Oxford United and Queens Park Rangers played out a scrappy 0-0 draw in difficult conditions, as Matt Bloomfield's wait for a first win as U's boss extended to a second successive stalemate. In a game of few clear chances, the swirling wind off the pitch threatened to be more decisive than either attack, with both sides ultimately lacking the precision to take control.
For QPR, it was also a second straight draw after last weekend's battling performance at Stoke, with Julien Stephan's side again organised and competitive but without a cutting edge in the final third. Relegation-threatened Oxford at least trimmed the gap to Portsmouth and Blackburn above them to four points, but the point did little to ease the tension around Bloomfield's early tenure.
Swirling Wind and a Cagey Opening
Rangers enjoyed the bulk of the possession in the opening minutes, trying to get the ball down and work their way through midfield, but the elements quickly became a factor in the contest. The strong, swirling wind made simple passes unpredictable and even basic restarts a challenge, underlined when it took three minutes for QPR to take an early corner because the ball would not stay still by the flag.