PLYMOUTH Argyle goalkeeper Mike Cooper is the best in Sky Bet League One, reckons Karl Robinson.

The 22-year-old stopper denied Oxford United twice in the first 17 minutes at Home Park, thwarting Gavin Whyte one-on-one and tipping Billy Bodin’s volley around the post.

The U’s went close in between those chances, with Matty Taylor lifting the ball over Cooper and onto the roof of the net.

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Argyle captain Joe Edwards made United pay in the second half when he scored the only goal and Robinson admitted United had to take their opportunities.

The U’s head coach said: “In big games, yes.

“We can’t get away from Matty’s chance, he should hit the target. He gets there quite a lot earlier than I thought.

“Their goalkeeper is the best in the league, we knew how good he was.

“It's not just that he makes good saves, he starts a lot of their good play. He picks the right option more often than not.

“Whether it’s quick play or slowing the game down, he does certain things that allow him to be a good player.”

A near-capacity crowd created a great atmosphere for the clash between two Sky Bet League One promotion rivals, as Plymouth cemented fourth place and United slipped to seventh.

The U’s were on top until Edwards’ 56th-minute goal, which was Argyle’s only shot on target.

Robinson said: “We were very good in the first half, I thought we were by far the better team.

“But when you come away from home, even when you dominate all aspects of the game, because their crowd was so good they probably felt they did better than what they actually did in the first half.”

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United were dealt a double blow before kick-off, with Cameron Brannagan ruled out after suffering a head injury during a training collision and Elliott Moore unwell.

The latter has not played since sustaining an ankle injury at Crewe Alexandra on February 22 and will have to wait a little longer for his return, although James Henry looked bright off the substitutes’ bench in his first game for more than a month.

Marcus McGuane came in for Brannagan and Robinson was pleased with the midfielder’s display, but rued United’s luck with injures.

He said: “The change we made was getting Jamo in the middle of the pitch because there’s goals in Jamo, it’s something Marcus has to add to his game.

“But I thought he did really well.

“Losing Cameron Brannagan, who’s one of our leading goalscorers, is a big loss to us. Losing our captain (Moore) is a big loss.

“These are things we’ve been working on all week and they go against us.”