For the first time this season, I decided to forego the pub on my way to the game. I’ve been doing Dry January (not totally successfully, it has to be admitted) and knew that if I hit a pub I would have had at least one beer, if not several, so after my lung-busting cycle up Rose Hill, I headed straight for the ground.

Making my way past the South Stand, I bumped into Luke McNally and Alex Gorrin, old friends from my time at the club. Two genuine nice guys, happy to stop and chat. They didn’t even mind Dan Freeman butting in to take a selfie!

Some genuinely nice guys (and Dan Freeman) Photo: Daniel Freeman, nicked without permission

I collected my Leicester ticket and made my way to the East Stand, where I noticed a definite change in the atmosphere. People were buoyant, excited for the game, and looking forward to seeing what the first match under Matt Bloomfield would be like, with new signings Myles Peart-Harris and Yunus Konak both starting, just to add to the anticipation.

The first half won’t go down in Oxford folklore. United’s three-man midfield stood up to any Bristolian attempts to drive through the centre, while fullbacks Jack Curry and Sam Long, aided by the midfielders, stopped the opposition using their width to any decent effect. And when City did get crosses into the box, usually from corners, Ciaron Brown and Michał Helik won everything in the air.

The closest that Bristol came to troubling Jamie Cumming were a shot from distance that deflected comfortably into the keeper’s arms and a Scott Twine free kick that sailed over the bar.

At the other end, though, Radek Vitek was similarly untested as the half was mainly fought in and around the halfway line. That’s fine; keep it tight in the first half and then let the handbrake off when attacking towards the Oxford fans in the second period.

And that’s largely what happened. With Will Vaulks replacing the yellow-carded Konak at the break, Cameron Brannagan and Brian De Keersmaecker seemed to have more licence to support Will Lankshear up top, while Peart-Harris and Stan Mills on the wing were similarly more involved.

The best patch of flowing football was concluded by a wicked cross from Mills that was almost met at the front post by Lankshear, although he was offside anyway so even if he had converted it would have been ruled out. But that chance alone lifted the crowd and gave the U’s the belief that the game was there to be won.

Mills himself was next to try his luck, his shot from an angle was beaten away by Vitek, with Peart-Harris returning the ball into the mix where it bobbled around before Vitek eventually claimed it.

And then came the best chance of all to seal the three points United deserved. Currie made a run down the left before clipping the ball over the Robins’ defence for Mills to run onto. He controlled the ball and had only Vitek to beat, but his shot was too close to the City goalie, who stuck out his leg to divert it wide.

So was that an anti-climactic result given the optimism in the lead up to the game? Not for me. There was enough evidence on this showing that, with a few of the promised additions to the squad, Oxford should be able to make a decent fist of survival, even if results elsewhere weren’t too friendly.

There was a renewed attacking intent to the side, while an improved defensive solidity made it hard for the visitors to break down the back line. That was United’s first clean sheet since the 1-0 win over Derby County on 18th October, a total of 16 games in all competitions. And, to be honest, City never looked like scoring.

Importantly, Oxford went toe to toe with the team that was in 10th place in the Championship and matched or even bettered them for large parts of the game. With games against similar mid-table sides coming up in the shape of QPR, Leicester, Birmingham, and Sheffield United before the trip to top-of-the-table Coventry City, this should imbue the team with the confidence necessary to pick up some valuable points in the fight for survival.

It was good to come away from the game and see lots of smiling faces. It certainly feels like the club has turned a corner and, if nothing else, the second half was at the very least entertaining. The key is to find something that eluded the side under Gary Rowett: consistency. Too often the team followed up a promising performance with a poor display, as evidenced by the lack of back-to-back wins so far this season.

This makes Tuesday’s game against QPR that much more significant. If the team continues their performance from the second half against Bristol City, we can hopefully look forward to a stronger second half of the season, which we will need in order to stay up.

The draw means the U’s have still yet to do the double over anyone in the Championship, with the next opportunity to do so being the trip to Southampton on 21st March. Hopefully by then, we’ll be looking down at more than just Sheffield Wednesday.

At least we can have a smidge of optimism going into Tuesday’s game, which is nice.

Games without a penalty: 79