Oxford United battle valiantly for a 1-1 draw with Wigan Athletic in League One

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Wigan vs Oxford United Match Report

Oxford battled to a creditable 1-1 draw in a combative match with Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium, to prove their mettle against the promotion challenging side once again after their narrow 3-2 loss back in December.

Herbie Kane returned to the side after his 3 game suspension was over with Nathan Holland missing out, otherwise it was the same side as the one that beat Gillingham 7-2 on Saturday. This league one match was always going to be a tougher challenge with Wigan starting the match in 2nd place..

While Brannagan rightly took the plaudits in the last game, Billy Bodin’s recent form should not be ignored and he fired a 6th minute free kick over the bar to show his attacking prowess.

But it was top scorer Matty Taylor who made the breakthrough, firing in Mark Sykes’ cross in the 23rd minute to give the U’s the lead.

High-flying Wigan were always going to be a tough opponent, and they equalised in the 36th minute through Callum Lang.

In truth, Oxford were lucky to go in level at half-time, when Herbie Kane was booked for a bad foul and James McClean lofted in the free-kick only for Jack Whatmough to see his header hit the post.

1-1 at the break, and a brief respite from defending the resolute Wigan team who started the second half as they left off, with McClean firing wide right after the restart to set the scene for the next 45 minutes.

Sykes then shot wide from a free kick with chances for the U’s limited.

It was all Wigan, but luckily they seemed to have left their shooting boots behind as Whatmough. Magennus and Massey sent chances over the bar when easier to score.

Stevens saved well from Taylor and Whatmough late in the game, and the resolute defence held strong for a deserved point.

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