OXFORD United had a near-perfect afternoon at Burton Albion, said boss Karl Robinson.

The U's thrashed Sky Bet League One's bottom side 5-1, with Mide Shodipo and Josh Ruffels each scoring twice after Matty Taylor opened the scoring.

It stretched United's winning run to four matches and propelled them up to 12th for the first time since September, leaving them just four points shy of the play-offs.

Read the match report here

The victory also included cameos from Cameron Brannagan and Sam Winnall, who completed their comebacks from injury as second-half substitutes.

It meant Robinson had plenty to smile about - and he drew parallels United's 6-0 win at Lincoln City last September.

"It was almost a perfect afternoon," the U's head coach said.

“Cameron and Sam Winnall coming on was the icing on the cake.

“It reminded me a bit of the Lincoln game when Matty Taylor got off the mark.

“It was one of those days when everything you wanted as a manager worked.”

United raced into a 3-0 lead within 31 minutes, thanks to Taylor's lob and two goals from Shodipo.

But ex-U's man Kane Hemmings gave the hosts hope before the break and the visitors had to focus after the restart.

Ruffels' goals put the game beyond Burton, but the margin of victory could have been wider if James Henry and Shodipo had not missed simple chances.

Those opportunities came at 3-0 and 4-1 respectively, but Robinson admitted to fearing the worst.

He said: “Even though the scoreline looks nice, there were certain stages where we were worried.

"We thought it was going to be one of those games where you live to forget those missed opportunities, but half-time came at a good time when we were under a bit of pressure."