Oxford Utd Vs West Brom: Oxford prevail 2-1 as Morrison urges courage

In a crucial relegation clash, oxford utd vs west brom ended 2-1 in favour of Oxford United, a result that intensifies the fight at the bottom of the Sky Bet Championship. The win gives Oxford hope of staying in the second tier while West Brom confront continued away-day struggles and recent managerial change.

Key moments that decided the game at the Kassam Stadium

Stanley Mills put Oxford ahead when he headed home Jamie Donley's corner from six yards, finishing a move that produced Oxford's first home goal since Boxing Day and ended a club-record run of five home matches without a goal. Will Lankshear then rose to head in Cameron Brannagan's floated free-kick, a strike that was Lankshear's first league goal since New Year's Day and set a deserved 2-0 lead after 26 minutes.

Oxford reaction and late scares in oxford utd vs west brom

Oliver Bostock, introduced as a substitute for West Brom, cut the deficit when his shot from the edge of the box took a big deflection off Cameron Brannagan and flew past Jamie Cumming, leaving the Oxford keeper stranded. Krystian Bielik then missed a headed chance from Alex Mowatt's free kick with six minutes to go, while Aidomo Emakhu snatched at a later opportunity that might have put the game beyond doubt.

Managerial shifts and James Morrison's message to his squad

West Brom sacked Eric Ramsay after nine games in charge following Tuesday's 1-1 with Charlton Athletic, and James Morrison stepped up to take over first-team affairs. Morrison, 39, has been unbeaten in three games when taking charge — drawing with Cardiff City, beating Luton Town at the end of the 2024/25 term and guiding his side to a penalty shootout triumph over Swansea City in the Emirates FA Cup in January.

Morrison urged his players to be "courageous" with and without the ball and to show "personality" and "quality". He said the group had "two good days" of preparation, stressed the need for more crosses and more shots, and repeated that the priority was to be clinical because the game is about fine margins. He thanked supporters for their backing and said he wanted the team to give them something to cheer about.

Injuries, availability and squad news ahead of the clash

Oxford entered the match with several absentees and doubts: Brian De Keersmaecker will miss the rest of the season after deciding to undergo surgery on a shoulder injury that had kept him out since the win at Leicester City in January. Jamie McDonnell and Brodie Spencer remained doubts after scans on respective ankle injuries suffered the previous weekend. Jamie Donley had been an absentee on Wednesday night but was in line to return to the squad in the next week. Unavailable for Oxford were Tyler Goodrham, Brian De Keersmaecker and Greg Leigh.

West Brom also had fitness concerns: centre-half Chris Mepham remained out with a hamstring injury suffered just over two weeks earlier, and Karlan Grant was also absent with the same issue. The Baggies listed Chris Mepham, Tammer Bany, Karlan Grant and Joshua Griffiths as unavailable.

Wider implications: league positions, form and fan arrangements

The result leaves West Brom a point above the drop zone with their winless run stretched to 11 league games, while Oxford's first victory in seven Championship matches moved them three points off West Brom and two points off 22nd-placed Leicester City; Leicester had lost 2-0 at home to Norwich City in the lunchtime kick-off. West Brom's 13th away loss of the season is the most in the Championship, and they have not won away from home since the start of October.

The fixture was played at the Kassam Stadium with a scheduled kick-off of Saturday 28 February, 3: 00pm. Travel arrangements for home supporters were affected by the A34/A4130 Milton Interchange closure: one OX2 football special bus was to start from Steventon and the other from Didcot, diverted Milton Park and then into Milton Village to Drayton. Because of heavy traffic from Didcot to Drayton, the OX2 was to pick up at all the Didcot stops 30 minutes earlier than normal, with both OX2 buses expected to pick up in Drayton at the usual times for a 3pm kick-off. Fans wishing to board at Milton Heights were advised to head to Steventon, and those wanting to get off at Steventon on the return journey were reminded to ensure they boarded the correct OX2. The Milton interchange closure was set to impact supporters from Didcot, Milton, East Hendred, Wantage, Grove and surrounding villages who drive to use the junction to access the A34 for the stadium.

An alternative for fans in the Wantage and Grove area was the OX1 Football Special bus, starting in Charlton and picking up in Wantage, Grove, East Hanney, Marcham and Abingdon. The club warned that the PDF timetable available was out of date and that fans needed to insert the fixture date to access the correct pick-up times.

Head-to-head background and recent meetings between the clubs

The first meeting between the two sides this season finished 2-1 at The Hawthorns, where Will Lankshear had given Oxford the lead with around half an hour remaining before an own goal and a strike from Aune Heggebo turned the game in favour of the hosts. The last clash at the Kassam Stadium had come in October 2024, when a stoppage-time goal from Dane Scarlett rescued a point for the home side.

Overall, the two sides had met 26 times since 1973, with Oxford recording five wins and eight draws. Oxford's most recent victory in the fixture dated back to 1998, when Malcolm Shotton's side won 3-0 with goals from Joey Beauchamp, Paul Powell and Simon Marsh.