Cameron Brannagan scores United’s previous penalty at Peterborough

This is an article I thought I’d best write before Oxford’s next game, as there is always the possibility that the next match will render these musings irrelevent.

Eighth May 2024 was the last time that the U’s were awarded a penalty kick. Over 17 months ago. It seems a long time for a side to go without being given the chance to score from 12 yards. Sure, other sides have occasionally had to wait longer than that for a penalty, but it’s rare to go the course of a whole season without getting at least one.

United certainly had their fair share of spot kicks in the 2023/24 season. The one against Peterborough, awarded for a handball against Josh Knight from a Brannagan free kick, was the 11th penalty converted by the side’s penalty specialist over the course of the campaign. In that season, though, United had players who would arrive at pace into the opposition’s area – notably Josh Murphy – who could force defenders into late and costly challenges.

To call Brannagan a specialist is no exaggeration. He is the man who famously set an English league record by scoring four in one game as the U’s won 7-2 at Gillingham in the sides’ last meeting in January 2022. His first, in the first half, put Oxford 2-0 up as he planted the ball to Pontus Dahlberg’s left, with the keeper diving the other way. The three second-half strikes were all to Dahlberg’s right, with the keeper again making the wrong decision each time.

Brannagan is the latest of a number of players for whom scoring penalties was a key attribute. Andy Crosby was another, as were Paul Moody, Jim Magilton and Bobby McDonald. Only Crosby had a 100 per cent record while with the Yellows.

Andy Crosby converts against Swansea in August 2003

Why has the club had to wait so long for another opportunity from the spot? One reason, alluded to above, is that the side is no longer set up for players, particularly wide men, to race into the area at speed and take players on. In the Championship, Oxford’s approach play has been a lot slower and more measured, working the ball into possible shooting positions. Or relying on set pieces: free kicks, corners, or long throws.

That’s not to say that Oxford haven’t had a number of quite decent shouts for penalties since promotion. However, the perceived wisdom is that clubs fighting near the bottom don’t get the rub of the green, and this would appear to have been the case as referees wave away the players’ and fans’ appeals.

It is an unusual record but it’s unlikely to continue much longer. As stated at the top, in any given game there is always the possibility of a penalty being awarded, either a cast-iron one that cannot be denied, or a soft one that evens up the lack of a spot kick over the past almost year-and-a-half.

Whether Brannagan converts it is, of course, a different matter…

Bobby McDonald smashes home against Blackpool in the FA Cup in 1984