Oxford United let a blistering start fade away as Derby County hit back to win an astonising game 3-2 at the Kassam Stadium this evening.
Two goals up after 13 minutes through Cameron Brannagan's penalty and free kick, United committed the cardinal sin of conceding on the stroke of half time when Craig Forsyth gave the Rams hope before a Liam Thompson header and a Eiran Cashin goal after 87 minutes completed the comeback in the second half.
Des Buckingham had asked for a fast start but even he couldn't have believed how his team started.
The pre-match pyro had barely cooled before his side were two goals up. In the first minute Mark Harris chased a long ball, Derby keeper Joe Wildsmith charged off his line and brought him down and Brannagan rolled home the penalty to make it 1-0 with barely two minutes on the clock.
Deadly from 12 yards, Brannagan added ten more yards ten minutes later and found the same corner with a magnificent free kick that flew over the wall and beat Wildsmith’s despairing dive. Seven for the season for the talisman, 49 in total and a two-goal lead in front of a roaring, sell-out crowd.
The in-form Rams kept falling into the trap of conceding set plays around their box. Wildsmith clung on to another Brannagan piledriver after 24 minutes and had that gone in they were beaten. Instead that became the game's turning point and the visitors started to come into the game.
Cashin nodded a dipping effort onto the bar as they began to threaten and as the clock ticked into an additional minute beyond the time added on they won a corner that was flicked on and Forsyth volleyed home at the back post to ensure that it was very much game on in the second half.
Predictably it was the visitors who flew out of the blocks this time, United having to defend well and defensive duo Elliott Moore and Ciaron Brown working overtime as more and more balls came their way inside their own penalty area.
United tried everything from 4-3-3 to wing-backs as they tried to stem the flow. There was a let off after 66 minutes when Tom Barkhuizen knocked the ball over an empty goal, followed by a good save from Beadle to deny Tyreece John-Jules. United had a half chance when sub James Henry planted his shot too close to Wildsmith after Joe Bennett had led the counter, but on 81 Thompson ghosted into the six-yard box to give Beadle no chance and then five minutes later Cashin completed the comeback with a close-range goal that finally broke United's resistance.
The biggest crowd of the season roared United forward for one final thrust but it just wasn't to be as tired legs took their toll.
Defeat to end 2023. Time to start 2024 on the front foot, and stay on it, at Charlton next time out.
Att: 11,219 including 1,497 away
Polythene UK Fifty/50 winning number 111600 wins £1,154
Report by Chris Williams, pictures Steve Daniels, Steve Edmunds, RexShutterstock and JasonPix. Stats by OPTA