-myKhel Team

Oxford United boosted survival hopes with a 3-1 win at Preston North End that also dented Preston’s Championship play-off push, and Matt Bloomfield urged the squad to keep calm in the relegation battle after climbing out of the bottom three, with West Brom dropping into the relegation zone following the result at Deepdale.

Michal Helik, Will Lankshear and Ciaron Brown scored the goals that earned Oxford United back-to-back league victories for the first time in more than a year, while Milutin Osmajic replied for Preston, and Bloomfield said the players were enjoying their form but must avoid letting emotions dictate performances during the tense closing stretch of the season.

Oxford United controlled long spells of the match and limited Preston’s threat, creating 1.74 expected goals from 15 attempts compared with Preston’s 0.93 xG from 13 shots, and the visitors looked strong both from set-pieces and open play, with Bloomfield later suggesting Oxford United could have added further goals given the number of clear chances created.

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Bloomfield expressed satisfaction with the overall display and highlighted the significance of consecutive wins for Oxford United, telling Sky Sports: “I was really pleased with the performance. Back-to-back wins for the first time in over a year, the lads are enjoying it.”

Bloomfield also reflected on missed chances, game plan and mindset, adding: “I thought we left a couple of goals out there to be honest, we created some good opportunities, but you can’t be too greedy. We showed enjoyment and freshness which was really pleasing. Set-pieces are crucial for us, but I thought we created decent opportunities from open play as well. We know the task in hand. We have been chasing ever since I have been here. We don’t want to get too emotional about the situation, we want to focus on the performances and then hopefully we’ll be able to enjoy more nights like this.”

Lankshear, who scored Oxford United’s second goal, said the display reflected Oxford United’s attitude across the campaign and underlined the importance of maintaining that level over the run-in, stating: “I think we have played well for the majority of the season and tonight epitomised the spirit and the fight we have shown. It’s massive, we have failed to put back-to-back performances in and it’s something we have worked towards. We need to put in performances in all the remaining 10 games.”

Oxford United now face a demanding final block of 10 league fixtures with renewed belief after consecutive victories, stronger defensive structure and effective set-piece work, yet Bloomfield and Lankshear both stressed that performance standards, rather than league position alone, must guide Oxford United through the Championship relegation battle across the closing weeks of the season.

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