Gary Rowett reveals the question that led to ‘quality’ Oxford winner against Ipswich

Gary Rowett reveals the question that led to ‘quality’ Oxford winner against Ipswich

Gary Rowett reveals decisive moment as Oxford beat Ipswich

Gary Rowett has revealed that moment that Oxford United turned the game in their favour during their huge 2-1 win over Ipswich Town.

Przemyslaw Placheta’s brilliant winner at the Kassam saw the U’s climb out of the bottom three just two days after dropping into it in the first Championship match of the weekend.

Mark Harris had opened the scoring in the first half before Leif Davis levelled the playing field early in the second.

“I was really disappointed with the goal we conceded,” Rowett admitted.

“At that moment then, there’s a real question for the players – do they sit in and just hang on to a point, or do we show a little bit of quality, ambition and character and make changes not only off the bench but also change the way that we’re playing.

“I thought we stepped up really well. I thought for 10, 15 minutes we were the better team after that and actually start to show a little bit more energy and thankfully we got the goal to show for it.”

After two 1-1 draws earlier in the week to varied opposition in high-flying Middlesbrough and struggling Norwich City, Friday night’s victory was a huge statement in the league’s race for survival.

“I thought it was a big effort, big performance,” the U’s boss continued.


“To win the match, I thought it was a big, big evening for us.

“We needed that a little bit having dropped into the bottom three.”

Despite a decent showing against Boro last weekend, the Yellows were underwhelming for most of their match up with the Canaries in midweek, a draw seen by most as a chance missed against the second worst side in the league.

The results, couple with Sheffield United’s win over Portsmouth last Wednesday, saw Rowett’s men fall into the relegation places with some fans questioning the 51-year-old’s methods.

READ MORE: Placheta goal seals huge win for Oxford United vs Ipswich

“People’s opinion online isn’t really of any interest to me.

“When you slip into the bottom three and you haven’t won as many games as you’d like, of course people are going to be critical and I understand it.

“I was the first one a couple of weeks ago to say that I’m not happy where we are and in this division, if you don’t win games, you leave yourself open to criticism or to not staying in your job.”

Prior to the rest of the Championship fixtures kicking off, the U’s climbed to 19th in the table with the win over Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich their first in six games.

After three games in just six days, United now have an extended week without a game before travelling to Swansea City next Saturday.