The Oxford view – pitch to blame for Taylor injury

Aug 25, 2019 | News

Oxford boss Karl Robinson’s view of Saturday’s game: He said: “Our performances haven’t been poor, we have to turn good performances into results.

“We didn’t ask enough questions of the goalkeeper at certain stages and, at this moment in time, four of the goals we’ve conceded this week have been shots from the edge of the box.

“It’s not like we’re switching off defensively or getting carved open at any particular stage, we’re just going through a particular spell where we’ve got to believe a result will come.

“I can’t criticise my players’ attitude, we probably dominated most of the game but didn’t ask enough questions.

“We had a blatant penalty in the first half with Tariqe, it’s a blatant one when you see it back, and then there was even more of a blatant one when he came in at the back post and got dragged to the floor by his shirt.

“So we’re not getting the rub of the green with some of the decisions as well, especially when you consider their first goal when their 6ft 2in striker backed into our player, fell over and got a free-kick.

“You rue those small little margins.”

Robinson said his side did not put enough crosses into the box but felt that, when they did, Rovers keeper Anssi Jaakkola was given the benefit of refereeing decisions.

He said: “Put it into the box, then we can criticise everyone else – if he doesn’t cross it, we can’t criticise the ones who aren’t there.

“And if the ball keeps coming into the box, I think if you’re a striker you’re pretty stupid if you’re not thinking ‘next time, I’m going to be there’.

“Other than the chance they’ve had in the second half where the lad blazed it over from six yards out, we had the better chances.

“In the first 35 minutes there was only one team in this but, at that stage, when you’re dominating, you have to ask more questions of the opposition goalkeeper.

“I don’t think that was the case today but I’m not going to dig players out, they’re giving me everything and when we seem to make a mistake, we’re getting punished.”

He added: “Everything just seems to be dropping the wrong side of the players and that’s the frustrating element of it.

“By the way, that’s corners as well, there were some tremendous deliveries going in that we weren’t getting on the end of.

“I was laughing with the referee just then because their goalkeeper screamed three times when the ball went near him and actually got a free-kick, which is quite amusing.”

He said: “Tayls, the pitch gave way underneath him.

“It wasn’t fatigue because it happened too early on, it just came as a shock to his system, he tried to react to regain his balance but it wasn’t to be.The

“He’ll probably have a scan on Monday. It could be (lengthy), and that’s a worry.”

He added: “He was so eager to be here but, equally, when he gets an elbow in the first two minutes and the referee doesn’t see it.

“Then when he just grabs somebody… there were some very peculiar decisions in the first half.

“That’s what wound him up and frustrated him a little bit more than anything else, the fact he felt he never got what he deserved at certain stages and then he reacted in the wrong way.

“The criticism he got today wasn’t right but that’s part and parcel of the game we live in now, so you’ve got to take it and accept it.”