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Oxford beat Preston to move out of Championship drop zone Helik bundled Oxford into early lead at Deepdale Osmajic headed in leveller for Preston soon after Lankshear put Oxford back in front after break Brown made it 3-1 to U's just after hour mark West Brom join Leicester & Sheff Wed in bottom three Cheltenham score late equaliser to draw 2-2 with Barrow in League Two Have your say using the Get Involved button Alex Hoad FT: Preston 1-3 Oxford Absolutely no tactical plan whatsoever. Worst display of the season. One win in 10. What’s happened? No urgency whatsoever. John - Preston Preston 1-3 Oxford Oxford United are out of the bottom three for the first time since December. West Bromwich Albion are now in the Championship relegation zone along with Leicester City. Back-to-back wins for the first time this season for the U's, who deserved it after a performance which was pretty much perfect for the occasion. Michal Helik gave them a fifth-minute lead after some slack defending and though Milutin Osmajic's booming header cancelled it out soon after, two quickfire goals early in the second half, from Will Lankshear's deflection on Stan Mills' strike and then Ciaron Brown's thunderous close-range volley, wrapped up the points, and they could have had more in truth. A pretty dismal night for Preston, whose play-off hopes seem ever more distant, they could be in the bottom half for the first time this season by Saturday night after a fifth game without a win. The final whistle was greeted by a chorus of boos. Which had been a theme throughout the night. Preston 1-3 Oxford Milutin Osmajic is denied by a fine challenge in the box from Ciaron Brown, but another poor corner is cleared. That should be that. .. Preston 1-3 Oxford Brodie Spencer with another perfect challenge, this time on Thierry Small, down the Lilywhites' right. The half-time sub has been excellent after replacing Jack Currie at left-back. Preston 1-3 Oxford Nathan Cooper BBC Radio Oxford commentator Man of the match performance from Jamie Donley and he is rightly applauded by the away fans. Preston 1-3 Oxford Jordan Storey goes into the book for hauling back Mark Harris who had won the ball back in midfield. Just what Oxford wanted. Tick, tick, tick. .. Preston 1-3 Oxford Milutin Osmajic is giving it a go in these closing stages, forcing a corner. One goal would make things VERY interesting. But it won't come here. .. the U's defence stands firm once again. As they have pretty much all night, bar Osmajic's goal after 12 minutes. Preston 1-3 Oxford Alan Kelly Former Preston keeper on BBC Radio Lancashire Since they got the goal to make it 1-1, there has just been no threat at all from Preston. They just keep hoping something will happen. If you don't believe it, it just won't happen. Preston 1-3 Oxford There will be SIX added minutes for Oxford to negotiate. Preston 1-3 Oxford Nothing to do with Heck, Andrew. Been same for years, PNE don't want promotion!

Happy being settled in the Championship. Chris - Glasgow Preston 1-3 Oxford Another attacking sub, too. Jamie Donley heads off with Mark Harris coming on to add some physicality in the closing stages, Probably in both boxes. Preston 1-3 Oxford I've mentioned a couple of times about Oxford's propensity to drop deeper and deeper as games wear on. Not tonight. Not even close, They are managing this game absolutely perfectly. Preston 1-3 Oxford Cameron Brannagan is feeling confident and tries to channel his inner Adriano (remember him? ) and absolutely smashes an angled free-kick from 25 yards direct at goal. He nearly bursts the ball but catches it just off centre so it swerves high and right of target. Preston 1-3 Oxford Heckingbottom has to go - clearly can’t inspire the dressing room Andrew - Leeds Preston 1-3 Oxford Jamie Cumming sees a swerving first-time effort from Jordan Thompson from the right of the box late, but gets his big right paw up to parry away instinctively. That's Preston's first shot on target of the second half. And it's Thompson's final involvement, as Thierry Small is coming on after missing the past two games. His pace and trickery and crossing will be something new for Oxford to worry about. FT: Cheltenham 2-2 Barrow Barrow are denied a much-needed win as Isaac Hutchinson slots in a close-range leveller for the hosts in the 90th minute. A bitter pill for Barrow, but they move out of the League Two relegation zone, for now at least, on goal difference. Preston 1-3 Oxford Alan Kelly Former Preston keeper on BBC Radio Lancashire More often that not it is all about your home form and how the fans feel. When that third goal went in, they really were not happy. Heckingbottom has changed tactics, changed the formation and yet they are still 3-1 down. So what is the answer? Preston 1-3 Oxford Stan Mills, who has been very good indeed, and Yunus Konak are heading off, with Christ Makosso and Will Vaulks heading on to shore things up for Oxford for the final 10 minutes and stoppages. Preston 1-3 Oxford Resolute defending from Oxford to clear an inswinging corner from the Preston left. Yunus Konak is down getting some treatment, which the home fans do not appreciate. The midfielder looks to be suffering from cramp now, and changes are being readied. Preston 1-3 Oxford Brodie Spencer, in his unfamiliar left-back role, does incredibly well to slide in and rob Lewis Dobbin, keep the ball in play and then somehow win a free-kick with an elaborate backheel. North End are upping the intensity though. .. Match report to appear here. Rate players out of 10 for this game. The rater will close 30 minutes after the final whistle. You must be signed in to a BBC account to play. After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Last Updated 6th March 2026 at 21: 57 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Paul Heckingbottom Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Matt Bloomfield Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Paul Heckingbottom Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Matt Bloomfield Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Championship All competitions All competitions All competitions Preston North End are looking to complete only their second ever league double over Oxford United, doing so in the 1999-00 campaign. Oxford have won one of their last five league games against Preston (D1 L3), a 3-1 home win in August 2024 under Des Buckingham. Preston have lost three home Championship matches in 2026 so far (W2 D1), only one fewer than they lost throughout the entirety of 2025 at Deepdale (W7 D11 L4). Oxford United won their last league game, beating West Bromwich Albion 2-1, but they haven’t had consecutive Championship wins since January 2025 – the second win of which was against Luton Town, then managed by Matt Bloomfield. Jamie Donley has been involved in eight goals in his last 10 Football League starts (2 goals, 6 assists), assisting on his first start for Oxford in their 2-1 win over West Brom last time out. Copyright © 2026 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.