Henry’s the king as U’s nab vital win
THE introduction of talisman James Henry turned out to be a masterstroke once more as the in-form midfielder bagged a crucial winner against Doncaster.
Henry made the difference less than ten minutes after coming on to move the U’s six points clear of the drop.
And Robinson raved about his key man.
“James Henry in some ways has almost single-handedly kept us up, with the goal against Southend, the goal against Peterborough and the goal again today,” he said.
“Jamo probably had a mind to knock on my door in the middle of the week but he has had a back problem.
“We just felt like saving him for half an hour was a good plan and he’s always got a goal in him.”
A much-changed Rovers had started brightly and a piece of individual brilliance by Alfie May saw him wriggle into the penalty area, but the diminutive striker couldn’t poke his shot underneath the alert Simon Eastwood.
After the break John Marquis should have got his glancing header on target from six yards out after Niall Mason’s free-kick served it up on a plate.
The home side were looking good and had a rejected penalty claim after May went down under pressure from Rob Dickie.
They also saw a disal- lowed Marquis goal and a well-struck effort by Matty Blair fired the Keepmoat faithful up.
However their optimism was short-lived as Oxford hit them on the break, Ryan Ledson crossing for recent sub Henry’s diving header to fly past the sprawling Marko Marosi.
Rovers continued to press and Marquis would have claimed his 11th goal of the season if not for the fingertips of the outstanding Eastwood.
“The players today were men,” added Robinson. “People may have thought that my players can’t fight, that a Karl Robinson team are all freeflowing and lots of energy, but you’ve seen a different side to my players.”
Ultimately it was not to be for Rovers and their frustrated boss Darren Ferguson.
“It was a game we shouldn’t have lost,” he said.
“We had the clearer chances in the game.
“We didn’t take those clear chances. There weren’t many in the game but the ones there were fell to us.
“We had to deal with that goal better.
“I don’t think they troubled us too much. In the second half we came on strong and we were the dominant team but we just weren’t clinical enough.”