I think it's fair to say that neither of these two sides hit the ground running in the League Cup last night and I'd like to say a special 'thank you' to Ryan Clarke and Damian Batt for finally putting me out of my misery in the penalty shoot out.
Keeper Clarke saved Marc Pugh's spot kick after five of the other players had converted theirs and it seemed as if the match was never going to end. Full back Damian Batt converted the winner to put the home side into the hat for the next round - and a possible much needed money spinner against a Premier League outfit?
I suspect everyone knew it was going to be a long evening when Cherries striker Wes Thomas headed Pugh's free kick wide from three yards in the third minute.
Even if it wasn't a spectacular evening's entertainment, the game was fairly evenly contested.
But it was Shwan Jalal who made sure of extra time with a great save at the death.
Defender Simon Francis handled just outside the box and Bournemouth's
Baghdad-born keeper tipped over Adam Chapman's blistering free kick in the 91st
minute.
Opposite number Clarke needed to be at his best to block a six yard
effort from striker Thomas in extra time, but both sides struggled to break
the deadlock.
Jalal had also produced two great stops in a matter of seconds just before the
break in normal time.
Chapman and fellow midfielder Sean Rigg took turns to fire in low, angled
shots from either side of the box, but stopper Jalal beat them away.
Not a classic by any means, but to be fair, the summer cobwebs always take a few games to be brushed away at this point of the season.
It will be interesting to see how Chris Wilder sets up the side when they take on Bristol Rovers in the first league fixture at the Memorial Ground on Saturday.
While Chapman saw a good deal of the ball, neither Jake Forster-Caskey or Lee Cox seemed to be able to get to grips with it, but I think this was due more to the tactics employed than their willingness to get involved. However, Oxford came out winners in the end and so who am I to criticise?
My piece from to0day's paper.
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