"Some of our football was breathtaking" says Appleton
There was no hiding the smile as Michael Appleton saw his side cruise past local rivals Swindon Town in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy last night. Two goals from Kemar Roofe put the U’s through and Michael told Yellow Player HD:
“Credit to the players. We have gone to some of the big teams over the last 12 months and took the game to them and matched them so I am absolutely delighted with tonight again.
“Some of our football in the 20 minutes before half time was breathtaking. We got a good goal and had done really well but at half time we just talked about the importance of keeping our foot down and not letting them back in it. Obviously we started the second half great as well, got that second goal, and we were on top for most of the match.
“When their lad went off injured there was a bit of a lull in the game but we saw the game out properly and it’s great to get a win for the fans.”
The game hinged on a red card for Jordan Turnbull for the visitors, and in a fantastic atmosphere Michael praised his side for staying calm amongst great scenes from the Oxford fans.
“I didn’t see the incident too clearly but the three things we talked about were keeping our shape, pressing really high, keeping our discipline and keeping eleven players on the field at the end of the game. We did all three of those things tonight” Michael said.
Relive the key moments with our gallery above which captures all the excitement in the stands last night.
Our thanks to Steve Daniels and Tony Bailey for the images.