It was a nail biting finish at London Road on Wednesday night but one that saw Oxford United through to the League One playoff final at Wembley.
A day earlier, Bolton qualified for the final, so it’s Oxford v Bolton, with the game taking place on Saturday, May 18.
Bolton are promotion favourites with the bookmakers, but Oxford are playing well, and certainly have a chance, in what should be a good final.
Oxford Promotion Odds
If you want to back Oxford for promotion, then they are currently 11/8 with bet365, while with the same company, Bolton are 4/7 to reach the Championship.
This betting is to be promoted, so would include extra time and penalties, if they were needed.
Oxford began the playoffs as third favourites, behind Bolton and Peterborough, so it is no surprise to see Bolton remain at the head of the market for the final.
Oxford Show Battling Qualities in Second Leg to Secure Win
I believe we’ve seen both sides to Oxford in the past few days, and I’ve been impressed with how they’ve set up and managed the two games.
In the first leg, they played a more expansive game, created chances and looked to get on the front foot. Yes, they were under pressure near the end, but they pushed and tried to win that one.
Then in the second leg, in the second half of that game in particular, I thought we saw a more structured, reserved and tough to break down Oxford.
It may not have been pretty, but they dug deep, and did what was needed to keep the game tied, and ultimately, the tie was enough to see them progress.
They stopped a strong Peterborough attack for the most part, conceding just one goal in 180 minutes, and will face a similarly tough Bolton attack in the final.
But I’m not sure Bolton did anything that will worry Oxford, it was more a case of Bolton taking advantage of Barnsley’s mistakes in that one, rather than Bolton showing top level quality.
So, if Oxford can play their game, make sure they don’t make mistakes, and bring the same level of desire and determination to win, then they have every chance of gaining promotion to the Championship.
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