Sam Long inspires Oxford United into the League One play-off places after a five-goal thriller against Gillingham

It took 75 minutes for Oxford to get going against a resolute Gillingham side, but a last-minute winner from Sam Long meant the performance mattered little.

Within minutes of kick-off at the Kassam, you could tell that Oxford were going to be in for a long afternoon. Gillingham had arrived in Oxfordshire with no intention of deviating from their route one style, with a very Steve Evans-esque opening five minutes setting the tone for what was to be an awfully scrappy, dull first-half.

The only memorable highlight of the first 45 minutes was Gillingham top scorer Vadaine Oliver’s opening goal. The target man, who now has 18 goals in all competitions under his belt, spun nicely on the corner of the six-yard box and fired low past Jack Stevens into the bottom right-hand corner.

An exchange of words between Gillingham boss Evans and members of the Oxford coaching staff saw things get a little heated at half-time, and his temper wouldn’t have been any better upon the next three peeps of the referee’s whistle.

However, for much of the second-half, Oxford continued to be their own worst enemies. Misplaced pass after misplaced pass, lazy touch after lazy touch, and an all-round malaise saw the U’s deservedly two down after 71 minutes.

Robbie Cundy tapped into an open net after Jordan Graham’s intricate footwork inside the box allowed him to fire a cross into the defender, putting the Gills 2-0 up. In all honesty, Cundy’s goal should have been their third – Oxford goalkeeper Stevens produced a fine smothering save from Oliver minutes earlier.

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It's not working at all for Oxford at the moment. Throw out from Stevens to Henry is met with a poor touch by the winger, whilst his teammates lightly jog upfield. For a team 1-0 down in a huge game at home, you'd expect more…

?#OUFC 0-1 #Gills?

— Sam Hudspith (@samhudspith24) April 17, 2021

Sam Winnall had only been on the pitch for around 10 minutes when, perhaps catching Gillingham a little off guard, he fired low past Jack Bonham into the Gills’ goal.

If Gillingham were feeling the pressure, however, it wasn’t particularly obvious. Granted, their dominant press had dwindled and the away side began to sit back, but between their first and second goals, Oxford didn’t rain shots down upon Bonham’s goal – in fact, the visitors very nearly broke once or twice.

It was the sometimes ‘forgotten men’ – the full-backs – who drew Oxford level. Josh Ruffels’ deep cross found right-back Sam Long’s head at the far post, and he duly nodded past Bonham. In the 93rd minute, the feat was almost identically repeated – Long again the goalscorer, this time with his foot, and Cameron Brannagan the provider.

The smile hardly left U’s manager Karl Robinson’s face for the entire twenty minutes of the post-match press conference. Steve Evans, meanwhile, left the arena red-faced after a customary spat with the referee, not showing the Gillingham boss in the best of lights.

For Oxford, three things were made clear against Gillingham

The first is proof of how crucial a fully fit squad is to the U’s. The second is the clarification that Oxford do indeed have the mentality to face the play-offs. And the third? Well, the Gillingham win demonstrates the quality of match-winner Sam Long.

An unfortunate spell of injuries has hit Oxford hard in recent weeks. Many fans deemed their side out of the play-off race following the defeat to Accrington Stanley on April 5th. 12 days later, Oxford found themselves in sixth. It’s not simply the added quality that has aided Oxford since their squad has once again become (more or less) fully fit, but arguably the cohesion and fluidity in the side.

This was demonstrated more so in the goals-galore wins against Crewe Alexandra and Shrewsbury – Oxford were anything but cohesive for much of Saturday’s tie – but mentally, a fractured team translates into fractured performances.

The mentality and graft that Oxford displayed in the final 15 or so minutes of the Gillingham win was undoubtedly a by-product of the unity of the team when Robinson has the freedom to select an 11 that will fit. This naturally removes the pressure of square pegs being stuck into round holes.

When Gillingham struck their second goal, the notion that Oxford had, too often this season, simply been rolled over by a more physical, more determined side was only further stoked. However, we are perhaps too quick to judge the strength of Oxford’s mentality. As Karl Robinson noted after Oxford’s previous game against Shrewsbury: ‘‘The players may frustrate me from time to time but they never let me down with effort’.

Match winner Long also explained, post-match, that the hour-plus of mediocrity wasn’t down to a lack of desire or ability, rather that Gillingham, simply, played to their strengths.

‘They do make it difficult. They’re up there, because they’re good at what they do’.

Sam Long himself has been something of a revelation this season. The right-back is integral to Oxford both defensively and offensively.

Two goals in three games and a new contract have been just rewards within the last week for a player who has contributed enormously to Oxford’s rise up the table. 10 goal contributions in total this season, alongside 1.7 tackles per game and 1.6 interceptions per game prove Long’s contribution quantitatively.

His story is more than that. A local boy, the full-back has been with Oxford since he was eight. He has faced fair criticism from fans, and until this season was never the team’s established right-back, but he has always answered his critics with pure graft, desire, and, as is now emerging, true quality.

Three points and three goals have equalled sixth place for Oxford – something that, after their 3-1 defeat in the reverse fixture at Priestfield, seemed very, very unlikely. Now, with their fate in their own hands and a favourable run in, it’s a matter of trying to go all the way for Oxford United.

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