PREVIEW Derby County v Oxford United

A full guide to tonight's Sky Bet League 1 game at Pride Park

15 August 2023

Oxford United look to make it back-to-back wins when they travel to Derby County this evening in Sky Bet League 1 (7.45pm)

United picked up their first three points of the season at home to Carlisle United on Saturday and will be looking to secure a first away win as they take on Paul Warne's Rams

TEAM NEWS
United will be without Jordan Thorniley for a few weeks after the defender picked up an ankle injury in the Carabao Cup game at Bristol City last week. However Stephan Negru proved a more than able replacement on Saturday and is likely to continue alongside skipper Elliott Moore.

“Jordan will be out for a few weeks" Liam Manning confirmed yesterday. "We have a few follow up appointments in the next few days but we don’t expect him to be available in the next few weeks. But Stephan stepped in and did really well on Saturday. From the first day we were here Stephan caught the eye of me, Chris Hogg and Craig Short and huge credit is due to him for the way he was ready and switched on when he got his chance last week".

James Henry is close to a return to training after an ankle problem. You can see Stephan and Liam previewing the game, and discussing the pressures of football management, in a full interview in iFollow right now.

THE OPPOSITION
Derby kicked off their season with defeat at home to Wigan and then bowed out of the Carabao Cup at home to Blackpool, but then got their first win on the short trip to Burton Albion on Saturday.

First Team Coach Matt Hamshaw believes his side will face a good test from the U’s this evening:

“They've had a good summer” he said “They've done some good recruitment and have a good management staff, we know them well. They play good football and want to attack and get on the front foot so it will be another tough game but it's one we're really looking forward to. The lads have taken confidence from Saturday and we need to make sure we start winning at home because that will be key.

“It's been a bit of a rollercoaster for us as most new seasons are. I think it's always difficult with the cohesion and togetherness as you're still finding out things when the real pressure cooker comes. I thought as ugly as Saturday's game was from a spectacle point of view, we had the bit of quality and that's what we need to start showing more of".

Yellows, Yellows...
United will be wearing their new yellow kit again tonight. Order yours HERE

TICKETS
Please note this game is ALL TICKET with no sales on the day after midday today.

We have been giving an initial allocation of 1,047 tickets. This includes 8 wheelchair/carer pairs.

Tickets are available online from oufctickets.co.uk by phone (01865 337533) and at the Ticket Office in person.

Tickets are now for collection at Derby on the night only.

Prices

Adults	£16
Over 65	£12
18-21	£12
Under 18	£8
Under 13	£4
5 and Under	FOC
PA	FOC

Under 5 tickets must be purchased as part of a pair with a parent/guardian aged 18 or above, Any child aged 15 and under must be accompanied by someone aged 18 or over. Under 2’s are not permitted entry to the stadium.

Please note regular concession checks are taken at the turnstiles and any supporters asked for ID that fails to show it will be refused entry and will not be offered a chance to upgrade their ticket.

Derby have a dedicated car park for away disabled supporters, Spaces are allocated at a price of £10.00 on a ‘first come first served’ basis and must be booked no later than 24 hours before the match. Please call 01332 667528 to book your space.

London Road Club Travel
Coaches will depart the Kassam Stadium at 3:30pm with a pick up at Kidlington Sainsbury’s at 3:45pm.

Prices

Adult Member	£21
Under 18 Member	£19
Adult Non Member	£24
Under 18 Non Member	£22

Visit oufctickets.co.uk or call 01865 337533 to book your coach places.

Full LRC Membership details are HERE

iFollow

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The game will be shown live on iFollow. CLICK HERE to buy your match pass

Follow the game on @OUFCOfficial on twitter and we will have a full report and gallery right here on the final whistle.

Match Reports

REPORT Derby County 1 Oxford United 2

Harris on the mark twice as Oxford win at Derby. Full time report

15 August 2023

Oxford United put in almost the perfect away performance tonight as two goals from Mark Harris earned them a superb 2-1 win at Pride Park.

Harris made it three goals in four days with two clinical finishes to ensure that Liam Manning's side swiftly followed up their first home win on Saturday with their first victory on the road, despite a late goal from Martin Waghorn to ensure a grandstand finish.

United survived a late storm but were full value for the win, having set their stall out in great style at the very start. There were a couple of speculative efforts from Billy Bodin and Cameron Brannagan before the dangerous Marcus Browne tested home keeper Joe Wildsmith for the first time with a low effort on 17 minutes that was snaking towards the bottom left corner until Wildsmith got a glove on it.

There was half a chance when the non-stop Tyler Goodrham ran the length of the pitch but couldn’t shake off the last defender as they sprinted side by side into the box, Goodhram v Good Ram, and then there was a seemingly blatant penalty ignored when Harris was hauled back, unspotted, inside the box after 27 minutes.

It mattered little because five minutes later United’s goal threat became real as Harris powered home his second of the season.

harris goal derby (2).jpg

It came from an uncharacteristic mistake from Curtis Nelson, who inexplicably passed straight to former teammate Brannagan deep inside the Derby half. Brannagan gratefully drove forward, drew defenders to him, then rolled the ball to his right, where Harris let fly with a powerful effort that arrowed into the top-right corner while Wildsmith waved a hopeful hand at the ball as it flashed past.

The previously sheepish Rams responded, James Beadle needing to make a good save soon after in tipping a dipping header from Eiran Cashin over the bar. But United are a solid unit in defence and defended superbly as they soaked up pressure during the home side's best spell. With Derby having previously lost both home games, there was extra pressure on Paul Warne's side to somehow find a way past Beadle and his well-schooled defence.

When Cashin threatened after 53 minutes, Skipper Elliott Moore bravely blocked his header, but it was still the visitors who looked more likely to score, with their counter attacks always a threat.

That proved the case. First Bodin forced Wildsmith into a good save just after the hour and, with their fans playing a full part in a tremendous atmosphere, United were in control long before Harris seemingly wrapped things up with the second.

Sub Ruben Rodriguez played a huge part, working the ball forward down the right and rolling it in for Bodin, who set the ball back for his fellow Wales international. His drive was low and true and United were 2-0 up.

That wasn't the end though. Derby had little to lose and on 87 were given a lifeline when Waghorn finally found a way past Beadle. However, United's game management was top class and despite a few nervy moments, and seven agonising minutes of added time, they saw the game out.

A terrific performance and United are at the right end of the early League 1 table, something they haven't been for almost a year. Early days. But highly encouraging ones.

See you at Barnsley...

Att: 25,292

Away: 1,042

Report by Chris Williams, pictures JasonPix and Steve Edmunds

Ticket News

Derby Away Details

Ticket and travel details for our game at The Rams on Tuesday

14 August 2023

Ticket details for our Sky Bet League 1 away game at Derby County on Tuesday night are as follows.

Derby County a
Tuesday 15th August 2023
Kick off 7:45pm

Please note this game is ALL TICKET with no sales on the day after midday on Tuesday.

We have been giving an initial allocation of 1,047 tickets but more are available upon request. This includes 8 wheelchair/carer pairs.

Tickets are available online from oufctickets.co.uk by phone (01865 337533) and at the Ticket Office in person.

The last day for postage has passed and tickets are for collection only. Tickets can be collected from the Kassam Stadium Ticket Office up until 5pm on Monday 14th August. Any tickets uncollected after this point will go to Derby for collection on the night.

Prices