Oxford United look to bounce back when they welcome MK Dons to Grenoble Road on New Year's Day (3pm)
TEAM NEWS
United look to bounce back after a 3-2 defeat at Bradford on Saturday. The U's twice pulled themselves back into the game before beaing beaten by the Bantams and Manager Pep Clotet told iFollow:
"We managed to come back but I have to be a bit critical and having got back into the game at 1-1 we then gave it away too cheaply. Going forward we have got to a point where the attitude is very good but we have to all be on top of our game to make sure we get points.
"Bradford were in a tough situation because of their last two results but in the first half they were on the front foot and dominating the challenges and second balls. At half time I didn’t need to remind the players too much because the fighting spirit is always there, we just wanted to make sure that we could use that to come back into the game and try and win.
"Now it’s very important that we start 2018 with three points and that we make our stadium a fortress. The team has woked very hard recently and deserved a bit more than they have got. If we are a little more clinical, especially in the opposition area and when we win the ball back then we can win the game on Monday."
See Pep Clotet's thoughts in full plus an interview with Canice Carroll in iFollow.
THE OPPOSITION
MK Dons had a stormy and remarkable 1-0 win over Peterborough on Saturday, achieved with nine men, plus Manager Robbie Neilson also sent to the stands.
Joe Walsh and Osman Sow were sent off either side of a Chuks Aneke goal as Dons won despite playing with nine men for 68 minutes.
"The referee lost control of the game" Neilson said. "If you're willing to accept money to officiate a game, you have the responsibility to keep a fitness level and he doesn't do that. I'm sure he'll have a long hard look at himself, and I hope he does, and I'm sure the assessor does because I'm sure he won't be happy with that performance."
"There are a lot of things that went against us - decisions and incidents - but we showed the spirit we need. It's a club that rose against the odds as well.
"We haven't performed well for periods this season. We've had tough times but this shows the character of the team and the club. If a team goes down to nine men and get disillusioned, we lose that game. But we stood up to the plate. It was a massive day.
"It has been a while since we got a result. We've had some really good performances where we haven't picked up maximum points. We work, keep doing the right things and we saw that today. We've jumped up but we want to keep going."
TICKETS
Tickets are on sale online at www.oufctickets.co.uk 24/7 and from the ticket office in person and by phone (01865 337533) from 9.30 on Monday.
THE PROGRAMME
The award winning matchday programme features the thoughts of Darryl Eales, Pep Clotet and Curtis Nelson plus a great interview with the retiring Christian Ribeiro. We also go On the Road, we chat to Guest of Honour Joey Beauchamp and we have news and views from all areas of the club and remember, you can always read the programme on your phone, tablet or laptop. Each issue is available at matchdayfix.com/oufc/
FOLLOW IT LIVE
iFollow has the whole game live- hear it if you are in the UK, see it if abroad. You can sign up game by game or for the whole season, and we have full 90 minute reruns of every game.
@OUFCOfficial will be tweeting throughout the game and the match centre on this site gives you full stats and text commentary throughout the match.
HALF TIME
The JT's Golden Ticket half time draw offers a first prize of up to £750. Second prize is a £100 voucher for the Oxford United club shop, while third prize is a VIP package at JT’s Cocktail Bar.
The draw will take place at half-time and prizes can be collected from the matchday reception immediately after the game or by calling 01865 337528
Look out too for the Racehut Challenge at half time.
GETTING HERE
The new car parking rules are in place once again:
- East Stand car park - this will open to supporters at midday
- A car park steward will count vehicles in and the car park will be closed when it is full.
- Another car park steward will direct drivers to a bay to ensure spaces are filled up systematically; drivers are no longer allowed to park outside of the marked bays.
- A tweet will go out from @OUFCOfficial to update supporters when the car park is full to allow them to make alternative arrangements.
Additional parking is available on Grenoble Road and in Sandford on Thames.
FAMILY ROOM
The Family Room is open to young fans from all stands. There are games and activities for all ages plus visits from first team players. Join the fun in the corner of the East and North stands from 1.30pm