U’s day of history is marked by stellar win

OXFORD United celebrated their 125th anniversary with their best league win of the season as they saw off Shrewsbury at the Kassam.

U’s boss Karl Robinson was delighted his team put on a show to mark the occasion and said of his players: “The delivery of Tony McMahon is second to none. I thought John Mousinho and Cameron Brannagan were excellent.

“It’s still building blocks, but in the last five or six games we’re almost there with big players returning from injury, and that helps.”

Oxford stay 21st in League One but stretched their unbeaten run to five games.

“It’s a shame we’re not out of the bottom four but we’re believing we can put a long run together,” Robinson said.

“The game was all about all the people over those 125 years who have been such great servants of this club. I’m new here but we need to understand the true history of this football club.”

The contest got off to a great start for the hosts when Josh Ruffels headed in Tony McMahon’s corner after three minutes to give them the perfect start.

Eleven minutes later McMahon was again the provider with a cross that Gavin Whyte buried with a powerful header that Joel Coleman got his hands to but couldn’t keep out.

Wearing the orange-shirted strip that resembled the kit from their old Headington United days, Oxford were comfortable sitting on their two-goal lead, staying solid.

The Shrews looked a shadow of the team that beat Barnsley 3-1, threatening only from set pieces. Luke Waterfall headed a freekick wide, and brought a good save out of Simon Eastwood at a corner.

Sub Marcus Browne slotted in Oxford’s third four minutes from time after a partassist from the referee! Shrewsbury Town manager John Askey admitted he was at a loss to explain how his team could be so poor.

Askey said: “I can’t explain it. We’d come off the back of a good result in which our players worked their socks off.

“I’ve told them in the dressing room that if you want a good career you have to produce it week in, week out.

“There are quite a few of our players where you don’t know what you are going to get from one game to the next.”