December and January saw a bad run, as Oxford slid into the relegation zone. Help was at hand, however, with the transfer window. Niklas Bendtner and Joey Barton added Premier League experience, and solid young Czech defender Petra Huskova was also signed, to compensate for the long-term injury to Moses Reed.
On Fire
The striking partnership of Bendtner and Iversen clicked almost immediately, with Bendtner scoring five times in his first six games. Local rivals Swindon were dispatched 6-0 in the FA Cup, and this was a catalyst for a good run in the league, as three wins in a row, including an impressive 4-1 thrashing of relegation rivals Leeds, dragged Oxford up the table.
Oxford 3-3 Arsenal
Then the league champions came to town, and promptly opened up a 3-1 lead. But former Arsenal players Bendtner and Larsson were on fire, and Lercher fired in a last-minute volley to extend the unbeaten run in all competitions to six games.
Defensive mishaps strike again
In the middle of this run, there was a draw away to QPR in the FA Cup 5th round. But the home leg was a disaster: a hat-trick from Hugo Almeida in the first half an hour ended all hope of victory, and bad turned to worse when new signing Huskova was stupidly sent off for kicking Agbonlahor. With Reed and Bougherra both injured, the defence was down to the bare bones for the trip to Birmingham. It was 1-1 at half-time, all going to plan, but then came a second half defensive collapse; a last-minute Iversen consolation didn't make up for the big number 5 in the goals against column. Needless to say, I let the team have it with an angry post-match team talk.
The next match was a tricky one, at home to Everton, who had van Nistelrooy (signed in January from United), V. Hleb, Cahill and Arteta to choose from. A strong defensive performance and a well-taken goal by Iversen earnt a 1-0 win. Then came QPR, and that man Hugo Almeida dealt another blow with the winning goal in a tight match. Meanwhile, relegation rivals Leeds were continuing their winless run: the final score was Leeds 0-8 Chelsea!
Finally for this update, a match at home to Sunderland, who were bottom and 13 points behind Oxford. A win would have been very useful, and Iversen duly scored yet again; however, the still makeshift defence couldn't hold on, and the match finished 1-1.
Run-In
I'm now in 15th, five points clear of the drop zone with a better goal difference. The last six games include several against teams near the bottom: Charlton (12th) at home, and Norwich (13th), Middlesbrough (18th) and Villa (14th) away. Two wins from six will probably mean safety...
RESULTS AND FIXTURES
TABLE: BOTTOM HALF
Johan Iversen
If Oxford do stay up, it will be mainly down to the young Norwegian, Johan Iversen, who has scored 16 goals already this season. Just look at the Young Player of the Month awards!
I'm going to finish off the season tomorrow, so check back and see if I can survive!
1 comment:
uld you post some iversen stats then? :)
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