GREG Leigh believes that the ability of Oxford United’s defenders to chip in at the other end will be hugely important between now and the end of the season.
The U’s beat Luton Town 3-2 in midweek, with all three goals coming from the defensive unit.
Centre back pairing Michal Helik and Ciaron Brown found equalisers with clever finishes, while Leigh popped up at the back post to nod in what would ultimately be the winner with just over 20 minutes to go.
READ ALSO: Our player ratings after U’s edge five-goal thriller
Leigh’s header was his 10th goal since joining United from Ipswich Town for an undisclosed fee in August 2023.
He said: “It was a great feeling, and my 10th goal as well for Oxford since I’ve been here. Getting a winner, there is no feeling like it, and then you just want the game to end pretty much as soon as you score. It was a really great feeling right in front of the fans.
“There’s something in the water. The back four have been doing some magic in the changing room to give us some good luck.
“It’s a good feeling. As a defender, you want to try and keep clean sheets, and getting goals is a bonus.”
After scoring six times during his debut season, and with four goals this campaign, Leigh though is cool on bettering his total from last season.
He said: “As a defender, you don’t have too many targets for scoring goals. You’re up there for set plays, and for me and the other players in the team, like Mich and Ciaron, whenever we get forward, we try and add goals to the team.
“It’s going to be important to get goals from set plays. The fact we offer that threat is massive.
“I don’t think it’s necessarily about looking at a total, but as long as when I go up there, I give it my best and try and get goals.”
Discussing the win against the Hatters, Leigh said: “It helped that both goals I felt were against the run of play. I don’t think we were dominated in any way before the goals happened.
“It’s the kind of game you’re going to get in the league and the kind of game you have to stand up to.
“We’re showing we’re doing that, especially towards the end of games. The end of the game against Millwall and the end of the game against Blackburn, we had a lot of balls loaded into our box that we had to defend.
“As a team, we do stand up to it well. As far as the games go in the league, we’re going to get those, and we’re getting more and more accustomed to it.”
Help support trusted local news
Sign up for a digital subscription now: https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/subscribe/
As a digital subscriber you will get:
- Unlimited access to the Oxford Mail website
- Advert-light access
- Reader rewards
- Full access to our app
About the author
Liam is the sports reporter for the Oxford Mail, primarily focusing on Oxford United.
He joined in November 2019 as a news reporter, and has previously covered patches including West Oxfordshire, education and local politics.
Liam received a Masters in Journalism from UCLan and can be found on X through the handle @OxMailLiamRice