Gary Rowett isn’t the only one aware of major Oxford United problem right now | OneFootball

Oxford United are experiencing a dry spell in front of goal Under Gary Rowett, with just one goal scored in their last five games

Oxford United are experiencing a dry spell under manager Gary Rowett, following their first league defeat since the new manager arrived at the club.

United lost 2-0 to fellow newly promoted Portsmouth, in a game that was severely lacking quality from both teams. The difference between the two sides turned out to be a goalmouth scramble, and a stoppage time finish as United were pushed up the field in search of an equaliser.

This isn't to say United were void of chances, but the quality in front of goal that we saw in the first few games of Rowett's tenure has disappeared, and neither the fans nor the manager are happy about it. Saturday's result means it's one goal in the last five games for Rowett and his team.

Oxford had several golden opportunities to score vs Portsmouth

The first half of the game lacked the sort of quality you may expect from the Championship, and was more reminiscent of when the two sides would face off further down the football pyramid in years gone by.

But once Rowett made changes to the attacking line, United started to have much more success. Crosses were coming into the box from either side that deserved to be finished.

Stan Mills provided a beautiful cross for Championship veteran Matt Phillips, who blazed his header over the bar.

Mills also had a chance of his own, when Cameron Brannagan floated in a delightful cross, only for the former Everton player to miss his header just yards out from goal.

If those chances weren't enough, new signing Ole Romeny found Przemysław Płacheta with a long-range cross that saw the Polish international with just the keeper to beat, but wasn't able to do so.

Gary Rowett was frustrated with the missed chances

Will Vaulks echoed those frustrations

From what we've seen of Rowett following the weekend's loss, the Oxford boss seemed a little bit more irked by the performance, and more specifically the missed chances.

Rowett is a manager who speaks very well, and is always quick to defend his team when results don't go United's way. But on Saturday, we saw him talk specifically about the poor quality, and called on his players to do better in the final third.

Speaking to BBC Radio Oxford after the game, when asked about his visible frustration on the sideline, Rowett said: "You know at 1-0 down you're not going to create lots of good opportunities. The (Stan) Mills opportunity, the Matt (Phillips) opportunity, you have to go and score one of them at least.

"There's a frustration knowing that you've got to take one of those chances to get something out of the game.

"Players are human, they don't mean to miss, they're fallible. But you know there are not many of those chances, and when they go begging it's quite frustrating."

Also speaking to BBC Radio Oxford, midfielder Will Vaulks said: "Unfortunately, that's football for you. We know that if we score either of those chances, with the crowd behind us, we probably go on to win the game.

"It's just that last bit of quality that we were missing today, and its frustrating."

Oxford could have easily won the game

It certainly wasn't a performance worthy of winning the game comfortably, and many fans left the stadium angry, and wondering where the points are going to come from for the rest of the season.

But it's important to remember this game could've been very different. And to those wondering where the goals are going to come from, the U's should've had three on Saturday. Despite Rowett clearly implementing a more direct brand of football at times, the best opportunities of the game were created by Oxford.

On a different day, Oxford equalise in the second half through one of their several clear-cut chances, the momentum of the game swings, and U's fans walk away happy with another win.

It was always going to come down to a question of whether United have the quality to take their chances when they come. Not just on Saturday, but for the season as a whole. As a smaller team in this league, you will get fewer chances per game. As a result, the conversion rate on these chances needs to be higher.

The lack of creativity before second half changes were made could be a cause for concern, after only one change was made to the side that put in a similarly abject performance against Derby County on Tuesday.

With West Bromwich Albion to come on Saturday at the Hawthorns, Rowett is likely to focus on making life difficult for the Baggies, as opposed to making his side more efficient in attack. That being said, one goal in five matches is not good enough, and the fans are expecting some changes from a manager clearly aware of the issues right now.