Oxford United midfielder Tyler Goodrham has revealed his frustration following his side’s defeat to fellow promotion-chasers Leyton Orient on Saturday afternoon.
The U’s have hit a poor run of form at the wrong time, winning just one of their last nine League One outings. Whilst they still remain in the top six, the clubs below them are breathing down their necks, with Stevenage in particular looking well-placed to strike.
Steve Evans’ side occupy seventh position and are currently just one point off Oxford in sixth. However, they have two games in hand and could replace their promotion rivals in the play-off positions tomorrow night when they take on Cambridge United at the Lamex Stadium.
Their latest loss, which saw Orient recover from a goal down to steal the three points, summed up Des Buckingham’s team in recent weeks. Keeping hold of a lead has been a real issue, a view shared by Saturday’s goalscorer Tyler Goodrham.
The 20-year-old winger has found the net on 10 occasions in all competitions this season, far surpassing the four he bagged during the previous campaign. Following the latest defeat, the youngster revealed his teammate’s disappointment and has urged his colleagues to regroup ahead of the trip to league leaders Portsmouth this weekend:
“Everyone’s disappointed and everyone knows the levels we need to hit, and we know we didn’t hit them,” Goodrham told This Is Oxfordshire. “It’s a very disappointed group.”
“We need to bury teams, especially at home. When we go 1-0 up, we need to get two, three, four, and keep going, and keep being ruthless and relentless.
“It’s a big learning curve for me, where I come in and try to add more goals, which I have to a certain degree.
“When we go 1-0 up, we need to try and kill it, and create more chances and opportunities for everyone else.
“We regroup, and we’ve got a massive game on Saturday. We’ve got to look forward to that, and keep our eyes on that, and put this behind us.
“Everyone plays their part in lifting each other now, whether it’s me, James Henry or the skipper, everyone has their part to play.
“Trust me, we will. We’re a very good group, whether that’s on the pitch or off the pitch. We’re a good group, and we’ll be fine.”
Writer’s View
Given that Oxford finished 19th last season, they already seem to be overachieving just by being up there. That being said, they won’t want to just make up the numbers and will want promotion.
Given the recent form, the timing of this is impeccable. To have a local lad come out and ask for teams to be killed off is possibly the wake-up call needed for his side. The U’s do possess the quality needed to reach the play-offs, but they do need to start picking up points.
