Karl Robinson relieved to see changes do the job
Posted Wednesday, August 15, 2018 by PA
Oxford boss Karl Robinson admitted he had left himself open after making eight changes for the Carabao Cup tie against Coventry.
But the players he brought in did him proud as the U’s beat their League One rivals 2-0 to reach the second round.
Marcus Browne opened the scoring with a thumping header on 39 minutes from James Henry’s cross.
And Gavin Whyte got Oxford’s second goal five minutes into the second half, with Henry again the provider.
Robinson was relieved to get the win after the first two league games had brought defeats.
He said: “To make so many changes we were open to people asking questions if we’d lost.
“We had four or five making their professional debuts or debuts for us so I’m really pleased for them.
“When I saw the team sheet and Coventry only making three changes it made me a bit fearful before the game, but my players stood up to be counted.
“They produced, and now they can enjoy it.
“And Marcus Browne was very good. He ran 40 yards to make a great tackle in front of me just 30 seconds before he scored. Had he not made that tackle he wouldn’t have scored.”
Robinson added: “I know how I want my teams to play – and we’ve brought some good players into the club over the summer.
“I know how good some of them are, we just need to believe in ourselves.
“We’ve played three games and had three different keepers – that must be some sort of record!”
Coventry boss Mark Robins admitted the Sky Blues were way below their best.
Robins said: “They were better than us, and we didn’t move the ball well enough.
“They did a lot of things better than us – they had two chances and took them, while we had two goals disallowed for offside. But I’ve got no complaints about the result.
“We just looked off it tonight, and not ready for that game, so I don’t want a repeat of that.
“They were sharper, a bit more streetwise and had more quality than us. They brushed us off a lot of times. We should be doing that to the opposition.
“Our defenders did OK for 30 minutes but then switched off.
“But it’s early days in the season.”
Coventry showed a bit of life late on when U’s keeper Jonathan Mitchell twice had to make decent saves. But the contest was effectively over by then.
Robins said: “The changes we made in the game made a bit of a difference but not enough.”
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