OXFORD United are still waiting for their first point and first goal of the season as Fleetwood Town continued their excellent record in the fixture.

Ched Evans put the Cod Army on the way to an eighth win in nine meetings with United with a tap-in 11 minutes before the break.

He scored past Scott Shearer, a last-minute addition to the line-up after Simon Eastwood suffered an injury in the warm-up.

United were an improvement from the previous week’s 4-0 drubbing at Barnsley, with debutant Ricky Holmes standing out.

But they remain a frustrating work in progress in forward areas, as despite having plenty of attacking talent on the pitch, they could not convert pressure into clear chances.

The result was in the balance until the 89th minute, when Paddy Madden converted a penalty after Shearer had upended Wes Burns.

United’s teamsheet showed three changes from the side which started the 4-0 defeat at Barnsley a week earlier.

Deadline day signing Holmes came straight in for his debut, along with Rob Hall and Sam Smith as James Henry, Jon Obika and the injured Samir Carruthers made way.

But the hosts were forced into a fourth change before kick-off, after Eastwood suffered a suspected dislocated finger in the warm-up.

That promoted Shearer for his U’s league debut, a year after joining the club.

The 37-year-old was given a relatively quiet start, with a firm backpass from Tony McMahon, which he dealt with calmly, the biggest concern early on.

Instead, the spotlight was on Holmes, who looked in a rush to make up for lost time after waiting a week for his U’s move to go through.

The loanee’s first touch saw him flick the ball over his man and with eight minutes on the clock he beat two men and drove into the box.

Holmes went down under Lewie Coyle’s challenge, but referee Ollie Yates waved away United’s protests for a spot kick.

He was involved again five minutes later when, along with Jamie Mackie, they pressed Craig Morgan into a terrible error 40 yards out.

The centre back passed straight to Sam Smith, who raced in on goal but saw his left-footed shot blocked by goalkeeper Alex Cairns.

It was by far the clearest opening United carved out before the break.

They had plenty of the ball around the Fleetwood box, but struggled to come up with a killer pass to open their opponents up.

The modest travelling support had little to shout about other than pot shots from outside the box in the opening half-hour.

But the game turned on a challenge between Rob Dickie and Kyle Dempsey 30 yards out. The ricochet fell for the Fleetwood midfielder, who was suddenly in the penalty area as United’s defence melted away and from his cross Evans had a simple task to tap into the net from six yards.

Holmes fizzed a shot over from 20 yards as United sought an immediate response.

They forced a couple of corners, but when one set piece was cleared four minutes before the break, they were caught wide open.

Fleetwood launched a four-on-two attack and when Ashley Hunter played in Dempsey he should have made it 2-0. Instead, he slipped and let United off the hook with a tame shot wide from 12 yards.

The home fans paid tribute to Jeff James with applause in the 48th minute, but they were quickly biting their nails again as Shearer parried Hunter’s stinging drive.

Back came United, with Holmes standing up a wicked cross to the far post which Jamie Mackie header wide.

The roles were then reversed with the next opening, but from Mackie’s lay-off Holmes fired over from 15 yards.

It summed up United’s attacking efforts – promising build-up, but when it really counted there was a lack of quality.

Fleetwood were content to soak up the pressure and look to break at pace.

Marcus Browne, who quickly picked up a booking for a late tackle, and James Henry were introduced from the bench.

But Cairns was not stretched and with the final roll of the dice U’s boss Karl Robinson brought Obika on for Josh Ruffels.

A late goal did arrive, but it came at the other end.

A pass from Hunter appeared over-hit, but Wes Burns beat Shearer to the ball and went down in the box, with Madden making no mistake from the penalty spot.

Oxford Utd (4-2-3-1): Shearer, McMahon, Nelson, Dickie, Garbutt, Brannagan, Ruffels (Obika 85), Hall (Henry 76), Holmes, Mackie (Browne 66), Smith.

Unused subs: Norman, Mousinho, Whyte, Obika.

Booked: Browne.

Fleetwood Tn (4-3-3): Cairns, G Jones, Eastham, Morgan, Coyle, Holt, Marney (Sheron 68), Dempsey, Hunter, Evans (Madden 79), Grant (Burns 62).

Unused subs: P Jones, Spurr, Sowerby, McAleny.

Booked: Morgan, Burns.

Referee: Ollie Yates.

Attendance: 6,689 (87 visitors).