EFL Sky Bet League One
Tuesday 1 September 2026
Accu Stadium, Huddersfield
Huddersfield Town… 3
(Radulovic 56’, Taylor 74’ & 77’)
Oxford United… 1
(O’Donkor 70’)
Oxford United fell to a first league defeat of the season with a 3-1 loss away to Huddersfield Town.
Gatlin O'Donkor's second of the season brought United back into the game but two late Huddersfield strikes saw the points stay in Huddersfield.
Without a game at the weekend, Aaron Ramsey’s side travelled to Huddersfield having not played competitively since last Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Stevenage.
There were a number of changes to the starting XI, with Simon Eastwood continuing in goal in place of the injured Jamie Cumming, while Mo Missanga made his first competitive start.
Facing a Huddersfield side unbeaten in their opening three league games, United knew they would face a different test in Yorkshire. Both teams immediately demonstrated the attacking threat that had made them two of the most exciting sides in the league so far.
Within the opening 30 seconds, Huddersfield created a dangerous opportunity, but United quickly responded on the counter-attack. After excellent work from Siriki Dembele, Tyler Goodrham saw his effort deflected away.
It was an entertaining and competitive game, with both sides enjoying spells of pressure and momentum. Chances were at a premium during the opening 45 minutes, with the only other opportunity of note coming in the 33rd minute. Eastwood produced a smart save to deny Fernandes, who had turned a shot towards the bottom-right corner from inside the box.
United started the second half brightly, with Missanga particularly impressive on the right as he caused Huddersfield problems with his pace and direct running.
Mark Harris registered Oxford’s first shot on target on 50 minutes after being played in by Dembele. From a tight angle, Harris saw his effort parried away by the Huddersfield goalkeeper.
Just two minutes later, United had strong appeals for a penalty when Dembele went down inside the area under a challenge from a defender, but the referee waved play on.
That decision would prove costly as Huddersfield took the lead in the 56th minute. Bojan Radulovic got on the end of a neat pass played in behind the Oxford defence before calmly placing his shot across goal and into the bottom-left corner.
The hosts came close to doubling their advantage shortly afterwards. On the hour mark, Joe Taylor missed an open goal at the back post after the ball was played across the face of goal. However, a crucial touch from Brodie Spencer changed the direction of the ball and made the opportunity more difficult to convert.
Ramsey responded by turning to his bench, making a triple substitution. Kai Andrews came on for his debut, Gatlin O’Donkor returned to the pitch following his goal against Stevenage, while Leo Snowden made his first league appearance.
The changes immediately paid dividends. On 70 minutes, United drew level through O’Donkor, who scored his second goal of the season. Snowden provided the assist, showing excellent composure on the right before delivering a perfectly weighted ball into the danger area, where fellow Youth Academy graduate O’Donkor raced in to fire home.
United looked to have dealt with the danger two minutes later when Eastwood produced another crucial save to deny Taylor, before Long completed an important goal-line clearance.
However, from the resulting corner, a flick-on at the near post found Taylor unmarked at the back post, and the striker made no mistake this time, heading into an empty net to restore Huddersfield’s lead.
Moments later, Taylor struck again to make it 3-1. After Huddersfield won possession and outnumbered the Oxford defence, Fernandes played the ball into Taylor’s path, and the striker made no mistake with a powerful first-time finish that flew beyond Eastwood.
The goalkeeper was called upon again in the closing stages, making two crucial saves in quick succession to prevent Huddersfield from extending their lead.
Ultimately, the scoreline did not reflect what had been a relatively even contest, with Oxford remaining firmly in the game for large periods. However, Huddersfield proved more clinical in the decisive moments, and those moments ultimately took the game away from United as they left Yorkshire empty-handed.
Huddersfield Town: Young, Balker, Wallace, Bowat, Bronkhorst, Ledson, Harness, Collins, Fernandes, Taylor, Radulovic
Subs: Sorensen, Low, Fletcher, Kasumu, Sebine, Smith-Sway, Tzanev
Oxford United: Eastwood, Spencer (Kioso 71’), Long, Brown, Currie, Brannagan, McDonnell (Andrews 62’), Goodrham (O’Donkor 62’), Missanga (Snowden 62’), Harris, Dembele
Subs: Marriott, Helik, Kioso, Sibley