AFTER the drama of the previous two Saturdays, it would have been very Oxford United to lose to a team who played most of the game with ten men.

That looked on the cards as Portsmouth inched towards full-time leading 2-1, but the U's are in the sort of form where you never count them out.

It was not always this way. Before the comeback win over Sheffield Wednesday, United had claimed just five points from ten games when they had gone behind in Sky Bet League One this season.

They have bettered that tally in the space of a fortnight.

Karl Robinson spoke about United’s desire to preserve a point at Wigan Athletic on Tuesday and we saw it in a different context against Pompey.

WATCH: Highlights of yesterday's game

Cameron Brannagan personifies that with his never-say-die attitude and it certainly helps when you have the ability to fizz a shot into the far corner from 25 yards when your team needs it most.

Then, Nathan Holland showed real bravery to cut inside and shoot from a similar position, having been underwhelming until that point.

His reward was a match-winning goal and three points for the U’s. Not every player would take responsibility like that.

That strike came during ten minutes of stoppage-time, which followed the seven added on at the end of the first half and the extended interval due to the medical incident in the tunnel.

When the game eventually ended at 5.22pm, you felt more exhausted than after the win over Wednesday or the madness at Gillingham.

Of course, without those two late goals, we would have wondered how United managed to lose a match they dominated from the moment Joe Morrell was sent off after 16 minutes.

Read also: Managers give their take on Portsmouth red card

Michael Jacobs' equaliser was a poor one to concede: Ciaron Brown was beaten in the air, Elliott Moore could have got tighter to Ronan Curtis and Steve Seddon lost Kieron Freeman.

Morrell’s red card saw Pompey switch to 5-3-1 and the U's found it difficult to break them down.

The extra man makes it tough to judge the effectiveness of United's 3-5-2, although Ryan Williams was particularly bright at wing back and Billy Bodin was much more influential back in a central role.

But the slick moves of the first half gave way to set-pieces and long shots as full-time approached, with the U's trailing to another poor goal.

RATINGS: Every Oxford United player marked out of 10

George Hirst should not have been allowed to retain possession with three yellow shirts around him, while Brown and Seddon were out of position - giving Curtis all the time in the world to beat Jack Stevens.

Pompey made it tough for United to play through them, with Matty Taylor and Sam Winnall well marshalled by the visitors' back five.

But to succeed in any division you have to find different ways to win.

Relying on set-pieces and efforts from range is not a disaster when you know you can threaten from both, as the U's showed.

The roar that greeted the two late goals was special to witness as United came out on top on another unforgettable Saturday. It is becoming a weekly occurrence.