Will Lankshear heads United’s second goal (Photo: Steve Daniels)

Well that was good, wasn’t it?

Maybe not the quality of football on display, and maybe not the sitting back and letting West Brom come at us in the second half leading to a few nervy moments, but the battling backs-against-the-wall, never-say-die, attitude that shows that this team hasn’t yet given up on Championship football. And the result, of course.

After getting off the bus at Rose Hill, I made my way to the Golden Ball with about an hour until kick off – no full buses this time around. A nice leisurely pint of a very agreeable Butcombe ale in a friendly pub that new landlords Dragan and Belma have turned into a really welcoming venue (not that it wasn’t welcoming before), and then a ten-minute stroll to the stadium, where there was a bit of a buzz about the place.

Maybe it was the beer, but everyone I spoke to ahead of the game seemed quite relaxed and even expectant. I guess it was a do-or-die match: defeat for United would leave them nine points behind the Baggies and almost certainly facing League One next season. Even a point wouldn’t have been much better. So the fans were up for the challenge – this was our time to shine.

Fresh in the knowledge that all three of the early kick-offs had gone Oxford’s way, with defeats for Blackburn, Leicester, and Portsmouth, it was clear that there was an opportunity to give ourselves a real chance of avoiding Sheffield Wednesday’s fate and engender some much-needed hope for survival.

There was a surprise in the starting line up, and it also took the communications team aback, as their initial graphic had Christ Makosso starting. This was changed shortly afterwards, with Michał Helik taking Makosso’s place. Apparently, the on-loan Luton centre-back was a bit late for the scheduled team meeting, so he was dropped. A brave decision under the circumstances but one that you can understand, given Helik’s availability. And, as it turned out, the Pole had an outstanding game, getting his head to everything that came his way, and maybe even playing his way into Friday’s starting line-up at Preston.

As the game started, it seemed like someone had forgotten to let the players know the script, as the side had to weather a 10-minute barrage of West Brom set pieces. Corner after corner and long throw after long throw were hurled into the Oxford penalty area, with Jamie Cumming forced to tip one effort over the bar and brave and solid defending dealing with the rest.

Gradually, the team managed to move themselves up the pitch and, after that initial pressure, the tide began to turn. It was helped to a large degree by referee Matthew Corlett, in charge of just his fourth Championship game and his first Oxford match. For the first time, we had an official that was prepared to award free kicks for shirt pulling and manhandling, something that Will Lankshear has had to deal with in almost every game, but this time the opposition weren’t allowed to get away with it.

It also helped that some of the club’s January signings are beginning to show why they were recruited, with Yunus Konak having his best game so far and Myles Peart-Harris always probing on the left. Jamie Donley, however, was the first to make his mark. On the quarter-hour mark, Stan Mills intercepted a poor pass from Charlie Taylor and advanced into the area before squaring the ball to Donley, whose shot from just outside the penalty area was deflected over. Donley’s corner was on the money and Mills headed powerfully past Max O’Leary to open the scoring.

United’s cause was then aided when the threatening Mikey Johnston had to go off with an injury, leaving the visitors even more toothless. It didn’t take long for the U’s to capitalise.

Albion again gave away the ball in midfield and Donley played in Lankshear, who was brought down by Taylor thirty yards from goal. Cameron Brannagan’s excellent free kick was met by Lankshear five yards out and his downward header – against the side where he was on loan last season – could only be palmed into his own net by O’Leary.

This was unheard of. Two goals at home, with less than half an hour on the clock? Surely shome mishtake? Before the free kick I had even turned to the bloke sat next to me and said “This is it: 2-0,” and he replied “Yes, we’re scoring this.” You’re welcome. Our celebratory hug was born from astonishment as much as joy.

Of course, this is Oxford, so we had to make life difficult for ourselves. A Baggies attack ended with the ball at the feet of Ollie Bostock, who had come on for Johnston about ten minutes earlier. Mills was slow to close him down and so he tried his luck with a pop from 20-odd yards. The ball was heading harmlessly toward Cumming when Brannagan stuck out his right foot; it hit his heel and deflected past the stranded goalkeeper to halve the deficit. A lucky goal, but it ably demonstrated the adage that if you shoot, you might score.

Bizarrely, that set back actually galvanized the crowd, and in the East Stand concourse at half time there was almost a defiant air among the fans, who didn’t let up on the chanting even as the second half was underway. Unusually for me, I bought myself a pint of John Smith during the interval, and it actually wasn’t too bad. It certainly helped ease any tension I might have felt.

The second half was played almost exclusively inside the Oxford half but, for all their possession, the visitors rarely looked that threatening and I can’t remember Cumming having a difficult save to make. He had to get down low to gather a Josh Maja header, but a free kick for a push on Helik would have been awarded had anything come from it.

West Brom’s most threatening move ended with Jayson Molumby playing in Jamal Jimoh-Aloba, whose cross was met by Aune Heggebo, but his back flick towards goal was an easy field for Cumming. Next, a free kick from former U Alex Mowatt was met by Kristian Bielik but his header went the wrong side of the post from an Albion point of view; it was the closest they had come to scoring an equaliser.

The final chance of the game actually went Oxford’s way. The ball reached Cameron Brannagan three yards outside the Baggies’ area. Normally he opts to shoot in these situations, but on this occasion there was a player between him and goal so he moved the ball left into the path of substitute Aidomo Emakhu, but his effort was straight at O’Leary, who nevertheless fumbled the ball.

And so, three potentially vital points in the U’s quest for survival. Will it be enough? Very possibly. Oxford are now just three points below the dotted line and with some favourable fixtures coming up. They are also clearly motivated and up for the fight, as is the fanbase, whereas at their two main rivals, West Brom and Leicester, the atmosphere is toxic and the players appear rather lost.

Of course, if West Brom get their next managerial appointment right, they might be able to turn things around, although Gary Rowett – the man to turn to in a crisis, you’d have thought – hasn’t had much joy at Leicester (yet).

It may well not be enough for Oxford, whose heart and desire is possibly compromised by a lack of attacking quality, but at least if the side do go down they’ll go down fighting. On to Deepdale on Friday and maybe the first back-to-back wins of the season? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

UTFO

PS: 89 games without a penalty. Can we get to triple figures? That would be the last game of the season, at Millwall. Wouldn’t it be great if they need a win to go up and we need a win to stay up and we win the game with a controversial last-minute penalty?