Oxford United manager Karl Robinson and match-winner Josh Ruffels have given their reaction following the U’s 3-2 win over Shrewsbury Town on Saturday.
The win was a fifth in a row for Oxford – the first time they’ve won that many league games in succession for 12 years – with the result moving them up to 3rd in League One.
However, it wasn’t all plain sailing. The U’s found themselves two goals down just after the half-hour mark, but Josh Vela was dismissed in the first half for the hosts.
Marcus Browne reduced the deficit before the break before second-half substitute Dan Agyei netted the equaliser moments after coming on, and the U’s won the game three minutes before time thanks to a header from Ruffels.
The left-back, who has played 45 times this season, praised the team spirit and never doubted his side’s comeback.
He told the Oxford Mail: “It shows how strong we are together. We’ve always got that belief, we know we’ve got the players to score goals.
“We had a bit of fortune with the sending off and Browney’s goal came at the perfect time, so we knew we had it in us.
“A few seasons ago we probably wouldn’t have got this win – it shows how far we’ve come as a team.”
After netting just his third goal of the season, Ruffels added: “I could see it all the way and it went straight on to my head.
“There’s nothing better when you see the fans buzzing and trying to grab you, it’s one of the best feelings you can get.”
Manager Karl Robinson was equally as delighted with the result despite a poor start to the game and felt his substitutions played a key part in securing all three points.
Robinson said: “The big thing is we came away with three points and everything in and around us went in our favour, which is even more pleasing.
“I said to Faz (coach Derek Fazackerley) going into the last five minutes, maybe a point isn’t a bad thing.
“Regardless of the reasons behind it, we weren’t good enough in the first 20 minutes to cope.
“The players who came on made a difference. You never want to bring Alex off because of the heart that he’s got.
“But I felt we were dominating the ball so much and Sykesy’s a better technician.”
Oxford welcome Robinson’s former club MK Dons next weekend – the side that ended the U’s 19-game unbeaten run before the New Year – before facing two promotion rivals in Wycombe Wanderers and Portsmouth respectively.
