Mark Harris wheels away in celebration at scoring the goal that counted (Photo: Steve Daniels)

And so the run of three consecutive home games comes to an end, garnering a total of seven points from the nine available. Not a bad little haul and it lifts United to third in the table and still with one or two games in hand on the teams around them.

It’s still very early in the season and so much can happen in the next six or so months, but it’s always nice to be in the mix at any stage. The caveats are that Oxford still have a thin squad and with the transfer embargo still in place that is unlikely to change; and… no, just that.

This win owed more to Aaron Ramsey’s tactics and United’s players being able to carry out his gameplan to perfection than to any perceived weakness on Stockport’s part. True, their incredibly high defensive line wasn’t set up to deal with Oxford’s pace in the transitions, but that was presumably something spotted by the analysis team ahead of the game.

The U’s even had the ball in the net after just 30 seconds, ruled out for offside against the man who dispatched it, Mark Harris. That set the tone for much of the first half, as Sparky was flagged off several times, some of them even correctly, as Oxford’s pace on the wings undid County’s pressing.

It was also what led to the game’s only goal, as Oxford played the ball out from the back through goalie Jamie Cumming, Ciaron Brown, Tyler Goodrham, and Cameron Brannagan. He slipped the ball to Jack Currie whose sublime pass sent Siriki Dembélé away down the left. His perfect cross was met by Harris who steered the ball past Ollie Whatmuff. Whatmuff? That muff.

Oxford created other chances, notably from a free kick that was passed to Sibley whose shot swerved massively in the air, bringing out a creditable save from the Stockport keeper. At the other end, Cumming had to be alert to dive to his left to paw away a Beno Andresson shot, having been wrong-footed by a deflection.

But that was about as much serious action as Cumming saw, with the U’s excellent back line soaking up most of the pressure before it got too dangerous. While the visitors may have had most of the first-half possession, it would have been United going in at the break feeling they should have had more than just a one-goal advantage.

The second half followed a similar pattern. Oxford content to let Stockport keep hold of the ball while looking to use the pace of Dembélé and Luka Lynch on the break. And again, it was the Yellows that created the better opportunities. Brannagan smashed in one free kick that had Whatmuff parrying and Gatlin O’Donkor somehow contrived to shoot over from a matter of inches, while at the other end the Yellow wall stood firm, with Cumming back to his best to keep out anything that did get past.

Some called this a ‘statement win’, and maybe it was, but what most concerned Oxford supporters was the lack of a statement from chairman Dusan Bogdanovic, who was due to meet with United’s supporters’ representatives on Wednesday evening but who withdrew from the meeting 24 hours earlier.

Whatever the reason for his no show (and no one knows because none was given) this was an appalling show of contempt for the Oxford fanbase. Speculation is rife that it’s because Oxford are about to be sold or, worse, that current owner Erick Thohir is on the verge of pulling the plug. I think the second scenario is unlikely, but while it remains a possibility it behooves OxVox to have a contingency plan in case.

The idea that new owners might be forthcoming isn’t a new rumour, and with the latest attempt by Friends of Stratfield Brake (difficult to write the word ‘Friends’ in this context without a wry smile) to delay things imminently about to fail, it’s possible that any new ownership (or new investors under the current ownership) will reveal themselves once that final hurdle is removed.

That possibly remains United’s best hope for a) the completion of the stadium, without which the club will have no home after the summer of 2028, and b) in the short term, the lifting of the transfer embargo ahead of the January transfer window. Should the embargo remain in place, it’s highly likely that further sanctions, such as a points deduction, will be imposed, so both the short-term and the long-term future of the club remains cloudy.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the women lost their 100 per cent record when a lively Real Bedford side held the U’s to a 2-2 draw, having gone ahead in just the fourth minute. Oxford rallied and equalised through a spectacular Holly Manders free kick and then took the lead when Riva Casley powered home a header from a corner. Unfortunately, the visitors equalised in first-half stoppage time and, despite almost constant pressure, the Yellows were unable to find a winner in the second period.

UTFO