Oxford United player ratings in Leyton Orient cup defeat

After defeat in Aaron Ramsey’s first competitive fixture, here is how we rated the Yellows team…

Jamie Cumming – 5

Distributed the ball decently well despite appearing visibly frustrated at his lack of options in the first half.

Disappointed late on as he was rooted to the spot for the opening goal and unable to reach the second, his positioning not quite on point.

Brodie Spencer – 5.5

Did not see many of his trademark tackles and was caught out of position on occasion.

Tried to be positive with his passing forward as Orient pressed well.

Sam Long – 5.5

Long and Brown were solid enough until the end when the O’s movement caught them and the defence out.

Saw a preview of that movement in the first half which had the potential to cause problems, and did.

Ciaron Brown – 5.5

One or two decent blocks in there but failed to stop the cross for the second goal.

Jack Currie – 6

Took up some good positions early on and provided an outlet on the left with Dembele.

Possibly missed his connection with Emakhu which was fruitful against Ipswich.

Jamie McDonnell – 6

Thought he looked good for the most part.

McDonnell’s passing was sure and accurate and he had his usual energy. He was withdrawn before the late goals.

Cameron Brannagan – 6

Got about the pitch well but maybe could have done more to get back for the two goals.

Still, made some good contributions at both ends with one memorable tackle in the box and some good play with Dembele in the opposing one.

READ MORE: Leyton Orient 2-0 Oxford United – Carabao Cup recap

READ MORE: Oxford United lose to Leyton Orient in Aaron Ramsey competitive debut

Aidomo Emakhu – 5.5

Started brightly but gave away some reckless fouls and was booked.

A couple of efforts were blocked but on the right he does not have as much space to shoot clearly.

Tyler Goodrham – 6

Picked up some good positions and turned on the ball well at times, but the Orient man-to-man marking kept him more and more quiet as the game went on.

Aaron Ramsey on Brian De Keersmaecker extended absence from the Oxford United squad:

“Him and Stan were training back home and hopefully they can both join the group.

“They are two different cases where Brian hasn’t played any minutes. Stan has.

“Hopefully now next week…

— malachi (@MalachiObrey) August 8, 2026

Siriki Dembele – 6.5

Exciting footwork as usual and did well to win fouls.

Shuffled into space centrally and had a bit of a spark on the ball.

Mark Harris – 6

Battled well and took up better positions as the game went on.

Pressed hard but decision-making left a bit to be desired.

Aaron Ramsey says Stan Mills has trained on his own the last few days:

“It was a medical decision for him to train over the last few days on his own to be able to re-join the group next week”#oufc

— malachi (@MalachiObrey) August 8, 2026

Substitutes:

Gatlin O’Donkor – 6

Tried to hold the ball up and link play and had one or two nice flicks.

Did not manage to trouble the goal.

Louie Sibley – 5

Aidan Elliott-Wheeler – 5

The youngster struggling off the bench, opting to come inside from a good chance in the box and losing it and could not quite make anything stick.