Oxford boss Liam Manning praised his side’s mental and physical contributions in what he felt was a “terrific performance” at Barnsley.
Following a disappointing start to the season, Oxford have now recorded three successive wins after Cameron Brannagan’s early penalty, a Jordan Williams own goal and Tyler Goodrham’s late effort earned them a 3-1 win at Oakwell.
Manning said: “It was a terrific performance. There were some challenges in the first half, in the set-up out of possession where they caused us a few problems.
“Credit to the lads because they problem-solve quite well in terms of how to deal with it.
“I thought we shifted the momentum in the first half back in our favour by passing the ball with a bit of quality.
“Going in at half-time we were able to re-focus and reset, get the group together and make a clear plan for the second half.
“Out of possession, I thought we showed a real togetherness and real compactness and defended really well.
“In possession, I thought we carried a threat throughout the whole game.
“Me being critical, I thought we missed a few too many chances, but overall it’s been a really tough week and what we saw there is a group of lads who are all together.
“They had to dig deep and go to a place where they had to push themselves and physically it probably hurt a little bit. If you want to win games, you have to go there regularly.”
Barnsley head coach Neill Collins, whose side made it 2-1 when Devante Cole pulled a goal back in the 70th minute, felt they could have got something out of the game.
He said: “I actually think the game was there for us. I think even in spite of us not being at our best, we could have won that game.
“We started a little slowly, made a couple of strange decisions, lost the penalty, but then looked like we could really hurt Oxford.
“We got ourselves in some fantastic opportunities, but didn’t get the goal. I think if we’d have shown any quality in the second half, we’d have been able to get something out of the game.
“We were victims of our own downfall in so many circumstances today. Players just weren’t able to execute things we know we can do. The reasons for that could be wide and varied.
“Ultimately, there were too many good players playing way below themselves. I don’t think we really played with any quality.
“I thought Devante was excellent. I’m sure the fans would appreciate that that’s what we’d expect from 11 players. We didn’t get the spirit and desire that Devante showed.
“I think it’s probably been below-par. I think there are some basic elements you would expect which we’re not getting.
“When we assess it, we’ll feel that there’s a lot of players and units in the team that we need more from.”
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life after Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life without Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
Pirlo sacked as Sampdoria head coach after dismal Serie B start
Andrea Pirlo has been sacked as Sampdoria's head coach after just over a season at the helm.
Pirlo, who managed Juventus for the 2020-21 campaign, has been relieved of his duties after an underwhelming start to their Serie B season.
After finishing seventh in Italy's second tier last term, the 45-year-old was given the green light to try and return to Serie A at the second time of asking.
However, an opening day draw with Frosinone was followed up with back-to-back defeats to Reggiana and Salernitana, leaving them second-bottom in the division.
During his time in charge, Pirlo won 18 of his 45 matches in charge (D10 L17), averaging 1.42 points per game, a total only bettered by his time with Juventus (2.15).
Sampdoria return to the Stadio Luigi Ferraris this weekend in search of their first three points of the season, welcoming Bari to Genoa on Saturday.
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