This Week's Opposition: Oxford United

A goalless draw at The Valley last time out ended with the Blues gaining a point ahead of promotion chasing rivals Derby County and Bolton Wanderers, Increasing the gap at the top of the table to 7 points. Next up, Oxford United travel down to the South Coast.

The Blues have 6 games left at Fratton Park until the end of this season - The 1st of the opponents being The U’s of Oxford.

Let's dive into the side now…

MANAGER

Des Buckingham is now at the helm for The U’s.

Buckingham had spells in the youth and reserve teams at both Reading and Oxford United as a goalkeeper, although a professional playing career did not materialise.

He began his professional coaching career at Oxford at the age of 18, initially working through the club’s age group squads.

At the start of the 2013/14 season in League Two, Buckingham progressed as a coach into the first team under the manager Chris Wilder. During his time at the club, Buckingham supported the transition of 24 players from the youth ranks and into their first professional contracts.

Buckingham then made a move to New Zealand and joined Wellington Phoenix under head coach Ernie Merrick. After Merrick’s resignation, Buckingham was appointed manager and at 31-years-old he became the youngest in A-League history.

In July 2017, Buckingham left Wellington Phoenix and took up a role at Stoke City, who were then playing in the Premier League, as an assistant coach for their Under-23s team.

Buckingham returned to New Zealand to coach the Under-20s and Under-23s teams and also coached for Melbourne City and Mumbai City before returning to Oxford last November on a long-term contract as head coach, replacing the departing Liam Manning.

ONE TO WATCH

Our one to watch is Oxford’s number 23, Josh Murphy.

The winger began his career at Norwich City, scoring his professional debut in a League Cup match against Watford.

Murphy joined then-Championship side Wigan Athletic on an initial 1-month loan. His 5 appearances at Wigan soon earned a loan extension until the end of the season, however he was unable to help The Latics survive relegation and returned to Norwich.

Murphy also went on loan to MK Dons and in May 2016 he was named Players’ Player of the Season. In total, Murphy made 46 appearances for the club, scoring 7 goals in all competitions and finishing the season as MK’s joint-top goalscorer whilst also achieving the most assists.

Murphy joined Premier League side Cardiff City on a 4-year deal before then signing a 2-year deal with Oxford in League One. He scored his first goal for the club in a recent 4-2 league victory over Wigan.

TOP SCORER

The current top goalscorer is Mark Harris, who has bagged 9 league goals so far this campaign.

Harris is a forward who wears the number 9 shirt and has represented Wales at Under-17, Under-19, Under-20 and Under-21 levels.

Harris turned professional at Cardiff City, making loan spells at Newport County, Port Vale and Wrexham. He broke into Cardiff’s first team during the 2021/22 season but was released last June.

Harris joined Oxford the following month on a long-term deal and previous manager Liam Manning was quoted as saying: “Signing a full international with his best years ahead of him is a big thing for us”.

The 25-year-old has scored 2 goals since the Blues visited the Kassam Stadium at the end of January.

CURRENT FORM

Des Buckinghams side currently sit just outside of the Play-Off places in 7th.

After the Blues’ trip to the Kassam Stadium at the end of January, The U’s have picked up 7 points from their 6 matches since, including a 4-2 win over Wigan, 4 draws and their most recent game was a 2-1 defeat to Leyton Orient.

Last time out between these 2 sides, Oxford grabbed a late point with a goal from James Henry in the 90th minute.

The U’s have been in League One since 2016 when they gained automatic promotion under Michael Appleton. In this division, these teams have played each other 15 times, including the League One Play-Off Semi-Finals in 2020.

These results have returned 4 victories, 7 draws and 4 defeats for the Blues.

Des Buckingham’s side had occupied 6th position at the start of the week but a win on Tuesday night for Stevenage in their game in hand against Cambridge United saw The U’s leapfrogged and dumped out of the Play-Off spots.

So, after results in the league going in the Blues’ favour on Tuesday night, can they now extend their unbeaten run to 9 games and possibly even open up the gap at the top even more?

Tune in for all of the unmissable action when Pompey Live returns this Saturday (March 2nd) afternoon from 2pm.

Kick-off: 3pm!