Oxford United took all three points against Stevenage in League One's second round of regular season matches on Saturday. The visitors won 2-1 at the Lamex Stadium after a late turnaround that decided the contest. Jordan Roberts completed the scoring in the 90th minute, a moment that shifted everything.
Gatlin O'Donkor opened the scoring for Oxford in the 67th minute, but Stevenage equalised through Cameron Brannagan's penalty in the 87th. Brannagan had already received a yellow card earlier, and his spot-kick brought the hosts level before Roberts struck deep into stoppage time.
There were plenty of substitutions from both managers. Oxford brought on Louie Sibley and Siriki Dembélé together in the 65th minute, while Stevenage made twin changes for Louis Thompson and Saxon Earley twelve minutes later. Yellow cards went to Michał Helik, Lewis Freestone, Mark Harris and Stanley Mills across the ninety minutes.
Stevenage dominated possession at 45 per cent to Oxford's 55 and created more big chances — three compared to one. But accuracy told the story. Oxford hit 42 per cent of their shots on target, Stevenage managed just 21. Five of Oxford's eight attempts found the frame, compared to three of twelve for the hosts.
The result leaves Stevenage bottom of the table with three points from four games, while Oxford move up to 15th place on four points from three matches. By then it was clear that Oxford had nothing to lose and everything to prove, and they got over the line when it mattered.