OXFORD United saw their nine-game unbeaten start in Sky Bet Championship under Gary Rowett come to an end with a narrow 1-0 defeat at Burnley.
The only goal of the match came when Michal Helik was unfortunate to see his attempt to divert a Josh Cullen cross deflect inside the near post.
We had a look at the key talking points from the game.
Read our player ratings from last night here
A sign of how far U’s have come
The fixture at Turf Moor felt like it was always going to be the toughest test for Rowett and his United side so far.
Going into the match, the Clarets had gone eight Championship games without conceding a goal, a run which included wins at Sheffield United and Blackburn Rovers.
In the Clarets front four which started against the U’s, there was some high-calibre attacking talent, but the only way Burnley could break United down was through the unfortunate Helik own goal.
The win for the Clarets lifted them to second in the Championship table, two points behind league leaders Leeds United, and above Sheffield United and Sunderland.
The U’s have now travelled to all four of those teams, but it’s noticeable just how much more they were in the game against Burnley compared to the other three.
United conceded nine goals without reply away against the other three, and were broadly outclassed in those matches.
There’s no denying that the Clarets were better than the U’s last night, but the gulf between the two teams looked much slimmer than in previous clashes against the Championship’s elite.
Lacking bite in attack
Although United looked more like they belonged at the level against the Clarets, in terms of their structure and how they defended, there’s still a question mark over the other end of the pitch.
The U’s had seven shots, none of which were on target. Przemyslaw Placheta was United’s brightest spark in the final third, but Tyler Goodrham struggled to assert himself on the game.
Tom Bradshaw headed wide early on, but was then starved of service, and it was the same story when Mark Harris replaced him.
Siriki Dembele got into promising areas after his half-time introduction, but was then guilty of overplaying.
Clicking in attack against the Championship’s top sides isn’t easy, but as last night showed, one goal for the U’s might’ve been enough to leave with a point or maybe more.
Encouraging signs on first start
Before last night, Alex Matos had made six substitute appearances for United. He started as the advanced midfielder at Turf Moor, and then dropped back into a holding role in the second half.
The Chelsea loanee showed plenty of promise with and without the ball, while his seven tackles were four more than anyone else in a U’s shirt.