Oxford United were held by Bristol City at the Kassam Stadium this afternoon, despite taking the lead through Greg Leigh and the away side ending the game with nine men.
Joe Williams was shown a first half red card, and Greg Leigh opened the scoring in the second period, ubt for former Oxford man Mark Sykes to equalise.
In the 85th minute Ross McCrorie was also sent off for a second bookable offence, but it was too late for United to take advantage and in the end the Yellows had to settle for a point, extending the unbeaten run to nine games.
Gary Rowett made just one change to the side that drew at Stoke City last time out, with Mark Harris returning to the starting line-up and Tom Bradshaw among the substitutes.
United had a glorious opportunity in the eighth minute when Siriki Dembélé rode a couple of challenges in the Bristol area but his cross from the byline was too close to Max O'Leary, with Harris waiting in space on the edge of the six yard box.
Two minutes later, Ciaron Brown did what he does best to make a perfectly timed tackle on George Earthy to deny him a clear shot on goal after a Will Vaulks slip had allowed City to come forward.
On the quarter-hour mark, Harris was inches away from connecting with a driven Peter Kioso cross and six minutes later a flowing forward move ended with Harris backheeling a Rúben Rodrigues pass into the path of Przemysław Płacheta, but he couldn't keep his shot down.
The game turned hugely in Oxford's favour in the 21st minute, when referee Oli Langford deemed Williams' challenge on Vaulks to be dangerous and showed the Bristol man a red card.
United had been on top before Williams' dismissal, but afterwards Oxford were the only attacking force, restricting City to occasional forays forward. It was from one such attack in the second half that Bristol had their first real shot of the game as former United winger Sykes drew a flying save out of Jamie Cumming with a long-range effort.
The breakthrough came in the 58th minute when a Leigh cross from the left went straight in, leaving O'Leary stranded. There was no deflection, just a lot of movement on the ball.
The lead lasted just seven minutes and it was from a well-worked set piece after Michał Helik was adjudged to have fouled Sinclair Armstrong just outside the edge of the United area. The ball was played across to Sykes who smashed it from 18 yards into the roof of the net.
Bristol had a great chance to take the lead as Earthy broke free and, with no offside flag, he bore down on goal. But across came Cameron Brannagan to make a superb challenge to deny the West Ham loanee.
With five minutes to go, the visitors were reduced to nine men when McCrorie went in late on Brown and was shown a second yellow card, having previously been booked in just the third minute.
Another point in the Championship, but United will have been frustrated not to have made it five home wins in a row. On Tuesday United are back on the road with a trip to Burnley.
UNITED: Cumming, Brown, Vaulks (Matos 79), Płacheta, Brannagan, Harris (Bradshaw 88), Rodrigues (Goodrham 73), Leigh, Dembélé (Romeny 79), Kioso (ter Avest 73), Helik
Unused subs: Ingram, Long, Phillips, El Mizouni
Attendance: 11,430, including 1,499 away fans
Fifty/50 draw: Ticket number 35159 wins £1,387.50
Report: Martin Brodetsky; Photography: JasonPix, Steve Daniels, Steve Edmunds, Darrell Fisher
