Sheffield Wednesday boss Darren Moore left wondering what could have been after missed opportunities at Oxford United
League One promotion-chasers Wednesday are now six games without a win after the 1-1 draw. Barry Bannan scored a superb opener before Akin Famewo’s foul on Marcus Browne led to Cameron Brannagan’s equaliser.
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Hide Ad“I didn’t think it was a penalty from where I was,” Moore said. “If anything it was Akin Famewo who was being impinged.
“I thought we did enough to win the game. The deciding factor for us was at the start of the second half, two saves Oxford’s goalkeeper (Simon Eastwood) made from Mallik Wilks and Dennis Adeniran.
"Had one of those gone in I think it would have been too much for Oxford to get back into it.
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Hide Ad“Obviously at 1-0 they feel they’re still in the game and you’re always sceptical because it only takes a second to score a goal. And the decision went against us.
“We ended up running out of steam. And they changed their system and went back to a five (at the back) and that just cancelled the game out. Both teams matched up shapes and cancelled each other out.”
The Owls, who were top of League One at the start of the day, dropped to third behind Plymouth Argyle and Ipswich Town, who both enjoyed wins.
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Hide AdBannon put Wednesday ahead with a brilliant curling effort from the edge of the box after 35 minutes.
But Browne was impeded by Famewo as both went for the ball in the box 20 minutes from time and referee Rebecca Welch pointed to the spot.
It gave Oxford a lifeline and Brannagan slammed in the penalty to give the Us a vital point in their bid to avoid the drop.
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Hide AdManning said: “Cam has a cool head, nothing fazes him. I couldn’t feel more confident with him taking the penalty at that stage.”
Oxford United: Eastwood, Long, Moore (Negru 77), Findlay, Brown, McGuane, Brannagan, Murphy (Fleming 78), Browne (Smyth 90), Wildschut (O'Donkor 46), Joseph. Unused substitutes: Smith, McGinty, Goodrham.
Sheffield Wednesday: Stockdale, Flint, Famewo, James, Palmer, Adeniran (Iorfa 84), Vaulks, Bannan, Johnson, Wilks (Dele-Bashiru 72), Gregory. Unused substitutes: Brown, Bakinson, Shipston, Dawson, Durrant.
Referee: Rebecca Welch (Washington).