opening with just one shot on goal by either side, Coventry took the lead on 11 minutes through a Bigirimana goal, his second for the club. The Burundian midfielder was the first to react to the loose ball after a Beavon volley had been stopped. Oxford began pressing more consistently after falling behind and had chances to equalise on 15 minutes, when Curtis Nelson challenged for a corner with Turnbull, and on 22 minutes when John Lundstram had a clear shot in the penalty area but failed to kick it cleanly. Ledson committed a heavy foul on Coventry's Kyel Reid on 18 minutes, but was not booked. Oxford continued to control the game as the half-hour mark approached, with striker Maguire gaining frequent possession of the ball, but Coventry were able to defend and looked threatening themselves when attacking, particularly through Reid. Oxford appealed for a penalty after 31 minutes, when Haynes made contact with Hemmings, but the referee turned them down and replays suggested it was a legal shoulder-to-shoulder challenge. Bigirimana then received the first yellow card of the game after 39 minutes following a foul on Ledson. Coventry went close to scoring a second shortly before half time as a Lameiras shot from the edge of the penalty area was blocked. Attacking on the break, Oxford then had their best chance of the first half. Johnson received the ball close to the sideline and fired in a cross for Robert Hall, but the Oxford striker's shot went wide of the goal. The score remained 1–0 as the half-time whistle was blown. In its online commentary of the game, the Oxford Mail reported that despite their team's dominance of possession, they had lacked sufficient potency in attack. The Coventry Telegraph in its minute-by-minute report urged Robins to tell his players that they "need to start asking Oxford a few more questions rather than being forced to defend what appears to be a fragile lead". Second half Play resumed at 15:34 with no changes made by either team during the interval. Coventry had an early corner but it passed through the penalty area without anyone able to connect. Hemmings then stopped playing after he thought he had been fouled, but the referee adjudged that there was no infringement and Coventry were able to mount an attack. Beavon's shot was saved by Eastwood, however. Coventry dominated the opening ten minutes of