Trip to Bristol Rovers provides a perfect opportunity for Oxford United to get back on their feet

“It’s not about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” The famous words of Sylvester Stallone in the 2006 film Rocky Balboa might just be the ideal rallying cry for Karl Robinson’s Oxford United ahead of their Tuesday night trip to Bristol Rovers.

After spending the last two months handing out bloody noses to practically every side in the bottom half of the League One table, Oxford were left flat on the canvas by Doncaster Rovers on Saturday.

Taylor Richards scored and assisted a goal in the first five minutes of the second half to give his side a lead that the U’s could not recover from.

The 3-2 defeat brought a nine-game club-record winning run to an end, increasing the gap between the U’s and the Play-Off places to six points. It was a game of very few chances but three defensive lapses meant Sam Long’s first-half equaliser and Olamide Shodipo’s eighth league goal of the season ultimately counted for little.

There were a number of positives for Oxford though. Brandon Barker and Elliot Lee both looked lively on their first appearances for the club after arriving on transfer deadline day and for long periods they controlled the rhythm of the game.

Being undone by the exceptional Richards was nothing to be ashamed of either, as the England youth international has proven to be one of the third tier’s finest midfield players in recent weeks.

Despite the obvious disappointment that always follows after a defeat, particularly one that brings such an impressive run to an end, there was still plenty for manager Robinson to be pleased with:

“I thought we played well on Saturday, really well,” he insisted ahead of the trip to the Memorial Stadium. “We got lucky at Rochdale and won, not great against AFC (Wimbledon) and won, and we played better at Doncaster and lost.

“That happens sometimes but it is just one result and we get the chance to make amends pretty quickly because games are going to come thick and fast from now on in.”

There could be few more welcoming games to begin a new unbeaten run with than against Bristol Rovers at the moment. Paul Tisdale’s side are on a nine-game winless run and have won just three times at home in the league this season.

The nine-game run includes a trip to the Kassam Stadium in the middle of January, in which Rovers started brightly but were eventually undone by two goals from former striker Matty Taylor that proved to be too much to find a way back from.

Getting the team scoring goals has been a massive issue for Tisdale since he replaced Ben Garner in November last year. They have found the back of the net just six times since the turn of the year, with striker Brandon Hanlon without a goal since the win over Blackpool at the start of January.

A 6-1 defeat at Accrington Stanley last week saw pressure build on Tisdale as it left the Gas above the relegation zone on goal difference alone.

The goalless draw at Fleetwood on Saturday helped keep their head above the water, but if the winless run continues for much longer it would be no surprise to see Rovers move on to their third manager of the season.

All of the signs point to an ideal opportunity for Oxford to get their Play-Off push back on track. Despite being six points behind sixth-placed Charlton Athletic, this is the first of three games the U’s have in hand over the Londoners.

Taylor will once again be looking to be the main man on his return to the West Country. His 11 league goals makes him the joint-fourth highest scorer in League One.

Despite insisting scoring against Rovers was no more special than scoring against any other side after his brace at the Kassam, he will be looking to avenge his previous visit to the Memorial Stadium in August 2019.

In one of his first appearances since returning to Oxford on loan from Bristol City, Taylor was booked before having to be substituted with a leg injury in a 3-1 defeat. The Bristol Rovers supporters certainly enjoyed his disappointing afternoon, with his deadline day move across the Bristol divide in January 2017 far from forgotten.

Even though there will be no baying crowd to antagonise him on Tuesday night, it would be no surprise to see Taylor land the knockout blow that gets the U’s back to winning ways.