Oxford united FC
Cameron Brannagan ‘lucky’ despite ‘perfect’ Oxford United strike
The U’s captain directed the ball into the bottom left corner with a sweet finish to give his side a second at Meadow Lane.
Oxford had hit on the counter attack after a period of pressure from the hosts, Luka Lynch sprinting up the pitch with the ball before playing a lovely pass to the skipper.
The goal was Brannagan’s second of the season after notching away at Stevenage in August.
Speaking to the media after the match in Nottingham, the 30-year-old said: “I’ll be honest, I was putting my head down and sprinting at one stage.
“I was probably thinking about stopping, but luckily enough I carried on.
“To be honest, when I got there, my legs had gone. So I just thought, ‘I’m going to hit it as hard as I can’, and luckily enough, it went where it did.
“I was done in when I got there.
“I just about made it to the fans,” he joked.
The former Liverpool midfielder continued: “It was fantastic.
“From front to back, we were great.
“We’re going to need that all season because it’s a tough old league at times, especially when you’ve got to grind out results.
“It’s a good three points away from home.”
Oxford maintained the majority of the possession in the first period before the percentage evened out to 50 per cent over the course of the 90 minutes.
“First half, we controlled the ball very well.
“Second half, obviously, they had their spell.
“The gaffer mentioned it in [the changing room], I think the big thing today was off the ball.
“The way we were, it was hard to beat and aggressive in all certain situations.
“Off the ball was fantastic today and we need to keep that to get the right results.”
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Alongside Brannagan in midfield were Louie Sibley and Tyler Goodrham, a different partnership to Kai Andrews and Jamie McDonnell who started the previous League One fixture with the Yellows captain.
With McDonnell out for a number of weeks with a hamstring injury and Andrews featuring off the bench following a busy international break with the Wales Under-21s, names in the midfield have chopped and changed in the early stages of the season.
“We’ve got a great squad,” Brannagan admitted.
“It’s a shame to see Jamie go down with a hamstring [injury].
“People have stepped in and been fantastic. It’s been enjoyable.
“We work on different things every day and how we can improve.
“We’re going to need everybody in the squad.
“There’ll be young lads that get more minutes because we’re going to need everybody.”
The U’s beat the Magpies 2-1 on Saturday in their first League One game back after the international break.
Mark Harris scored the opener on his 150th Oxford appearance before Cameron Brannagan found an all important second with two minutes remaining.
Martin Paterson’s side found a consolation through Rory Finneran in stoppage time but it was not enough to stop a comfortable Yellows side from taking the three points back to OX4.
Former Arsenal midfielder Ramsey was pleased with his side’s away display.
“It’s always difficult when you have that much control in the first half and perhaps things do become a little bit more easier than expected,” the ex-Wales international admitted.
“There’s a chance for complacency and things like that to come in, but I didn’t see that today.
“I just saw that they got a little bit more joy from the long balls and maybe that swung it a little bit, but then, regardless of that, I thought we stuck to it really well and everything that they threw at us today, we had answers for and that gave us the chance to go on and win the game.
“I thought we controlled the game really well. We really asked them a load of different questions and it’s difficult to come to places like this.
READ MORE: Oxford United player ratings in tough 2-1 Notts County win
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“We knew we were going to have to stand up to some of the pressure that they put you in at some point in the game, but I thought we were terrific without the ball today.
“Real intensity in the way that we press, a real togetherness, connected as a team and defending the box really well.
“We pride ourselves a lot on what we do without the ball. We want to be the best in the league at that, in terms of how we measure that.
“Again, we were excellent in that.
Former #OxfordUnited coach Craig Short here at half time 🙌 Short left the U’s recently after six years with the club. He also played for Notts County for three years. #oufc https://t.co/Ng82xEYlWX
— malachi (@MalachiObrey) October 10, 2026
“It’s going to be super important for us, with the teams that we face in this league, that we have that side of it as well, because without that, we wouldn’t be able to do what we want with the ball.”
Harris’ goal in the 18th minute came from an error from Magpies goalkeeper James Belshaw with Oxford putting the pressure on high up the pitch.
Belshaw gifted a pass to the Welsh striker who was perfectly placed to intercept and slot home.
Ramsey continued: “We want to win the ball high up the pitch, where we’re closer to their goal. For us, that’s super important.
“Again, with the right intensity, the right pressing angles, we can win the ball back in dangerous areas.
“Sparky won it back, and I’m delighted that he got another goal.”
The U’s extended their unbeaten run in the league to four games as Mark Harris and Cameron Brannagan found the net to secure three points.
Jamie Cumming returned to the team for the first time in almost two months in League One whilst Luka Lynch picked up his third assist in yellow colours.
Here is how we rated Aaron Ramsey’s Yellows at Meadow Lane…
Jamie Cumming – 6
A safe outing on his return to the team.
Two saves, the second a good one as he pushed it wide down low.
Peter Kioso – 7.5
Impactful in the tackle and a machine with his forward runs to carry the team up the pitch.
Opposition can’t get near him in his current form.
Michal Helik – 6.5
Met most of the Magpies’ crosses with the most aerial duels won and kept Daniel Kanu very quiet.
Ciaron Brown – 6.5
Confident and calm on the ball and restricted the hosts to few openings.
Jack Currie (Spencer 76′) – 6.5
Tidy on the ball and showed the occasional trickery, linking up well with Siriki Dembele and Louie Sibley as he often does.
Cameron Brannagan – 7.5
Sprayed some good balls about today and looked in control with the highest pass completion rate of any player (87 per cent).
Kept up with Luka Lynch to take the ball and hit a sweet strike for Oxford’s second.
Louie Sibley (Andrews 58′)- 6.5
Strong first half with intelligent passes and positive carries.
Has grown into a strong cog in Ramsey’s machine.
Tyler Goodrham (O’Donkor 66′) – 6
Should have scored early on, a chance which possibly came too soon.
Frustrating that he was not more involved on his return to the starting XI but did not do much wrong and still found some decent positions.
Mo Missanga (Snowden 66′) – 6
Possibly a bit worn out on his fifth consecutive league start.
Mark Harris – 7
Did his job as a striker, pressing cleverly and finishing when his chance came.
Great to see him score on his 150th Oxford appearance.
Siriki Dembele (Lynch 76′) – 6.5
A shot over the bar with his weak foot and a nice backheel in the first half, alongside winning a couple of free kicks well which led to bookings.
Substitutes:
Kai Andrews (58′) – 6
Good feet and composure off the bench, replacing Sibley seamlessly.
Gatlin O’Donkor (66′) – 6
Leo Snowden (66′) – 6
Feels as though he gets closer to goal with every appearance and proved a threat to the County right back off the bench.
Luka Lynch (76′) – 6.5
A shot blocked before picking up a third assist in four Oxford appearances.
Brodie Spencer (76′) – 6
Oxford United face Notts County in the early League One kick-off on their return to action after the international break.
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