A thumping 4-0 win for Barnsley this weekend, their best opening day result since 1981-1982 when they defeated Shrewsbury 4-0.
This is their joint best opening day result having also defeated Rochdale 4-0 at the start of 1977-1978 and ended a run of five successive first day defeats.
However Barnsley failed to win promotion in those two previous seasons they have started with a 4-0 win.
It is the sixth time this century that there has been four goals scored by a team in Barnsley's opening fixture - the previous five had however been by their opponents.
This was the first time Barnsley have opened the scoring on the opening day since 2015 at Chesterfield, however they went on to lose that match 3-1.
It is only the third time in 10 years they have scored first in a season.
It is only the second time in 13 seasons that the Reds have managed to score more than once on the opening day - the other occasion being in a 2-2 draw at Sheffield Wednesday in 2009.
Barnsley were 2-0 up at the break, the first time this has happened since February, at Birmingham.
Barnsley won a match for only the third time in 15 outings.
Mamadou Thiam bagged a brace, he managed only one goal in 31 appearances in 2017-2018 and that was a penalty.
He is the first Barnsley player to net a brace on the opening day since Arjan De Zeeuw in 1998 (2-2 draw with West Brom)
Victor Adeboyejo's first ever senior goal capped off the scoring, a substitute has scored in each of Barnsley's last two matches after George Moncur netted at Derby in May.
He is the first debutant to net for the Reds since Saidy Janko at Wolves in September 2016 - another game that finished 4-0 to Barnsley.
This is also the Reds' biggest win since that game.
There were no bookings shown in this game, the first time that has happened in a Barnsley opening day match since 1996 - Barnsley were promoted to the Premier League nine months later.
Daniel Stendel won his first game in charge, he is the 12th permanent Barnsley manager to achieve this after Paul Heckingbottom, Lee Johnson, Simon Davey, Andy Ritchie, Gudjon Thordarson, Danny Wilson, Allan Clarke, Johnny Steele, John Commins, John Hastie, and John McCartney.
Due to being the biggest winners of the day Barnsley top the first League One table of 2018-2019. It ends the longest run in the Football League without leading a division, last occurring on the 12th September 2003.
Barnsley enjoyed 60% possession, their most in a game since March in a 2-0 home defeat to Millwall (64%)
They had 19 shots on goal - the most they have managed at Oakwell since the 30th March (23)
Barnsley Team:
Adam Davies
Dimitri Cavare
Ethan Pinnock
Liam Lindsay
Dani Pinillos
Brad Potts
Kenny Dougall
Alex Mowatt
Mamadou Thiam
Kieffer Moore
Tom Bradshaw
Substitutes:
George Moncur (for Thiam 70)
Cameron McGeehan (for Mowatt 78)
Victor Adeboyejo (for Moore 82
Unused Substitutes:
Jack Walton, Lloyd Isgrove, Jared Bird, Adam Jackson.
Oxford Team:
Simon Eastwood, Tony McMahon, Robert Dickie, Curtis Nelson, Luke Garbutt, Josh Ruffels, Cameron Brannigan, Jamie Mackie, James Henry, Samir Carruthers, Jonathan Obika.
Substitutions:
Sam Smith (for Carruthers 21)
Robert Hall (for Henry 63)
Gavin Whyte (for Mackie 82)
Unused Substitutes:
Cameron Norman, John Mousinho, Charlie Raglan, Jack Stevens.
Oxford manager Karl Robinson said:
“The people are sat in that stand showed more commitment than the players on the pitch,”
“In some ways I’d rather get beat like that than get beat and everyone say we were unlucky.
“I know exactly where we’re weak, we lost the midfield. I had to go to four in midfield because our two couldn’t cope with their two.
“We lost the game in the middle of the pitch.”
“Losing Samir Carruthers so quickly in the game (was key). He’s going to be out for nearly three months, we think. It’s a knee ligament problem and it doesn’t seem very stable.
“The tackle wasn’t great.
“Where they scored was where Samir should have been, it happened when we were down to ten men.”
Match Reports:
Sky Bet League One results:
Saturday 4th August 2018:
(7th) Sunderland 2 -1 Charlton Athletic (17th)
Maja 65 Taylor pen 10
Gooch 90+6
(23rd) Accrington Stanley 0-2 Gillingham (2nd)
Hanlan 23, Parker 45
(1st) BARNSLEY 4-0 Oxford (24th)
Thiam 20,29
Potts 77
Adeboyejo 89
(16th) Burton Albion 1-2 Rochdale (5th)
Boyce 71 Inman 10,22
(18th) Coventry City 1-2 Scunthorpe United (6th)
Andreu 52 Humphrys 68, Dales 81
(20th) Fleetwood Town 0-1 AFC Wimbledon (9th)
Pigott 60
(4th) Peterborough United 2-1 Bristol Rovers (15th)
Godden 1 Lockyer 90+3
O'Hara 26
(11th) Portsmouth 1-0 Luton Town (21st)
Lowe 16
(22nd) Shrewsbury Town 0-1 Bradford City (10th)
Payne 19
(14th) Southend United 2-3 Doncaster Rovers (3rd)
Hopper 75 Marquis 51, Wilks 58, Rowe 70
Robinson 86
(8th) Walsall 2-1 Plymouth Argyle (19th)
Cook 45+1 Edwards 40
Leahy 64
(13th) Wycombe Wanderers 0-0 Blackpool (12th)
Barnsley lie in 1st place in Sky Bet League One with 3 points from 1 game.
We are inside the Play-Offs on Goal Difference, inside the Automatic Promotion Places on Goal Difference, In First place and 3 points above the Relegation Zone.
Up to 05/08/18
Next Up:
On The Road:
Sky Bet League One Matchday Two: Bradford City v Barnsley, Saturday 11th August 2018. Kick-Off: 3pm
At Oakwell:
Sky Bet League One Matchday Three: Barnsley v AFC Wimbledon, Saturday 18th August 2018. Kick-Off: 3pm