Oxford should have been two or three down at break, says Robbo

Oxford manager Karl Robinson said his side endured the toughest 45 minutes of their season against MK Dons on Tuesday night and could have been dead and buried before the break.

Liam Manning’s side were in total control at the Kassam Stadium but failed to find the back of the net in the first half against the U’s. Scott Twine and Dean Lewington both had efforts dealt with by keeper Jack Stevens, but Troy Parrott’s effort on 24 minutes cleared off the line by Cieron Brown was the pick of the bunch.

A stern team-talk from former Dons boss Robinson at the interval kick-started Oxford’s push, and a late Billy Bodin goal kept their play-off hopes alive while denting Dons’ automatic promotion ambitions in the process.

Speaking afterwards, Robinson praised Manning for the job he has done this season and admitted his side should have been out of the game at the break.

“I thought we could have been two or three down in the first half, and that's not being harsh,” he said. “We had to change one or two things at half time - we looked nervous. From then on, we looked impecible.

“From my point of view, it's a good performance against an outstanding football team.

“I've got so much respect for Liam for what he's doing there, and that was as difficult a 45 minutes as we've had. I'm proud of how my players stood up to the challenge in the second half.”