It was an early goal that got Albion ahead but they struggled to find a second.
That was until John Swift's 102nd minute strike that sealed the points for Albion.
That was until John Swift's 102nd minute strike that sealed the points for Albion.
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00:00Baggies fans welcome back to expressandstyle.com my name is Jonny Drury he's back off holiday
00:12Coxie's back I haven't got to speak to myself today. Winning return for Coxie as Albion have
00:17beaten Oxford by two goals in a made hard work of it went in front after 11 minutes
00:21couldn't get a second goal and then a breakaway finish from John Swift made it 2-0 Baggies back
00:26into the playoffs up to fifth in the table. How would you describe that Coxie? An alright
00:33afternoon, okay afternoon, pretty good afternoon what would you say? Yeah a little bit better than
00:39that like okay and yeah you know it was an important win let's be honest I'm coming here
00:44and I think I saw you write it and probably several supporters watching this say it was
00:48must win and I don't know if I agree with that but it was close to that wasn't it you can't you
00:54know these games at home to you know with full respect teams like Oxford I hate that cliche but
00:59newly promoted teams who are down in the you know in the lower regions sort of fighting for their
01:03lives Oxford are out of form anyway the purple patch that early under Gary Rouse they've had a
01:08dip not scored for ages it was always gonna be Oxford would be delighted with my point here
01:14today wouldn't they so they're gonna defend mostly trying to have their moments on the break or
01:18whatever I thought in some moments as we both said they were quite sharp in the middle third
01:22all right yeah yeah not obviously got a ruthless striker or anything like that but it was always
01:27going to be about how earlier I've been gonna score today and and the later it goes nil-nil
01:32the more confidence we've seen it so many times this season and we and and before you know confidence
01:37that Oxford will get camping in defending being resilient the fans will get up for it but Alex
01:43Mowat's 11th minute opener kind of spoil all of that for Oxford didn't it and and did I've been a
01:48really although I mean I did have that nagging feeling when it went 1 nil on 11 minutes and this
01:53will just be being glass half empty as opposed to you but I thought oh hey I hope this isn't
01:58the only goal we see today always it wasn't the only goal we saw today Johnny because the second
02:03arrived in the 102nd minute and certainly anyone with any idea of a later goal than that in normal
02:09time for I'll be not I'd be surprised you don't get many later than that do you be on the hundredth
02:13minute and look it's come from a corner where Oxford have committed their keeper and and well
02:20finished on the break by Swift after good work from what Dean Garner and and Bainey the debutant
02:25to set it up 2-0 is it flattering it's hard on that I felt it it was a bit more of a 1-0 game
02:34really you know that as Gary Routts just said there they've given the second goal away haven't
02:38in in desperate search of it but it was routine it was comfortable and pretty dominant I was left
02:46feeling that just want to see more clearer clear cut chances created yeah test really test the
02:53keeper one-on-ones more I can cannot think of many there were 22 shots we can think that the one in
02:58the second half we both spoke about where Styles has crossed it from the left low Armstrong that's
03:02a really big chance for him just sort of sweep at it first on his left foot he didn't he's had
03:07kind of a couple of that volley in the first half and yeah again we're talking a volley from the
03:11edge of the box are we moat moats 25 yards second off could save they're not clear cut no but there's
03:16a feeling isn't there that for all the territory that I've been had they need to scrape more
03:19chances but from listening to Tony Mowbray in there after you know I spoke to him on Thursday
03:25Thursday and he's kind of said that it's a tough process to go from let's call it car brown Cobra
03:31Corbran bought a mobile but it kind of season in the process is it quite a little bit happy with
03:37what he's kind of seeing now and it does feel I know it was mentioned in a question it does feel
03:41that at some point someone might be on the end of it a three or four when I'll be do turn this
03:47dominance so to speak into chances there's positives there is yeah but Pompey were weren't
03:53they early on or be it like this there's caveats there with popping rotating players isn't there
03:59but this was a bit of another one of those tests today wasn't it I've been have come through it
04:03look they've been some tough days so far haven't they I know all last week what was it a point in
04:09it it's an okay point isn't it because it's a difficult place to go I'll be intend to struggle
04:14there or all of that and it's been up and down so far but look I think when Mowbray came we all
04:22hoped maybe hoped rather than expected it to be sort of consistently swashbuckling threes four
04:30fives every game while keeping core brands solid you know rear guard clean sheets but it hasn't
04:38really happened as well let's you know it's it's why is it is it Mowbray's seventh game today I
04:43think it's his first clean sheet today that's a big thing from today although you know he said to
04:48me there hasn't he he's not he's not overly fussed about it to be honest he said to me last week he
04:52felt they were on the horizon around the corner you know such a contrast he basically said I tell
04:58my defenders not to worry about don't don't worry about the clean sheets but yeah you know let's be
05:05honest this was Albion's first clean sheet in 13 today going back to December the 22nd with
05:10Corbyn's last game here and that's that's you're just giving yourself too much to do aren't you
05:14we talk about not creating enough clear-cut from possession from territory well then then you know
05:20keep clean sheets you only have to score one and you know a bit of a core brand isn't it but
05:24core brand disciple that sounds like me. Sounds like the coach of Staten Valencia. Adios. But there is that isn't it but he did say you know
05:32Albion have you know can be better defensively and that kind of brings me up nice on to the next
05:38point that they've suffered another setback Shemi Ajayi's gone down John Holmer there dancing in
05:43the background of our video. John Holmer boing boinging I would say in the background. He looks pretty pleased today but shout out John.
05:48Coxy kind of the final point we'll talk about is that Shemi Ajayi's gone down injured it looked
05:53held his hamstring straight away he's just come back from I think it was hamstring surgery first
05:58start last week came in today look good you know we don't know but it looked ominous didn't it and
06:04it looked you don't want to jump to conclusions potentially the beginning in the end for Shemi
06:08Ajayi but you know gutting for him and kind of leaves Albion on that because I know Kyle Bartley's
06:13back next week but leaves Albion where they're a few body lines. Yeah yeah yeah yeah I mean it's
06:20continued for a while to be slim pickings at the back hasn't it Bartley spent a month injured
06:24around the turn of the new year finally got available and got suspended straight away
06:29didn't he and back next week as you say with Shemi Ajayi I mean misses the best part of four
06:36months I think from October to now as he made his return at Millwall last weekend and did pretty well
06:42overall I think and was doing okay today he's still finding his way back in and what was it
06:4740 minutes on the clock as he's sort of just sort of jockeying Matt Phillips wasn't it ironically I
06:52think and then just drops to the floor and you see him sort of on his haunches and you think
06:56oh and then you know the little camera shows him shaking his head and straight away yeah I think I
07:02saw him feeling that you know the back of the top of his leg and you think oh dear a couple of months
07:09left of the season isn't there and hopefully you know hopefully it's just a tweet just a twinge
07:14maybe at best a pull and you know he's out for a month five weeks and he could come back we could
07:22see him again as there's an important option the other end of it is that it's bad news similar to
07:27what it was in October and yeah we might not see him certainly play again this season and then
07:32leaves all kinds of questions about his future doesn't it which I know we've gone on you know
07:36gone into in podcasts and we might speak about yeah on the baggies broadcast this week and it's
07:40he's had a contract he's 31 does he play enough to you know to warrant do they see him as part of
07:47the future anyway regardless of another injury here is does he have too many injuries all things
07:51to weigh up but it's a definite blow from today and I do feel for him yeah it's not dissimilar
07:57although it's quite different to the DK situation but DK's have been longer and more serious we
08:05didn't see DK today as the fifth so he didn't come on but nice for him to be on the bench I'm
08:10sure time I've only did get on didn't he for a debut and set up that late goal which was nice
08:14only a few minutes but you know he's got an assist next to his name Tony said some nice things there
08:19about him as a knee so there's some positives today you know Mo it's called six goal of the
08:23season for Mo it most have been from range he doesn't do that enough I don't think it into the
08:28into the box and it was a midfield goal wasn't it Malumby to Isaac Price he choked up the assist
08:34price thought price was very good well Mikey Johnson was sharp yeah just some some positives
08:41to take but it was an important win go but that's the bottom line of today I've been had to win and
08:44what the challenge now moving forward or be it elephant in the room it's Leeds away next week
08:49probably the hardest game of the season let's think about that one when we come to it yeah but
08:52but can they can can they string positive results together you know it hasn't been back-to-back win
08:56since who knows when yeah yes September and it'll be a massive ass to do that next week but it's it's
09:02it's finding a formula the you know to put more of these consistently together and and and hopefully
09:10get above above the dotted line in six I mean as you say two places to fifth today and that's
09:15the importance of this afternoon because no one wants fifth and sixth and they don't they certainly
09:19don't know what's playoff spot but the moment I'll be in our in there hopefully they'll be in there
09:22at the end of the season they did themselves no harm today to know when over Oxford all the rest
09:27of your reaction you know where to go Express and star.com
09:32I'm going to go and look ahead now we've won today haven't won back-to-back games since right at the
10:01start of the season Leeds next but how much how important is it now to just to try and get on a
10:07little bit of a run it feels like a while since I've been on a bit of a positive run yeah I mean
10:11you know it's gonna be a tough game no questions about that they're gonna be at us from the sort of kick-off but you know hopefully we can I think we've got Bartley back next game so that'll be good yeah all positive today.
10:31First half arguably probably for the first hour we had complete control maybe didn't turn it into as many chances but did it kind of feel like a game that if we got a second we might have gone on and really won it comfortably as it was it wasn't a case but I think it's the kind of game we should have probably won.
11:01I think we've only won by a lot more goals but at the end of the day we've got the results that's the most important thing.
11:18I just want to talk about the strikers you know Armstrong played today Lancashire off the bench didn't see DK but he's in and around it now yeah you know how nice it to see options coming off the bench and just just having a luxury you know when we didn't
11:31have that a month ago. I think the strike force potentially we'll have in a few weeks time if Madger comes back you know should be I think it's the best in the division if we can you know get a more fit bit of a blow losing the joy today I thought you know some sort of knee injury but you know positives are we won.