Oxford boss karl Robinson hails late Matty Taylor equaliser at Portsmouth
Posted Sunday, November 03, 2019 by PA
Karl Robinson saluted Oxford striker Matty Taylor after he scored late for the second away game in a row to salvage a 1-1 draw at Portsmouth.
Taylor nodded home in the 90th minute to cancel out a Gareth Evans penalty and extend Oxford’s unbeaten run to 12 games in all competitions.
The on-loan Bristol City forward also bagged a crucial late winner at Rotherham a fortnight ago.
Manager Robinson said: “It’s a replica of the goal against Rotherham, where he pulled off the centre back.
“His movement is fantastic and the header is sensational.
“We were getting a lot of stick from the home fans to our right, so when you get one like that it makes it a bit sweeter.
“I don’t think I’ve celebrated a point like that.
“We are all over the place at the moment with injuries, it’s unbelievable.
“On Tuesday against Sunderland we had one of the most intense games we’ve had in a long time.
“We dealt with that and then you come to probably the most intense ground in the Football League.
“The players never gave in, I’m so proud of them.”
Pompey narrowly edged a keenly-contested first half, with Ryan Williams denied by Oxford goalkeeper Simon Eastwood in the 16th minute.
Ronan Curtis also saw his 27th-minute effort blocked bravely by U’s defender John Mousinho.
The home side had a nervous moment on the strike of half-time when Sean Raggett’s goal-line clearance cannoned off goalkeeper Craig MacGillivray before rolling wide.
Pompey took the lead 13 minutes into the second half when Evans converted from the spot after Ben Close had been fouled by Elliot Moore.
Evans could have had a second in the 63rd minute after being played in by John Marquis but the midfielder’s shot was saved by Eastwood.
Taylor broke the home fans’ hearts by heading in James Henry’s cross at the far post.
Portsmouth manager Kenny Jackett bemoaned his side for dropping more late points after surrendering a 2-0 lead in last weekend’s 2-2 draw at Bristol Rovers.
Jackett said: “The late goal is really tough to take because the performance overall was a positive one.
“We did not see the game out as we should have done but I felt we were the better team.
“It’s been a feature so far this season where we’re in good positions and let it slip which is very frustrating.
“Either we should see it out which is the most important thing or perhaps put some more chances away.
“If I’m looking at the overall performance and the standards they were pretty high as they were at Bristol Rovers.
“We’ve got two points out of six on two pretty good performances.”
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