Oxford United... No Longer in 7th!

Oxford lined up against Accrington Stanley for another Tuesday match. The Yellows were hoping for a win to move higher up into the promotion playoff standings. Well, if you looked at their shooting at the end of the match, things looked rather bleak. The Yellows never amaze anyone with an amount of shooting, but against Accrington Stanley they only managed six shots. More importantly four of those were on target (a decent percentage I suppose), but even more importantly, two found they way to the back of the net. Oxford midfielder Asa Hall continued his red hot form netting both of those goals, one in the 42^nd minute and one (a nice header) in the 73^rd. Goalkeeper Ryan Clarke also did well in goal for the Yellows attaining the clean sheet, now his third in a row.

In getting the win, Oxford now jump Cheltenham Town and move into sixth in the league table. They are tied with Cheltenham on points at 65, but Oxford have a greater goal differential. It might be by a tight margin, but Oxford is finally out of 7^th! This is the first time since after their January 28^th match with Burton Albion that they’ve gotten out of 7^th. More poignant, it’s the first time since after their match against Port Vale on October 29^th that they’ve been higher than 7^th. I’m hoping they continue to build in confidence and form, not only to move up the promotion playoff standings, but even to challenge for the automatic promotion spots.

Bonus Feature: Celtic - Rangers

As mentioned previously with my weekly weekend update post, I watched Celtic and Rangers play in a Scottish Premier League fixture besides just following Oxford, Nurnberg, and Newcastle. For those that don’t know the background Celtic and Rangers, cross-town rivals of Glasgow, Scotland, here is a brief background of these two teams that I posted previously on another blog–

“Not only are they cross-town rivals in Glasgow, always the top teams in the standings, and the most supported teams in the Scottish Premier League, but on top of all of that their matches pit together two longtime rivaling groups – Irish Catholics (Celtic) and loyal to England Protestants (Rangers).

There is not a rivalry in sports that even comes close to Celtic and Rangers. Visiting players routinely have had death threats yelled at them by fans, saying something to the effect that if they score, they’ll be killed. (Some fans of course do this to get into the players heads, some probably are actually serious.) Rioting, maybe better described as all-out brawls have happened at the stadiums. People have died because of encounters after matches. Don’t even think about going into a Rangers pub wearing any green, or a Celtic pub wearing any red or blue. For that matter, don’t even go into some neighborhoods wearing the other team’s colors. While it has gotten better in recent years, fans still have to be seated in separate sections of the stadium on match days. This may sound more or less normal, but there is also a ten to fifteen seat buffer zone between the two groups, with security guards stationed every two rows on each side of the buffer area.”

I’m a large fan of the rivalry in general, but if I’m pushed to take a side, I’ll take Celtic every time. Firstly, I love the fire that former Celtic player, but now manager Neil Lennon has for the game, even now on the sidelines. Also personally, I favor most things Irish and politically believe that the Irish isle should just be one country – not the UK Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland. However, although I favor Celtic, I do not wish harm on Rangers. That may be especially poignant as of late as Rangers have gotten in deep financial problems, ones that potentially threaten their existence as a club.

Glasgow Rangers in fact have gone bankrupt, going far into the red as far as profits and operational budgets go. If any good news can reported, it is that a handful of buyers have come forward to buy (or buy out) the club. (The ESPN Soccernet article on this can be found here.) I really hope that they can find a buyer to save the club. If that doesn’t happen, the league in Scotland will not be the same – and one can say that Celtic will not be either. Although it may open the door for another team to rise up to replace Rangers’ success, Scottish football has been built upon the Old Firm (the collective nickname for Celtic and Rangers). Celtic would continue just fine as a club, but they wouldn’t have the same motivation each season. Now, the main goal is to beat Rangers, with the secondary goal of winning the league. Celtic–Rangers runs deeper than any other rivalry, but could you imagine the Real Madrid losing Barcelona as a rival, the New York Yankees losing the Boston Red Sox, Jack Nicklaus not having Arnold Palmer, or Ali not having Frazier?

Well this past Sunday, as the two teams met at Rangers’ home park of Ibrox Stadium, they didn’t let the off the pitch drama affecting the Rangers administration play any hand in the beautiful game on the playing field. With Rangers being docked ten points for going into bankruptcy, Celtic was going into this match hoping for the win which would clinch the league title for them. However, Rangers had other plans.

And apparently so did the match referee…

These Glasgow derbies can often be very nasty, keeping the referees very busy. Well this past Sunday was no exception. Rangers scored in the 11^th minute to go up 1-0 early and looked poised to possibly score again in the 29^th. One of Rangers players was making a run at the ball at the edge of the box to make a play on goal, however Celtic defender Du-Ri Cha brought him down. It was a half tackle, half tangle of the legs – an offense that most referees would have given yellow, very few given a red. Well the match’s referee was one of those few. Cha was sent off with the red and Celtic were down to ten men. The play on the pitch was left at 1-0 going into the halftime interval. However, Celtic manager from arguing with the referee at halftime, was disciplined, being sent from the sidelines to the stands. Apparently, there is also some questionable refereeing on this decision too, according to ESPN Soccernet.

The first notable event in the second half was yet again another poor refereeing call. Celtic midfielder Victor Wanyama tackled one of Rangers defenders and was sent off as well with a red. Wanyama came in fiercely with the challenge but kept the spikes of the boots down and got all ball initially. At the very most, it should’ve been a yellow just from the velocity of the tackle. I couldn’t understand how the tackle was even a foul when it happened or on the multiple replays that were shown. In any case, Celtic was now down to nine men.

The two man advantage for Rangers eventually played out and they scored their second and third goals in the 72^nd and 77^th minutes respectively. Celtic kept fighting but were all but out of the match being down three goals and down two men. They kept trudging on though and they would make things interesting.

In the 88^th minute, Rangers defender (and US National team defender) Carlos Bocanegra committed a foul on a Celtic striker in the box, giving a Celtic a penalty. Bocanegra was also given a red card, a punishment that to be fair most referees wouldn’t have given out. Again, yellow probably was more appropriate. Celtic midfielder Scott Brown converted the penalty and Celtic were then at least on the board.

Celtic would get another goal however in the second minute of stoppage time. Celtic defender Thomas Rogne knocked a hard header in the goal to make things interesting at 3-2. Although they fought back well, it was too little too late. Rangers won the game 3-2.

Celtic will have to wait at least another week to clinch the league title. Rangers on the other hand get a nice victory that for at least the short term will distract fans from the problems in the league offices. This was the last Celtic – Rangers fixture of the season, but hopefully not the last one ever.

A Bit of Everything

I was a more dedicated football fan this weekend, basically following every single match, mostly from each first kick to each final whistle. On Saturday, only Oxford played so starting at 10, I followed the match tracker as well as an Oxford United forum just to get other fan’s reaction. On Sunday, I began five hours of football right at 7 am. I first followed the Celtic-Rangers Glasgow Scottish Premier League, then Nurnberg’s match against Stuttgart, and finished with Newcastle’s fixture against West Bromwich Albion. I found live streams of all of these and spent a nice Sunday morning on the couch in front of my laptop. I watched the Celtic-Rangers match through the end, joined the Nurnberg match roughly 20 minutes in, watched that through to the end, and lastly joined Newcastle’s match around the 35^th minute, following that until the final whistle.

I should’ve expected that on a weekend that Celtic and Rangers battled it out in the Scottish Premier League – a game that is always full of drama – that the matches of my three teams would be all over the board results wise. More on the Glasgow derby in a “bonus feature” separate post, but here’s the review of how Oxford, Nurnberg, and Newcastle did in their matches:

Oxford United vs. Cheltenham Town – As I mentioned, I followed the match tracker and the Oxford United forum to follow this match, but sadly there wasn’t much to follow. This match would go down with only a few decent shots taken, but none finding their way past the goalkeepers of either side. Both Oxford and Cheltenham were looking to come out of this match with a win, but they instead would each both settle with the second best result, a draw. I very much would’ve liked to see the Yellows get the win and move up in the promotion playoff standings. However, a loss would’ve been worse. I give full credit to Oxford goalkeeper Ryan Clarke for keeping Cheltenham out of net and keeping the result at worst as the draw.

The draw of course keeps Oxford yet again in 7^th place. While, didn’t lose any ground to Cheltenham in 6^th place (still three points behind), they did lose a bit of a buffer in points to Crewe in 8^th place who are now just a single point behind. Oxford however have one more match to play compared to both of those teams however. That match comes which comes tomorrow against Accrington Stanley, will hopefully end up as a win for Oxford, putting them in better points standing.

FC Nurnberg vs. Stuttgart – Nurnberg looked much better in this match compared to their last two losses against Mainz and Wolfsburg. They were getting most of the ball and were taking shots. Unfortunately, most of those shots were wayward and off the mark. They took a good deal of shots with seventeen, but only three of those were on target. Stuttgart took fewer shots than Der Club, but took enough with Nurnberg’s poor shooting. Stuttgart’s leading striker Cacau scored in the 78^th, which would be all they needed to take the win over Nurnberg.

With the narrow loss, Nurnberg slid down another spot to 11^th. They are now just four positions and just four points away from the relegation playoff position in 16^th. Things unfortunately won’t be getting any easier anytime soon either as high scoring Bayern Munich come into town this weekend.

Newcastle vs. West Bromwich Albion – As I mentioned earlier, I came into the game at about the 35^th minute, but I know it was actually a bit before that as I watched Cisse score for Newcastle in the 34^th. That goal put the Toon up 3-0 after a 6^th minute Cisse goal to begin the scoring, followed by a Ben Arfa goal in the 12^th. West Brom would get one goal back just after the second half began to make it 3-1, but that’s as close as things got. Newcastle would hold things at that and the comfortable 3-1 victory.

Even with the win Newcastle still sit in 6^th. (Apparently my English teams don’t move much in their respective league tables.) The Toon have caught up quite well in points to 5^th place Chelsea however. They are now even with them in points, but sit behind them in standing as they are 13 goals behind in goal differential.

Yellow Tuesdays

Oxford United, as a League 2 club, often plays midweek matches which as I’ve said before is a nice change of pace to the constant pattern of weekend fixtures. Unfortunately, I’m of course at work during these midweek matches so I’m not able to follow the action as much as I would like. Still, at least work is a better excuse then the “just too busy” excuse from this past weekend.

Oxford played against AFC Wimbledon, a bottom half of the table team, so the Yellows were definitely playing for a win. Reading various match reports, Oxford threatened right of the gate with a handful of corner kicks, but nothing threatened goal. Other than that, the first half seemed lackluster. Luckily it didn’t take too long in the second half for Oxford to get going. Dean Morgan, who signed on loan earlier this month, scored in the 57^th minute for Oxford. After going up 1-0, the Yellows just defended and goalkeeper Ryan Clarke did well too, holding on to a 1-0 shutout win.

Yes, they yet again are still in 7^th in the league table, but are a bit better of standing in points after beating Wimbledon. They are now three points above 8^th – which is now Crewe Alexandra – and are only three points shy of 6^th – Cheltenham Town. Looking up, one could also say that Oxford is in a good position to catch Cheltenham (on points anyway) as Oxford has only played 37 matches, while Cheltenham has played 38.

Just the Facts Ma'am

I’m behind in posting (in fact, two matches behind for Oxford) so this is going to be a very abbreviated post from this past weekend’s action. Besides being behind, I really didn’t follow any of the matches on Saturday or Sunday morning as I was too busy doing other things. I feel ashamed of myself that I’m using “too busy” as an excuse not to watch soccer, but that’s the truth… and the truth hurts sometimes.

FC Nurnberg vs. Wolfsburg – This match looked to be a good even match as Nurnberg were sitting in 9^th, with Wolfsburg in 10^th pre match. Der Club were downed by Wolfsburg 2-1 earlier in the season but I was hoping they would capitalize on their recent form, get a win, and move up some in the table. Unfortunately this weekend’s result would actually be worse. Nurnberg would lose 3-1 to Wolfsburg. They only fall down to 10^th with the loss, but are falling closer to relegation again on points. They now are only six points up from the playoff relegation spot in 16^th.

Nurnberg play 8^th place Stuttgart this Saturday who, like Wolfsburg, could be a tricky match. I’m hoping they can pull out a win though before next weekend’s huge derby test against Bayern Munich.

Oxford United vs. Rotherham United – Oxford United lined up against Rotherham who were just a few spots behind them in the league table and chasing them for that final promotion playoff spot. The first half of the match was mostly without much action, but Oxford’s Scott Rendell changed that scoring in the first half’s stoppage time. After the break, Asa Hall would continue the scoring, putting the Yellows up 2-0 in the 52^nd minute. It looked like Oxford keeper Ryan Clarke would get the clean sheet (aka a shut out) but Rotherham were given a penalty after an Oxford foul in the box. They converted the penalty, but the game was still a 2-1 victory for Oxford. As has been the pattern, Oxford remain in 7^th place.

Newcastle United vs. Norwich City – Where I at least glanced at the other two games to check on scores when I could, I never even checked in on Newcastle’s match against Norwich. Not that I should’ve taken a victory for granted against Norwich, who sit roughly mid-table, but frankly I did. Luckily my Magpies didn’t disappoint. In only the 11^th minute, January signing Papiss Demba Cisse knocked a cross from Jonas Gutierrez past Norwich’s keeper to go up 1-0. It would’ve been nice to see more goals on top of that, but instead the Toon – and especially goalkeeper Tim Krul – managed to just simply keep Norwich from scoring. Although it was a simple 1-0 win, it was a much needed win as Newcastle had been winless in their last four matches. Their last win before this was against Aston Villa back on February 5^th. Although Newcastle still sit 6^th in the league, the inch closer to Chelsea in 5^th, keeping their hopes of European cup football alive for next year.