JAMES Beattie was content with a point as Oxford United were held to a goalless draw by his Accrington Stanley side.

The hosts were in control of the first half but after failing to convert it into a breakthrough they had to withstand heavy pressure after the break.

Goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli was named man-of-the-match for his role and the Accrington boss was pleased to take something from the game.

He said: “I’m very happy with a point. We had chances to win the game, but we would have taken a point before it.

“Oxford are a very good side and I can see them causing a lot of problems for a lot of teams in this league.

“We looked a lot more solid, and our shape was better.

“The lads are disappointed, which is a great sign for me.

“Dave Kitson and James Constable will cause a lot of problems for defences in this league and I think we marshalled them quite well.

“There were a couple of magnificent saves from Marcus Bettinelli, one in particular was worthy of the man-of-the-match award just for that save.”

The result meant Accrington remained five points adrift at the bottom and still looking for a league win.

Beattie remained upbeat, though, saying: “We just need something weird to happen, whether it’s a deflection or a really scruffy goal to get us that win.

“You can see he lads are battling and fighting for us.

“There’s plenty in the dressing room for us to get out of this bit of trouble that we’re in.”