Luke Harris fires United into the lead (Photo: Steve Daniels)

I think it’s reasonable to assume that before the game most Oxford fans would have been happy with a point. After all, United were in poor form and Middlesbrough were second in the Championship and, despite being managerless, appeared to be on a decent run.

Therefore, at the end of the game, I wasn’t upset with the point. It was thoroughly deserved and, had Boro keeper Sol Brynn been a bit slower to recover after saving Filip Krastev’s late dive, Mark Harris could well have been in to nick the rebound (not that he’d have scored it, mind).

The day started in typical Winter’s fashion: wet, windy and miserable. As a fairweather cyclist, I left the bike at home and nabbed a lift from Mrs Boris to the Bird for a pre-match reunion with people who pretend I’m their friend. Forgetting it’s a cash-only pub, I had to wait meekly before someone offered to buy me a Red Stripe (thanks Andy).

Because of the weather, everyone piled inside the pub apart from a few foolhardy smokers, who braved pneumonia along with the cancer hazards, standing outside in the rain. This meant that, upon arrival, first my glasses steamed up and, second, it was virtually impossible to move from one bit of the pub to another.

Leaving the comfort of the bar about 20 minutes before kick off, it was as a drowned rat that I made my way into the East Stand, where my glasses again steamed up. Think I might have to revert to contacts if this keeps happening. Having eaten lunch before leaving home, I decided to forego my usual Ruby Murray pasty and sat in my seat just as the teams came out.

There was quite a lot to like about the way Oxford started the game. Some neat passing, looking to get the ball forward, and simultaneously looking tight at the back against a Boro side that looked to overload the wide areas with pacy wingers.

Jack Currie looked reasonably comfortable on the left, aided by the recalled from the cold Tyler Goodhram and the always-lively Cameron Brannagan and covered by Ciaron Brown. On the right, Sam Long wasn’t quite in his comfort zone and got beaten for pace on a few occasions, not helped particularly by Przsemysłav Płacheta, although his compatriot Michał Helik was always there to cover.

So when United took the lead in the 28th minute, it was not against the run of play, although it did come from Oxford’s first meaningful attack. Brannagan played one of his trademark long passes, switching the play and finding Currie in plenty of space and high up the pitch. His control was perfect as was his pass to find the onrushing Luke Harris, who fired first time past Brynn for his first Oxford goal on his first start for the club.

It was a very well-worked goal. A sweeping move from back to front and right to left and finished with aplomb. It’s refreshing to see this season that United have added quality goals from open play to their ability to score from set pieces last season and it augurs well.

The Middlesbrough reaction was slow to come. They did end the first half on top, and the Oxford defence was forced into a couple of last-ditch blocks, but generally, for all their quality out wide, their crossing was pretty woeful and they lacked a proper cutting edge up front.

Oxford suffered a real blow just before half time, when Brannagan went to ground holding his leg. After some treatment he gingerly left the field to be replaced by Will Vaulks. Brannagan is the beating heart of this side and if his injury is a lengthy one, it could spell trouble for the U’s. Not simply because of the lack of numbers for midfield cover in a particularly threadbare area of the squad, but also for what he brings to the side in terms both of creativity and drive. Let’s hope it’s nothing too serious.

Brannagan’s absence was definitely felt in the second half, and you have to wonder if the equaliser would have been conceded if he had still been on the pitch. As it was, Aidan Morris was allowed to saunter unimpeded across the United back line before laying off the ball to Callum Brittain. He smashed the ball into the mix where Morgan Whittaker got in front of Brown to prod the ball home.

In terms of match action, that was pretty much it for the rest of the game, a couple of shots from distance from both sides not threatening either keeper until Krastev’s late strike. Boro had most of the possession, but United, buoyed by a triple attack-minded substitution, never looked like throwing in the towel and were in with a shout throughout.

Should Oxford have done better? It would be harsh to say that, especially with the blow of Brannagan’s injury. They should perhaps have defended better to prevent the equaliser, with no one putting in a challenge on Morris, and maybe the substitutions could have been five or ten minutes earlier, but considering the teams’ relative positions and squad strength, I think a draw was a perfectly acceptable result and, as said above, one that I think most fans would have taken before the game.

With another two games to come this week, at Norwich City on Tuesday and at home to Ipswich Town on Friday, there will inevitably some changes to the line up, with presumably one enforced by Brannagan’s absence (nothing has been said officially, but I very much doubt that he will be risked at Carrow Road, even if it’s not as bad as it looked).

All in all, though, it wasn’t a disastrous start to the week.