It has been another exciting week of football for Oxford United completed with a third derby day win in a year. Wednesday night saw United defeat Paulo Di Canio’s Swindon to continue our unbeaten run against them.

In what was probably the most exciting Johnstone’s Paint Trophy first round match of all time at the Kassam Stadium and we came out victorious to silence the a420 for the fourth game in a row.

This match was another gritty performance from United, starting at the back with the superb skipper Jake Wright. He put his body on the line several times and was simply unbeatable at the back, saving the slightly disappointing Daniel Boateng on a couple of occasions. This win was a perfect way to overcome a poor defensive display against York last Saturday. Michael Raynes in particular had a frustrating game but stepped it up and was quality at the back to help keep that clean sheet. It showed just how brilliant the back line was that Ryan Clarke had pretty much nothing to do for the entire match.

A player who must sweat pure inspiration is Alfie Potter, who came off the bench to score the winner in the dying minutes of the game. Potter not only scored the winning goal but also showed his strength and agility to pose an aerial threat, causing their defenders problems and winning headers. His tenacity led to the winning goal when he helped cause confusion for two Swindon defenders, meaning James Constable could snatch the ball off them and lay off for the waiting Potter.

A big question that has been asked this week is whether or not Chris Wilder would take the available Coventry City job if asked. Most United fans will agree that Wilder should stay and the possibility of playing League One football is a real one for next year meaning he could get that chance to manage at a higher level with us. If he does decide to go then all we can do is say thank and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavours. Wilder has been a fantastic servant to the club and the turnaround to our fortunes since he took over has been huge. He took over the job when the yellows were in turmoil after a terrible run of form and instantly marched us up the table, narrowly missing out on the playoffs.

Since then the only way has been up and we are a much better team with an excellent group of players.

It’s nice to see we can attract the kind of talent such as Jake Forster-Caskey and Peter Leven to the club. Hopefully Leven can get back to full fitness soon and we will get to see these two players in the same team. Hopefully with Wilder still at the helm.

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