Liam Manning takes positives despite ‘two points dropped’

Posted Sunday, March 19, 2023 by PA

New Oxford boss Liam Manning said he would take the positives from his side’s draw at Morecambe.

Manning, in his first game in charge, was three minutes away from picking up a vital three points only to see Ash Hunter’s 87th-minute goal level Marcus Browne’s first-half opener.

After a shocking run of results which had seen the Us lose nine games out of the last 10, Manning said: “The good thing was that we stopped the rot.

“But there is no doubt that it does feel like two points dropped with them scoring so late in the game, which was disappointing after restricting them to very little in the game.

“I know there will be some positives to take from the game. There were some good things that we will look to build on and areas where we need to improve.

“We scored a good goal but we were a bit anxious in the second half and it all got a bit scrappy. I was looking for some intensity and focus and I got that and we now have two weeks to work on things before our next game.”

Oxford took the lead three minutes before the break when Yanic Wildschut broke into the Morecambe box down the left and produced a dangerous cross into the area which was turned home by Browne from close range.

Cameron Brannagan’s free-kick was cleared off the line by Farrend Rawson but Morecambe pushed in the second half. Oxford stood firm until substitute Hunter picked the perfect time to score his first of the season to earn a share of the spoils.

Morecambe boss Derek Adams praised his side’s determination to get something from the game.

He said: “It was a good point for us at the end.

“We went behind to a real sucker punch at the end of the first half which set us back but they kept on going and I was really proud of them for the way they kept at it and got the point.

“We changed personnel and we changed the system and we fought back and got a great goal through Ash Hunter, which showed how much fight we have in the squad.

“We could even have had a penalty after the goal for a foul on Caleb Watts, but we don’t get penalties and that always seems to be the way.”