Oxford united FC
Oxford United beat Blackburn Rovers to extend winning run
Jamie Donley’s first goal for the Yellows was all that was needed to see off Rovers to pick up a huge win in the battle for Championship survival.
The third win on the bounce means that United have won three games in a row for the first time since former head coach Gary Rowett’s first trio of matches in charge.
Matt Bloomfield’s men now sit in 22nd, only in the relegation zone on goal difference with Leicester City level on points above them.
An emotional start to the night saw the club remember academy goalkeeper Amelia Aplin who sadly passed away last weekend, with a minute’s silence and plenty of tributes taking place ahead of kick-off.
The U’s started brightly and almost found the lead after just six minutes, Will Lankshear only able to turn Stan Mills’ ball wide from close range.
Donley continued to impress in the Yellows attack, beating players and providing good deliveries whilst Mills forced a save from Balazs Toth after cutting onto his left foot and striking low at goal.
United continued to put balls into the box with Donley finding the side-netting at the back post from a Currie cross after Toth missed it.
Shortly after, however, the midfielder found the breakthrough. Mills’ cross towards Myles Peart-Harris was headed goalward and parried out by the keeper, but Donley was there to sweep home for his first goal in yellow.
An early penalty shout was routinely dismissed by the referee as Peart-Harris went down under contact in the box early in the second half.
READ MORE: Emotional tributes for Oxford United’s Amelia Aplin
A great first period continued into the second as Ciaron Brown nodded a good corner ball over the bar before Peart-Harris squandered a good chance to double the lead after Rovers gifted him the ball, Toth getting down to save his tame placed effort.
The U’s continued with their pressure but struggled then to find openings as Blackburn picked up their efforts near the end.
READ MORE: Oxford United striker snubbed Middlesbrough and Ipswich Town
Jack Currie blocked a fierce shot from Ryan Alebiosu arriving in the box on the right, before a chaotice sequence of events in the U’s box saw Yuki Ohashi go down before Brodie Spencer then shielded the ball out and to safety.
A nervy last few moments saw Michal Helik fizz a shot wide as the Yellows camped in their half to fend of the visitors.
READ MORE: Oxford United boss and captain pay tribute to Amelia Aplin
Oxford: Cumming, Long, Helik, Brown, Currie, Konak (Vaulks 78), Brannagan, Mills (Harris 87), Donley (McDonnell 87), Peart-Harris (Spencer 78), Lankshear (Prelec 73)
Blackburn: Toth, Alebiosu, Carter, McLoughlin, Cashin, Forshaw (Tavares 80), Gardner-Hickman, Morishita, Baradji (Ohashi 59), De Neve (Afolayan 73), Jorgensen (Cantwell 73)
Bookings: McLoughlin, Carter
The U’s remain under a temporary transfer embargo which sees them banned from registering any new players until they prove their compliance with the EFL’s Squad Cost Management Protocol (SCMP) regulations.
Oxford brought in one new player prior to the embargo being confirmed, with former Heart of Midlothian centre back joining on a free transfer.
He, however, has suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury which will keep the 30-year-old side-lined for a number of months.
Meanwhile, United’s league rivals are making sure to strengthen ahead of the 2026/27 campaign.
The headline transfer news in the third-tier this week has been the loan transfer of Tommy Watson to Leicester City from Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion.
Watson joins on a season-long loan deal after just a year at Brighton having arrived from Sunderland last summer.
The 20-year-old scored the winning goal which saw the Black Cats beat Sheffield United in the 2024/25 Championship play-off final at Wembley despite already agreeing a £10 million move to the south coast.
He played just 10 times for the Seagulls and spent the second half of last season at Millwall.
Watson now drops down to the third tier in an attempt to help Leicester bounce back to the Championship after relegation alongside the U’s last term.
Elsewhere, MK Dons have continued to make waves in the window by bringing in former Middlesbrough winger Sam Silvera.
The newly-promoted Dons have brought in the winger on a free transfer after he was released by Boro at the end of last season.
It is another statement signing for Paul Warne’s side, with the Australian a first-choice name for the Teessiders last season until injury curtailed his season.
READ MORE: Oxford United boss Aaron Ramsey credits Arsene Wenger
READ MORE: Will Vaulks leaves Oxford United to join Tranmere Rovers
The 25-year-old scored eight goals in 65 appearances for Boro.
Most recently, Oxford have seen Will Vaulks leave for League Two club Tranmere Rovers from whose academy he graduated.
The 32-year-old departs after two years at the club, playing 88 times.
Oxford’s first opponents of the season, Leyton Orient who they face in the Carabao Cup on Saturday, are in the midst of a fight to keep hold of star striker Dom Ballard.
The 21-year-old, who scored 23 goals and managed five assists in League One last year, is the target of Championship club Bristol City who are reportedly making a final push to sign the striker.
The Robins have offered £5 million for Ballard’s services, according to reporter Alan Nixon, with the O’s having held firm but are resigned to losing the prolific goal scorer.
Other moves in the division see Ollie Cooper join Notts County on loan from Swansea City and Stockport County sign Luca Ashby-Hammond after leaving Plymouth Argyle.
The 35-year-old was appointed into his first head coach role in June, taking over at United from Matt Bloomfield after retiring from professional football in April.
Ramsey has enjoyed a successful start to his tenure in OX4 so far, securing four wins from four pre-season fixtures, including a 2-0 victory over Premier League side Ipswich Town.
The former Gunners midfielder has also had to manage the squad amidst a temporary transfer ban which sees Oxford unable to register any new player until they prove compliance with the EFL’s Squad Cost Management Protocol (SCMP) regulations.
The ex-Wales international played under some world-renowned managers during his successful playing career in the likes of Wenger, Aston Villa boss Unai Emery and former Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri.
“Arsene was a huge part of the success that I had as a player,” the Yellows head coach detailed after the pre-season win over Ipswich.
“And obviously, I took so much from him as well, from the manager side of things.
“But I’ve been very lucky and blessed to have played for some really good managers over the years, which I’ve taken little bits from as well.
“So, yes, I wouldn’t just say it’s all him, but definitely he’s formed part of that.”
Similarly to Wenger, Ramsey possesses a calm demeanour on the touchline, more often than not on the edge of his technical area with the occasional instruction directed at a player or the team as a whole.
READ MORE: Will Vaulks leaves Oxford United to join Tranmere Rovers
READ MORE: Aaron Ramsey emphasises importance of Oxford United’s Stan Mills
He is visibly calm and contemplative, something which he himself acknowledges.
“I think that’s me as a player, though. I’ve always been quite calm and comfortable in situations. So for me, that’s the way that I am.
“And I want my players to feel that and to feel like they can go out there and express themselves.
“So, yes, when they play like that [against Ipswich], it does make it a lot easier for me on the side lines.
“I think we need to be confident in what we’re trying to do for us to be able to really showcase exactly what we can do.
“It’s that confidence which is important without stepping over the line, but we need to embrace that.”
The U’s begin their campaign this Saturday with a Carabao Cup clash with League One rivals Leyton Orient.
Ramsey will be hoping his side can take the confidence and impressive performances from pre-season into the competitive campaign.
League action begins a week later, with the Yellows hosting newly-promoted MK Dons at the Kassam on the opening day.
The U’s return to the third tier after a two-year stay in the Championship, suffering relegation last term with a 22nd-placed finish under Matt Bloomfield.
The club revealed their new home strip last month and have worn it twice during pre-season when they beat Crawley Town 3-1 and Ipswich Town 2-0 at the Kassam Stadium.
Oxford’s away kit was released with a video on social media titled ‘Performance Inspires’, the shirt being inspired by Oxford’s performing arts, with a ballet performance filmed at Oxford New Theatre.
The video is soundtracked by a reimagined take on Oxford band Foals’ song ‘What Went Down’.
The shirt is available to buy online and in-store.
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