GARY Rowett rued Oxford United’s inability to break down a Bristol City side which finished the game with nine players.
Robins midfielder Joe Williams was shown a straight red card for a challenge on Will Vaulks just after half an hour had been played, and then Greg Leigh and Mark Sykes exchanged goals in the second half.
The Robins then had Ross McCrorie sent off for a second yellow card with four minutes to go, but United were unable to find a winner.
U’s head coach Rowett said: “It’s frustrating in some ways. They’re a good team and we know how they set up. In some ways, they’re just as comfortable in those deep defensive positions because they’ve got three big centre halves, who I thought were very good.
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“At the start of the game, we didn’t play with enough composure. We were just a little bit wasteful, but still got into some very good positions.
“If you look at the positions we got into early in the game, and then the red card kind of plays into their hands in some ways, in terms of blocking the game up and making it really difficult for us to find space.
“When we played wide quickly, we got into good areas, where we were a little bit wasteful with our possession, and a little bit too rushed.
“Then we didn’t quite manage to break them down as much as we’d have liked. It was a frustrating game in some ways. When you go 1-0 up, you expect at that point to then control the rest of the game, and then we give one silly free kick away, which gives them one chance, and you only need one chance to score, and they hung on for 1-1.”
The Robins equaliser came about when a smart free kick routine was played to Sykes, who rifled in from the edge of the penalty box.
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Rowett said: “We gave a silly free kick away. I can’t be too critical of Michal [Helik] because he’s been absolutely fantastic.
“It’s a free kick where he probably didn’t need to make the challenge. We had lots of bodies around it. It was frustrating, but sometimes you can’t get every detail spot on.”
Rowett added: “We’d won four games out of four here. We want to win every home game. I don’t think you’re ever happy with a point at home, but the way the game went and as soon as they got back to 1-1, I just felt it would be hard to break them down.
“It was one of those where you need something to drop for you, and whenever it did, it seemed to drop for them.
“I think one of the frustrating bits is they were taking their time and wasting time early on in the game, and what you have to do if you’re an official, you have to make sure that doesn’t disrupt the flow of the game and it’s your job to manage that.
“To only add four minutes of stoppage was a pretty strange decision, but we might’ve played another three or four minutes, and we might not have broken them down.”
