Oxford head coach Liam Manning praised two-goal hero Billy Bodin following the 2-0 FA Cup win over National League Maidenhead at the Kassam Stadium.
Bodin scored in the 15th and 83rd minutes – but in between the Magpies gave it a real go and caused the League One promotion-chasers a lot of problems.
Manning said: “I just hope Billy stays fit because he’s been brilliant today.
“I think he’s in a really good place right now, because for the first couple of games this season he wasn’t in the team.
“But his personality in and around the dressing room has been great.
“I’m going to challenge him to score even more goals now. We know the quality he’s got and he needs to be getting double figures this season.
“So for all the terrific stuff he does, I’m going to keep pushing him to score more.”
Manning admitted the overall performance had been disappointing at times – but the U’s got the job done.
He said: “Cup football’s a bit different.
“We just spoke about it in the dressing room – there are two aspects to the game – it wasn’t the performance we wanted but we got the result.
“In a knockout competition like the FA Cup that’s the most important thing – you want to go through.
“There were large elements of the performance where we know we can be better and improve but there were two moments of real high quality to win the game.
“We have to be reasonable in our expectations – some people haven’t had games recently and that takes a little bit of time.
“We had moments of good play but we know what we’re capable of and we know we can get higher levels.
“But I don’t want to put too much of a dampener on it. What do you want to do, play perfectly and get knocked out or find a way to win? Ultimately that’s what we did today.”
Manning has been linked with the vacant Bristol City job, but he did not want to comment on that.
“I don’t want to detract from today, but I’ve heard nothing,” he said. “And I don’t want to get involved in anything hypothetical, I don’t see the point in it.”
Maidenhead boss Alan Devonshire, serving a touchline ban, said he was unable to speak to the media.
Assistant manager Ryan Peters said: “They’re second in League One so we always knew it would be tough, but I thought we did ourselves proud.
“There were moments in the second half when we had them on the ropes, and we had a few moments where it flashed across their goal.
“You just hope then you can nick one.
“But then they go down the other end and produce those moments of magic that have kept them as high as they are in the league.
“Ironically, scoring goals hasn’t been a problem for us lately, we’ve been scoring goals for fun. It’s been keeping them out at the other end that has been a problem.”
Peters said the occasion was special for the club.
“For quite a lot of these young boys in our team it’s the stage they want to be on, so it’s a big day out for them,” he added.
“It’s a bit of mixed emotions for me. We performed well. But I suppose when you run a team so close – and especially a team that is going so well in League One – yes, you’d like to see it over the line.”
Sessegnon rejoins boyhood club Fulham after Tottenham departure
Ryan Sessegnon has resigned for Fulham on a free transfer, five years after leaving the club.
The 24-year-old signed a two-year contract with the Cottagers with the option to extend for a further year following his departure from Tottenham last month.
In his first spell at the club, Sessegnon worked his way through the academy over 11 years, scoring 25 goals in 120 first-team appearances.
He then moved to Spurs in a £25million deal in 2019, though struggled to nail down a place in North London, making just 57 appearances in all competitions, and scoring three goals.
"It's amazing to be back. Emotional, as well," he told FFCtv. "It's where it started for me, where everything began, and it's amazing to be back.
"It will always be home for me. I think it had the feeling that it was meant to be, coming back here, so I'm delighted to get it done."
Sessegnon is Fulham's first signing of the transfer window, though they have seen plenty of first-team departures already, with Joao Palhinha, Tosin Adarabioyo and Bobby De Cordova-Reid all leaving the club.
Lindstrom joins Everton on loan from Napoli
Everton have completed the loan signing of Jesper Lindstrom from Napoli, the club confirmed on Friday.
Lindstrom will join the Toffees for the 2024-25 season with the deal including an option to make the move permanent at the end of the campaign.
The 24-year-old becomes the fourth addition at Goodison Park following the arrivals of Tim Iroegbunam, Iliman Ndiaye and Jack Harrison.
Lindstrom arrives after a difficult season with Napoli, playing just 416 minutes in 22 league appearances for the Serie A side.
The Denmark international arrived in Naples from Eintracht Frankfurt where he scored 14 goals in 80 appearances, helping the German side lift the Europa League in the 2021-22 season.
“I feel very good. It’s amazing to represent Everton," Lindstrom said in his first interview with the club.
"This is a big club, with big history, a good stadium and, as I’ve seen, very good facilities as well. I’m very, very happy to be here and I feel like this is a good fit.
“I actually heard of Everton’s interest a while ago – not only from now but previously. England is very similar to Denmark so I will feel at home quickly.
“I’ve spoken to the manager. It sounds as though he likes the way I play football and I can be a good fit for the team with my speed, so now I want to deliver."
The search for another attacking option out wide had been the priority at Everton, having seen Arnaut Danjuma return to Villarreal following the completion of his loan deal, and the sale of Lewis Dobbin to Aston Villa.
Everton managed 40 goals last season, the second worst in the Premier League ahead of Sheffield United (35), and Dyche believes Lindstrom has a lot to offer in the final third.
"Jesper is a player with very good ability who can operate in a number of different attacking roles, which will benefit us heading into the new season," said Dyche.
"He joins us with a range of different experiences. He is hungry and eager to succeed with us, and that's a strong starting point as we look to add more productivity to our attack."
Maguire labels England criticism 'ridiculous' following Euro 2024 display
Harry Maguire has defended his England team-mates after their performance at Euro 2024, labelling the criticism as "a bit ridiculous".
England reached back-to-back European Championship finals but suffered the same outcome in Berlin as they did at Wembley three years ago.
The defeat against Spain saw Gareth Southgate become the first head coach in the history of the tournament to end up on the losing side in two finals.
Southgate called time on his eight-year tenure in charge of the Three Lions two days after the tournament ended, winning 59.8% of his 102 games in charge.
Despite this, underwhelming performances in Germany saw cups thrown towards the former England head coach as supporters jeered the players.
Southgate came under fire for his defensive approach, though only Walter Winterbottom (383) and Alf Ramsey (224) have overseen more England goals than his 213.
However, Maguire has come to the defence of his team-mates.
“Yes, performances might not have been amazing but it is tournament football," Maguire told BBC Sport.
"It is not as expansive. There are far less risks taken. You can’t afford to make mistakes or get caught going out in a full press. You saw throughout the tournament there were not many high-scoring wins.
“I just don’t know what the media or fans expected of this team. Was it to go and beat Serbia 4-0 in the first game and then beat Denmark 3-0? Did they think it was just going to be a walk in the park?”
Under Southgate's stewardship, England reached more major tournament finals in four attempts (two) than they did in their first 23 appearances at the World Cup and Euros (one).
Maguire played 63 times during Southgate's time in charge, a total only bettered by Harry Kane (81), Kyle Walker (70), Jordan Pickford and John Stones (both 68).
Maguire was forced to miss the tournament having picked up an injury in May, forcing him to miss Manchester United's FA Cup success against Manchester City.
Euro 2024 was the first major tournament he has missed during his international career, having become a mainstay in central defence alongside Stones.
Maguire's 17 appearances at major tournaments saw him keep seven clean sheets, but he insisted that missing out on Euro 2024 was difficult for him to comprehend.
"To miss out was tough," said Maguire.
“It has been really frustrating, working all season to get myself mentally and physically at the top of my game and be in a position to feel I could really make a difference for Manchester United and my country."
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