RUBEN Rodrigues dropped to the bench for Oxford United’s thrilling 3-2 win at home to Luton Town having felt a tight hamstring in recent games.
United’s creative midfielder was a surprise omission from the starting line-up against the Hatters, with Matt Phillips coming into the team in his place.
Phillips started centrally off Mark Harris up front, with Siriki Dembele on the left-hand side and Przemyslaw Placheta lining up on the right wing.
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U’s head coach Gary Rowett said: “It was more of an enforced change. Ruben’s had a tight hamstring at about 60 minutes in the last two games, so I certainly didn’t want to lose him.
“Matty has trained really well, and when he’s come into the team in different positions, he’s an intelligent footballer.
“In the first half in particular, himself, Sparky [Harris] and maybe Shemmy [Placheta] just struggled a little bit to get the space and the effect on the game they normally do, but I think that was down to Luton playing a little bit deeper and blocking spaces.
“Each game is going to be a different challenge, and each game we’re going to have to change things from the bench to get the relevant result.”
Rodrigues came off the bench in the 90th minute, replacing United skipper Cameron Brannagan, who had been booked seven minutes earlier.
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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