Robinson praises Oxford players after victory over AFC Wimbledon

Oxford manager Karl Robinson hailed his side’s ability to “go to war with teams” after they moved up to second in League One with a 2-1 victory over AFC Wimbledon.

Mark Sykes provided a 61st-minute winner to give Robinson’s in-form men their 11th league win of the season, putting them to within four points of leaders Wycombe.

Shane McLoughlin’s first-half own goal had earlier given Oxford the lead but Sykes’ effort proved crucial after the hosts equalised through Joe Pigott.

“I’ve never had a team that’s done that, gone to war with teams, and today we had to go to war in every sense of the word,” Robinson said.

“This was not a pushover. This would be the biggest challenge in a long time.

“Our freshness midway through the second half really showed. The longer the match went on, they ran out of steam.

“We’ve fought for everything. At times we’ve played some great stuff. I thought Pigott was the best player on the pitch, he gave us a real difficult time.”

Robinson also reserved special praise for the performance of defender Rob Dickie, while acknowledging the unique nature of the fixture for himself – given his former employment as MK Dons boss.

He added: “That’s Rob Dickie’s best game for Oxford United, he had every part of his game tested today and I saw every aspect that I enjoyed.

“It’s a wonderful win for us, it’s the first time I’ve won here. I don’t know why I get so much attention every time I come here.

“It was nice, I had their fans singing for me and our fans singing for me. You don’t often get that. It was a pleasure.”

Despite suffering their first home defeat since September, AFC Wimbledon manager Glyn Hodges praised his side’s performance and stated more points will follow if they can maintain today’s form.

He said: “It was disappointing but we had a go until the end. The boys gave everything and I’m proud of them.

“I’m pleased with the performance, if my team keep performing like that, they’ll pick up more points.

“We gave a good account of ourselves. We’re disappointed to have lost the unbeaten run but hopefully we’ll get another one.

“There was a couple of penalty appeals we didn’t quite get. On another day you get those.

“Then again, they could say the same. It was a good game, a hard, tough fought game.

“We came out the blocks second half and got the equaliser. We had a spell where it was a good game and we were matching them.

“The first goal was an own goal and the second goal was too easy, it was a giveaway.”