the final whistle it was cuttingly remarked that the Blues played more football in the final three minutes than the preceding 87, testament surely to their early inability to cope but, given the result, also to the Blues’ resolute defence and strong attacking climax to the match. Admittedly the sunlight searing into the eyes of the home team made the daunting task of containing the crisp and incisive passing of Brookes all over the vast Iffley Road pitch no easier during the first period.
In conditions reminiscent of the beaches of summer, the Blues began as if their hearts and minds had missed the plane home, though they chased the lengthening Brookes shadows ever more effectively as penetrating sunshine faded slowly into a gloomy dusk. Goalkeeper Nick Baker was grateful for an early reprieve when he spilled a speculative free kick into his own net under what was ruled illegal pressure from the Brookes front-line.
The respite was short-lived, however, as central defenders Paul Rainford and Blues Captain Jack Hazzard were given a torrid time by the pace and power of Brookes centre-forward Freddie Sackey-Addo. The visiting midfield harried and harassed every ball to devastating effect, though the Blues defence just about stood tall when it mattered to repel a number of dangerous crosses. Nevertheless, the impending opener was only ever a careless whisper away.
It duly arrived from an unlikely source when the organisation and application in the Blues defence, which had been so commendable amid the chaos of the midfield, promptly imploded. Brookes’ central defender Phil Canavan emerged as the surprised beneficiary as he poked the ball through a crowd of Blues players who seemed intent on politeness under pressure, all leaving the ball for each other.
For the remainder of the half Michael Sealy and Rob Attreed, Brookes’ dual puppet-masters in central midfield, terrorised the Blues who indeed played as if on strings with too much slack, second to every loose ball. Fortunately, the Blues found some composure to both quell tempers and reassert themselves on the game after the interval.
Left winger John Butterfield conservatively conceded that Brookes “slightly out-competed” the Blues in the first half, yet he was one of the first to make amends, battling superbly to win a free kick and set the tone of the second half. Vince Vitale and Jo e l Lazarus rediscovered some staple grit and determination to provide a platform for the ornate aspects of their game that had floundered in the first half.
Accordingly released, Butterfield won another ball on the left which he had no right to, though Luther Sullivan’s shot was too weak to trouble the goalkeeper. At the other end, Baker fumbled a stinger but gathered at the feet of the onrushing Sackey- Addo. Blues left-back Owen Barkhouse then delivered a swerving, snaking cross to the far post that had the goalkeeper stretching to tip away.
Following the triple substitution the Blues proceeded to force a series of corners, one of which resulted in a Homer Sullivan shot rebounding off the chest of a defender on the line. At last the building pressure culminated in something tangible when Hazzard was clattered in the box, and Vitale coolly converted from the spot.
The controversial last gasp equaliser may have plastered over some of the more obvious cracks in the Blues’ performance, but this was hardly a virtuoso display from the hosts. Despite going three games undefeated, Oxford will need to do a lot more to seal promotion and do themselves justice. This was a competition that began inauspiciously, but by the final whistle everyone present recollected just what a derby match is all about including, eventually, the players on the pitch.
17th Nov 2005