Oxford United

Oxford United striker Will Lankshear said he was delighted to end his recent goal drought in the 2-1 win over West Bromwich Albion.

The 20-year-old had gone eight Championship games without a goal but scored to help the U's to a first league win since 24 January.

"I've been really disappointed, and there's been a bit of a question mark around me," the Tottenham Hotspur loanee told BBC Radio Oxford.

"Maybe the goals have not been coming in and so it's definitely something that I need to get into my game.

"I'm just really, really pleased I got the goal because it's been killing me, honestly."

Victory over relegation rivals West Brom was just Oxford's seventh of the season and moved them to within three points of safety.

Lankshear said the players are "giving absolutely everything" to stay up, but he has been "frustrated for the fans who deserve so much more in terms of the results".

"This is the start, this is just one game, so let's keep it going and, hopefully, the fans have a lot more to be excited about," he added.

"They came in numbers and really got behind the side, which was massive for us, and we're going to really need them for the next 11 games.

"It really showed on the players - the fight and the spirit we showed. I think that was driven by the fans.

"So, we're really thankful for them and they've been amazing with us so far."

Image source, Getty Images

Oxford United head coach Matt Bloomfield says his side's 2-1 win over fellow strugglers West Bromwich Albion was a "big day" for the club.

The victory was Oxford's first in seven Championship matches and Bloomfield's first at home since taking over the club in early January.

Oxford moved three points off West Brom and two off 22nd-placed Leicester City after the win.

"It's really important that we got that first home win," he told BBC Radio Oxford.

"It's really important that we give our supporters something to cheer about, be proud of their team about and something that we can really get our teeth stuck into.

"Today did feel like a big day, it was only three points, but it felt like it was a big day for us and I'm so proud to be stood here as the winning manager.

"If you look at last season the survival was built on set-piece goals and we need to do better at that - we need to do better at goals in general. But set-pieces are a great threat for us, so really pleased that we got two from that today."

Image source, Coventry City FC

You might not hear the old terrace refrain of 'you're not fit to wear the shirt' as often as you used to, but it still has a better ring than 'the shirt's not fit for you to wear'.

Championship leaders Coventry City launched a new collection on Friday, proudly taking inspiration from a kit widely dubbed the 'Worst of All Time'.

A take on the club's infamous brown change strip worn away from Highfield Road from 1978 to 1981, the modern reinvention features what the club calls "a deeper chocolate plum colour with sky blue elements".

Many would suggest it sounds tastier than it looks.

But it's got us thinking... what are actually the worst EFL kits of all time? Let us know which of your club's shirts is hiding in the back of the wardrobe, or even if they were too ugly for you to even part money for them.

We'll collate a list of the biggest eyesores and will give you the chance to vote on the ghastliest of all next week.

Click here to let us know your suggestion, and you can even attach a picture if you really want to convey the horror.

"It's the end of February and it feels like we are entering last-chance saloon already and that isn't a great position to be in.

"The team is still a little bit short. The next game is a big one. There is still time and Matt Bloomfield has a history, once he gets a bit of momentum, he builds on that and gets that togetherness. I don't think it's done and dusted just yet.

"If you look at the table it's not unsalvageable. Not having Brian De Keersmaecker for the rest of the season is a disaster and to have him and Jamie Donley out is really damaging."

George Elek, former U's defender Ben Purkiss and BBC Radio Oxford's Jerome Sale join Robyn Cowan as The Dub podcast reflects on the defeat to Stoke, a major milestone on the stadium situation and a big injury blow and look ahead to a huge game to come on Saturday at home to West Brom.

Image source, Opta

Oxford United will seek to climb towards safety and drag West Bromwich Albion deeper into the mire when the two meet at the Kassam on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

Albion would go into the game in the bottom-three should Leicester pick up a point against Norwich at lunchtime, having been pegged back by Charlton to draw 1-1 at the Hawthorns on Tuesday, which ended Eric Ramsay's winless eight-match reign as head coach after just 44 days.

The U's battled to a point at Middlesbrough last Saturday but a 2-1 defeat at Stoke on Wednesday left them six points adrift of the Baggies in 23rd and they have not scored a goal at home since Boxing Day, a run of six scoreless games in all competitions.

• Oxford are unbeaten in their past five home league games against West Brom (W3 D2), though their 1-1 draw last season is the only time they've hosted them this century.

• Following their 2-1 win in November, West Brom are looking to complete the league double over Oxford for the first time since 1990/91.

• Oxford have failed to score in each of their past five Championship home games, their longest run without a home goal in their league history.

• West Brom are winless in their past 13 away league games (D2 L11), while no side has lost more Championship away games this term than the Baggies (12).

• Only bottom side Sheffield Wednesday (11) have failed to score in more different Championship home games this season than Oxford (8).

Image source, Getty Images

Oxford United midfielder Brian De Keersmaecker is likely to miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery.

The 25-year-old has had a procedure on a shoulder injury, which has kept him out since the U's victory over Leicester City in January.

De Keersmaecker joined Oxford in the summer from Dutch side Heracles Almelo and has since gone on to make 28 appearances across all competitions this season, scoring two goals and registering five assists.

U's boss Matt Bloomfield confirmed the midfielder had undergone the operation on Wednesday.

"We'd been waiting for his return and he had been training," Bloomfield told BBC Radio Oxford after the loss at Stoke.

"But he's decided to have the operation on his shoulder and we wish him a speedy recovery, I'd be very surprised to see him on a pitch this season.

"The club invested heavily in Brian last summer and he was a big signing for the football club, we thought he could recover and play and it's really frustrating that he won't."

Oxford are 23rd in the Championship table and six points from the safety line.

Oxford United head coach Matt Bloomfield spoke to BBC Radio Oxford following their 2-1 defeat at Stoke.

"Two soft goals from our point of view, I didn't think we hit the same levels as we did on Saturday at Middlesbrough," he said.

"I'd have liked us to be more solid out of possession, but we found our way back into the game, hit the bar, and we could be talking about a different result right now.

"We're playing against top opposition every week and our boys have been great recently - our performance levels have been very good.

"But we have to be at our best every week, we hit those levels at times tonight, but at times I felt our shape was a little bit open for what we wanted, especially away from home.

"There's certainly things we can go after again."

Image source, Getty Images

Oxford United have triggered an option to sign striker Nik Prelec on a permanent basis.

Prelec, 24, has been on loan from Italian club Cagliari this season, scoring one goal in 19 Championship appearances.

The club's head of football Ed Waldron says there is "more to come" from Prelec.

"This is a proactive piece of business as we secure Nik on a permanent deal," he said.

"We believe there is more to come from him in an Oxford United shirt. He has shown moments of quality so far but has been unable to reach his full potential due to injury.

"We're hopeful he'll return to the pitch very soon and make a strong contribution for the club this season and beyond."

Oxford are currently 23rd in the Championship, six points adrift of safety.

Stoke City and Oxford United will aim to bolster their respective positions when they meet at the Bet365 Stadium on Wednesday night (20:00 GMT).

For the Potters, the hope will be to regain their momentum after a winless run of seven league games (D4 L3) leaves them down in 16th place and seven points adrift of the play-off places they once occupied.

But for the U's, things may be even more worrying. Their winless run of five games (D2 L3) has them five points away from safety in the bottom three.

• Following their 3-0 win in November, Stoke are looking to complete the league double over Oxford United for the first time.

• Oxford haven't scored more than once in any of their last six league games against Stoke, netting just three goals in total (W1 D3 L2).

• Stoke have lost half of their midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) league games this season (W3 D1 L4), though one of their victories was in the reverse fixture against Oxford.

• Oxford are winless in their last 13 midweek (Tues, Weds, Thurs) league games (D5 L8), netting just six goals in this run.

• Stoke boss Mark Robins has lost just one of his six league meetings with Oxford (W3 D2), going down 1-0 at home while at Coventry in March 2019.

Nathan Albon
5 Live Sport reporter at the Riverside

Image source, Getty Images

As the gulls swooped around the Riverside looking for tasty morsels… there were no such delights for Middlesbrough today.

Real sense of opportunity missed as second from top played second from bottom.

Oxford clung on at times, but came with a clear gameplan. They came on the team bus, and they parked that bus… Blocks, tackles, clearances, the lot.

And they were a threat on the break - twice hitting the woodwork through Stanley Mills and Myles Peart-Harris in the first half.

So Oxford drag themselves closer to safety, but they're still five points adrift.

And Middlesbrough, who were two points clear before losing to Coventry on Monday, now find themselves winless in two and three points behind the leaders

Oxford United boss Matt Bloomfield felt his side might have had more to show for their efforts after twice hitting the woodwork in their goalless draw at promotion-chasing Middlesbrough.

The U's followed up a 0-0 draw at leaders Coventry earlier this month with another spirited display to earn a share of the spoils against one of the division's best sides.

Bloomfield told BBC Radio Oxford: "I thought we were better today than at Coventry. It's similar, but different. I thought we were excellent first half, had the two best chances of the half.

"I'll be honest with you, at Coventry I was grateful for the point. Today, I was a bit disappointed that we haven't got ourselves ahead [by] one, maybe even two, in the game.

"I think Middlesbrough are as good as it gets in the league. They are brilliant, the way they move the ball, some of the players they have got are fantastic. They are going to have spells of chances and we had to maybe ride our luck at times.

"I'm actually thinking that was a different performance to Coventry because we imposed ourselves on the game today, especially in the first half.

"That's two good performances in a row and two good performances where we can go after more."

Oxford, who moved to within five points of safety following Saturday's draw at the Riverside, travel to Stoke on Tuesday.

Middlesbrough had their six-game winning streak in the Championship ended by Coventry City on Monday night - a result which meant the Sky Blues returned to the top of the table and Boro dropped to second place.

Oxford United are without a win in their past four games, including three defeats, and are six points adrift of safety with 14 games remaining.

• Middlesbrough are unbeaten in their past 11 league games against Oxford (W8 D3), with their last defeat against them coming in February 1990 (1-3) under Bruce Rioch.

• Oxford have lost 11 of their 14 away league matches against Middlesbrough (W2 D1), scoring just nine goals across the 14 matches (0.6 per game).

• Middlesbrough have won their past three home league matches without conceding a goal – they last won and kept a clean sheet in four straight league games at the Riverside between April and September 2018 (5), under Tony Pulis.

• Only Sheffield Wednesday (1) have scored fewer Championship goals in 2026 than Oxford (4). However, all four of those have been netted in away games, only failing to score in one of their four matches on the road since the turn of the year.

• Middlesbrough are the only side yet to drop a point from a winning position in the Championship this season, going on to win all 18 games when taking the lead.

Image source, EFL

Puma's Rainbow ball will return to the English Football League as part of an on-going campaign against discrimination and homophobia.

The special edition rainbow ball was introduced in 2024 to mark LGBTQ+ History Month and will be used at every EFL game from 20 February until 1 March.

Manufacturers Puma will make a donation to Football v Homophobia for every goal scored with their rainbow ball across the Championship, League One and League Two.

The donations will help support education against homophobia and promote inclusion across the season.

The EFL have released a video, external to coincide with the campaign which features a Preston North End fan who was charged with a hate crime following homophobic chanting during an FA Cup fixture against Chelsea.

The rainbow ball will also feature in EFL partner EA Sports' FC 26 video game.

"The rainbow ball is a powerful symbol of the values we uphold across the EFL all season long," EFL chief executive officer Trevor Birch said.

"It not only reflects our longstanding commitment to ensuring the League is representative of all its diverse communities, but also reminds us that we all have a role to play in creating an environment in which everyone feels they truly belong."

"It's five games at home now under the new manager where we haven't scored a goal, which is frustrating, but chalk and cheese in terms of the performances, the way that we move the ball, the threat that we posed, the defensive unit.

"Credit to the players for standing up having come through a very low moment [against Norwich]."

The Dub podcast reflects on a tough week for the U's after a disheartening defeat by Norwich City in the Championship and an unlucky loss to Premier League Sunderland in the FA Cup fourth round, before discussing what effect Matt Bloomfield's tactical decisions are having and Oxford's position at this stage of the season.

Jason Mohammed is joined by Paul Robinson and Leon Osman to bring all you the action and talking points from Sunday's FA Cup ties.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

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• Oxford United 0-1 Sunderland