Oxford shocked Preston with a 3–1 win against Deepdale, lifting them out of the relegation zone and registering back-to-back league wins for the first time this season.
Michal Helik put the relegation-threatened side ahead in the fourth minute, before Milutin Osmajic equalized in the 12th minute.
Will Lankshear’s impromptu finish in the 54th minute gave Matt Bloomfield’s side a deserved lead, and Kyron Brown’s header sealed the winner seven minutes later.
Oxford have moved into 21st place ahead of this weekend’s games ahead of Leicester and West Brom, while Preston are currently without a win in five games as their hopes of making the play-offs continue to fade.
Spurs loanee Will Lankshear scores Oxford’s second goal at Deepdale
Paul Heckingbottom made a number of positional changes, including putting Andrew Hughes in an unconventional left-back role and moving him into a back four, which perhaps explained the team’s disjointed performance against relegation-threatened sides.
Preston’s form has fallen off a cliff of late and they were stung early here as Herrick had to time Cameron Brannagan’s free-kick with his chest and thread the finish past an exposed Dai Cornell as defenders just stood and watched.
Brown should have doubled Oxford’s lead within 10 minutes, but Preston soon paid the price as he headed wide and Ben Whiteman’s pinpoint goal saw the unmarked Osmazic nod past Jamie Cumming.
But the high-spirited visitors were undeterred and within five minutes Jamie Donley and Stanley Mills had shots narrowly wide of the box from inside the box, while Will Lankshear had a shot on target that was blocked by Lewis Gibson.
After Osmajic was brought down by Brown, Callum Lang took a brutal free-kick in the 23rd minute that warmed Cumming’s gloves. This provided a reprieve from the storm.
In the end, the home side took control of the game and created several half-chances, but almost fell victim to overplay at the back after Donley picked up a loose ball and let Lankshear slip into goal, but Lankshear had a poor first touch and missed the chance, allowing Cornell a chance to get his body in front of goal.
Oxford took the lead at the start of the second half when Lankshear deflected Stanley Mills’ drilled attack from range into a corner following Ben Whiteman’s half-clear.
The Americans were in dreamland, but their dreams began to grow just one minute into the game. Brown came forward to emphasize the third, converting a defiant long throw from Myles Pert Harris into a header flicked on by Herrick.
Brannagan had already scored an assist, and minutes after the third goal there was a whiff of blood, forcing Cornell into an awkward low save from 25 yards.
Jeers echoed around Deepdale, with the home fans watching as players in yellow running rings circled the players who until recently were chasing a play-off spot.
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Preston’s Paul Heckingbottom: “I wasn’t surprised by their set-up, especially away. They defend deep, deny space and are a threat on the counter and set-pieces.
“That’s why I’m very disappointed, because if we’re going to concede three goals the way we did, we can’t give ourselves a chance in the game.
“I feel like when we are defending in our own box, the touch is soft and it happened three times.
“At times[at the beginning of the season]we were like a brick wall, refusing the ball to go into the box (or blocking it if it came in). Everything between both penalty boxes is just smoke and mirrors. It’s propaganda.”
Matt Bloomfield, Oxford: “I think the result is important, but if you focus too much on that, you forget that it’s the performance that drives the result. I thought we played with real energy, freshness and enthusiasm tonight.”
“It was disappointing not to take the lead at half-time. We made a little adjustment at half-time in terms of our tactical approach to defending in the second half.
“The players took the chances that came their way and saw where the game was going. It was a really great mentality to see the game go down in the second half.”
“This is a real team effort, a real team effort, and we need every player to contribute during the season.”
