Sam Winnall shows his worth for record-breaking Oxford United

Sam Winnall notched his first goals in over a year to help Oxford United to a comfortable 3-1 win over AFC Wimbledon in the quarter-finals of the Papa John’s Trophy, helping the Yellows set a new club record for games won consecutively in the process.

A wet and windy evening in Oxfordshire proved to be no issue for Karl Robinson’s side, as Winnall’s first-half double was added to by a fine Olamide Shodipo strike early in the second period before Ethan Chislett scrambled home a late consolation for the visitors.

Winnall arrived at the Kassam Stadium in the summer on a free transfer after enduring a difficult couple of seasons at Sheffield Wednesday, but a succession of injuries have prevented him from making his mark in a yellow shirt up to this point.

However, his name will be in the record books as the man whose goals helped Oxford to a club-record ninth win in a row across all competitions.

“It’s been a frustrating time for me,” said Winnall after the game.

“I’ve had to be patient with myself a little bit and not push myself too hard because I’ve had to spend a lot of time on the sidelines, which is frustrating for me and for the club. So to get 60 minutes under my belt and two goals is perfect really.”

In the week that the Covid-19 vaccine has begun to be supplied at the Kassam, it was the visitors who were in a giving mood on the pitch as Dons’ goalkeeper Sam Walker gifted Winnall the game-opening goal after just 12 minutes.

The former Chelsea youngster was tempted off his line after Josh Ruffels’ teasing delivery from the left, only to be beaten to the ball by the Wolverhampton-born striker as he headed the ball into the goal to give Oxford an early 1-0 lead.

Winnall received a cut just below his eye whilst opening the scoring but insisted he’d ‘never complain at having a scratch’ as long as there was a goal to be scored at the end of it.

The Dons, who were under the temporary control of caretaker Mark Robinson after Glyn Hodges was relieved of his duties at the weekend, had started the game with the energy of a side that had recently changed manager but soon fell back into bad habits once the opener shattered their already brittle confidence.

The intensity of Oxford’s pressing was simply too much for the visitors to deal with following the first goal, as both Liam Kelly and Mark Sykes forced errors and turned over possession regularly from their advanced midfield positions.

They survived a succession of Oxford corners midway through the half, only to be undone when a poor clearance from Walker was seized upon by Alex Gorrin who instigated some neat interplay between Sykes and Shodipo before the QPR loanee pulled the ball back for Winnall to tap home.

Oxford’s summer signing has had to play second fiddle to top-scorer Matty Taylor in recent weeks as the locally-born forward has netted six times in the club’s recent good run, but former Barnsley striker Winnall was keen to highlight the pair’s positive relationship after the game:

“Matty was the first person to come up to me and congratulate me on the two goals, and I’m the first person to congratulate him when he scores. Having that kind of tight-knit family feel is good because we all want to achieve the same thing. If we’re all on the same page it gives us a better opportunity not just to win the Papa’s John but to get ourselves promoted as well.”

Just as in the league game between the sides on Boxing Day, the Yellows sat back once they were two goals to the good, allowing the lively Chislett and Wimbledon’s top-scorer Joe Pigott to show signs they could lead an unlikely salvage mission.

Chislett tested Simon Eastwood in the home goal with a scuffed shot from inside the box before Pigott turned expertly on the edge of the area and was only denied by a fine stop from Oxford’s second-choice shot-stopper as he dived to his left.

The second half saw Oxford regain control and they soon put the game out of sight with a goal that summed up the very different form that these two sides are in.

A sloppy pass from Jaako Oksanen was followed by a determined Sykes winning a loose ball that had no right to be his. His challenge on a timid Luke O’Neill saw the ball fall to Shodipo.

The winger, who has been in electric form during Oxford’s winning run, drove from the halfway line to the edge of the Wimbledon penalty area before unleashing a left-footed strike that clipped the inside of the far post on its way in.

A performance described by U’s manager Karl Robinson as one of ‘complete control’ was very nearly topped off by Man of the Match Winnall completing his hat-trick, but his angled drive from the right-hand side of the box flashed just inches wide of the upright.

The forward was then taken off to be saved for the packed fixture list that awaits Oxford in February, and on a night that saw him make six changes from the weekend win over Fleetwood, Robinson was pleased with the performances of players that have struggled for regular game time in recent weeks:

“I think the players who have been waiting to prove a point have really asked some serious questions. The management of them has been fair, and they’ve acted like true professionals. It takes pride to wear our shirt, it takes mental determination, grit and work ethic, and I think they’ve shown that in abundance tonight.”

The gloss was taken off the commanding looking scoreline somewhat in the closing stages as a speculative shot deflected off U’s debutant Joe Grayson and fell into the path of Chislett, who’s bouncing effort squirmed into the net despite Eastwood’s best efforts.

The late goal sparked hopes among the Wimbledon bench that they could find a way back into this one, but Oxford saw out the remaining ten minutes fairly comfortably as the night belonged to Winnall.

“He’s an all-round very good striker,” said Robinson after the game. “The first goal was so Sam Winnall, and the second one is a better finish than you’d think as it (the ball) is behind him and he’s had to lift it over the guy on the line.

“I said to him at half-time ‘I know you want to play more than 65-70 minutes, but I need to keep you and Matty Taylor fit’. Imagine that every week, Matty coming on for 20 minutes, Sam coming off, or Matty starting and Sam coming on.

“They’re both here to score.”

Whilst the home side have had no issues scoring in recent weeks, the late consolation was only the third time Wimbledon have found the back of the net since the turn of the year.

Despite being eliminated from the Papa John’s Trophy, they will be far more concerned by their alarming league form that stretched to 11 games without a win after Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to arch-rivals MK Dons.

That loss saw club legend Hodges dismissed, and although Chelsea Women’s boss Emma Hayes was linked with the job earlier in the week, the Dons don’t appear to be close to appointing a replacement soon.

They travel to fellow League One relegation strugglers Wigan Athletic on Saturday for what already looks like a key battle in their fight for survival.

The win and progression to the semi-finals of this competition for the first time since 2017, capped a pleasing 48 hours for Oxford.

On Monday they completed the loan signings of Grayson, Elliott Lee and Brandon Barker before the transfer deadline and they now look well-stocked to continue their rise up the League One table as well as being just one win away from Wembley in the Papa John’s Trophy.

A trip to in-form Doncaster Rovers on Saturday looks likely to be the sternest test of their winning run so far, but if they can get both Winnall and Taylor scoring regularly, a cup final and a promotion push could very well be on the cards.

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