PREVIEW Oxford United v Shrewsbury Town

A full guide to tonight's Sky Bet League 1 game at the Kassam Stadium

3 October 2023

Oxford United welcome Shrewsbury Town to the Kassam Stadium this evening in Sky Bet League 1 (7.45pm)

TEAM NEWS
United welcome back Mark Harris after the Welsh striker missed three games for a red card against Port Vale. However with the team scoring three goals in each of those three games Harris may have to be patient as Liam Manning weighs up whether to change a winning side.

Gatlin O'Donkor returned to the bench on Saturday after a hamstring injury and James Henry is back in full training but Kyle Edwards will be out for six to eight weeks with a hamstring injury.

"That's bad luck for Kyle and for us" Liam told iFollow. "He has made an instant impact here, he fits into the group really well and offers a real threat down the left. But as we saw on Saturday we have a depth to our squad this season and people are ready to come in and take their opportunity when it comes along.

"Shrewsbury will be a tough game: every game this season has been hard and they all give you a different sort of challenge. We had people working ahead and focussing on this game last week and I cant praise the staff enough for their hard work. We have prepared properly, we will have our fans behind us, and we are really looking forward to it."

See the full interviews with Sam Long and Liam in iFollow now.

THE OPPOSITION
Shrewsbury boss Matthew Taylor was once in the U's' youth system and is looking forward to bringing his Shrews team back to his home town:

"I feel there will be times when we probably won't have the ball as much as we would like" he said. "Why? Because Oxford are very fluid, they like to keep the ball, they like to move the ball, they like to play through their pivots in midfield and they've got good attacking options.

"(They) score a lot of goals. Even if you look at their last two fixtures they're a team that will be high on confidence. Liam (Manning) has got them really playing football. They've got 18 goals this season so that tells you where they have a threat.

"They have real individual brilliance where we'll have to make sure we undertake our jobs and roles and responsibilities properly when we haven't got the ball.

"Will we get chances to score? Yes, we will. It's now up to us to make sure that we take those opportunities.

"But one thing I do know is whatever team is selected, they're ready to go to give a performance"

TICKETS
Tickets are available now from

oufctickets.co.uk
By calling 01865 337533
In person from the Kassam Stadium Ticket Office on matchday

PARKING AND ACCESS

There are around 2,000 free parking spaces at the stadium but we ask everyone to arrive early and park legally.

The gate behind the Planet IT North Stand will be open so pedestrians can move from one end of the ground to the other behind that stand.

The Programme

VISITING FANS

You can download a full guide to visiting the Kassam Stadium here: Away Supporters Guide 23 24.pdf

Please park in the West Car Park - the one closest to the cinema and bowling complex at the fence end of the ground.

DISABLED SUPPORTERS

You can download a full guide to visiting the Kassam Stadium here: Disabled Supporters Guide 23 24.pdf

CLUB SHOP

The Club Shop has stock of all three new kits plus a huge range of leisure and training wear. Make sure you call in before the game, or take a look online HERE

GETTING HERE
The Football Special bus services, including the Didcot/Abingdon service, offer easy and affordable transport to home games and are part of the government's £2 for a ticket scheme.

A full guide to getting to games is available HERE.

POLYTHENE UK FIFTY/50
Our Polythene UK Fifty/50 tickets are available all around the ground and offer a great chance to win cash at half time.

COVERAGE
The game is available to watch worldwide in iFollow this evening. Click HERE to but a Match Pass

You can also follow the whole game on Twitter through @OUFCOfficial and we will have a full match report and Gallery right here on the final whistle.

Match Reports

REPORT Oxford United 3 Shrewsbury Town 0

U's tame the Shrews. Full time report

3 October 2023

Oxford United secured another excellent 3-0 win against Shrewsbury Town at the Kassam Stadium this evening.

Liam Manning's exciting side were already a goal up through Fin Stevens' first senior goal before a red card for defender Joe Anderson left the Shrews short-handed for half an hour. Ciaron Brown swiftly exploited that with a second goal, and a spectacular goal from top scorer Greg Leigh ensured that the points went United's way.

In truth, United dominated throughout against a rigid and disciplined Shrewsbury side who were happy to soak up pressure right from the start

That’s a dangerous game to play and after 17 minutes Stevens deservedly volleyed the U’s ahead with an excellent first goal for the club. Greg Leigh made it with a peach of a cross that keeper Marko Marosi could only get fingertips to and the ball continued to the back post for the eager Stevens to thump acrobatically home.

031023 goal 1 shrewsbury (1).jpg

That forced the Shrews out of their shell and the familiar figure of Chey Dunkley blasted their best chance of the night into the fans who used to sing his name as the visitors began to open up.

That, in turn, gave the home side more space to work in and the returning Mark Harris should have taken advantage of that when the excellent Ruben Rodrigues sliced the Shrews open and gave him a clear run at goal. For once, the Welsh forward was off target and slid the ball wide of the mark.

The overworked Marosi tipped a Cameron Brannagan drive over after 32 minutes, but with Marcus McGuane running the show alongside Brannagan, the U’s were in complete control at the break, although forced into a change at that point with Tyler Goodrham replacing Billy Bodin for the second 45 minutes.

Shrewsbury's task was made harder just before the hour when Anderson slid in on Stevens and was shown a second yellow, and from that free kick it was practically game over for Matthew Taylor's side as Brown doubled the lead.

Brannagan was the provider this time with a low free kick that Brown initially flicked goalwards. It hit a defender but came back to Brown who forced it home at the second attempt to score his first of the season and United's fifth in a row by defenders.

Now United began to coast. McGuane stung the palms of Marosi with a well-struck effort on 63 and, as game as Shrewsbury were, a quick glance at the table (and why wouldn't you?) also shows that United have the joint-meanest defence in the division and they weren't about to give up a third clean sheet in four games.

In the 95th minute they scored three for the fourth game in a row as Marosi went walkabout and was robbed by the touchline. Leigh sent the ball goalwards and there was nobody even close to being able to stop him scoring his fourth of the season.

So much to admire, so many great performances, and a chance to do it all over again when we welcome Bristol Rovers to the Kassam Stadium on Saturday.

These are good times to be an Oxford fan. Come and join us...

Att: 7,212

Away: 187

Polythene UK Fifty/50 winning number 94154 wins £890

Report by Chris Williams, pictures by JasonPix, Steve Daniels Steve Edmunds and Darrell Fisher. Stats by OPTA