KARL Robinson admitted Oxford United are falling below expectations after their 2-1 home defeat to MK Dons continued a poor start to the season.

The visitors began the day 22nd in Sky Bet League One, with the U’s 15th, but goals from Matt Smith and Will Grigg late in each half put them on course for victory.

John Mousinho’s late header sparked a big finish from United, yet an equaliser did not arrive and they fell to 19th in the table with their second defeat five days.

Read the match report here

The U’s have taken ten points from their first nine matches and now have two weeks without a game, thanks to the postponement of next Saturday’s fixture against Fleetwood Town.

And Robinson knows they have to improve after seeing his side spurn good chances, with Marcus Browne and Cameron Brannagan hitting the woodwork moments before MK’s opener.

“Whatever I say can’t be seen as an excuse,” the U’s head coach said.

“The result is a fact and the results have not been acceptable.

“Some of the performances have been okay, but we can’t keep missing the chances that we’re missing.

“If you look at their goal, in a three-minute period Marcus hits the post, it drops to Cameron, it hits the guy in the face and jumps a foot to hit the bar and two minutes later Mous scores an own goal (from Smith’s shot).

“What is expected of us is a lot higher, we know that, and it’s hurting because of the amount of negative results that we’ve had.

“In the second half we gave everything, right until the end.”

Robinson also said he would speak to referee Andrew Kitchen after the game about decisions that went against his side.

The U’s boss felt the hosts should have had a stoppage-time penalty for an apparent handball in the box and he was booked late on for taking the ball off the fourth official in a bid to speed up play.

But he was just as frustrated with Kitchen’s decision not to give Dons midfielder Josh McEachran a second yellow card for kicking the ball away.

Robinson said: “You go back to the penalty decision, it’s clearly obvious it’s hit his hand. That is a fact. The referee has got that wrong.

“Josh McEachran gets booked for kicking the ball away, he then kicks the ball away again – worse.

“The referee said to me it didn’t influence the restart of the game, so he never booked him.

“Then, when we’re trying to chase the game and there’s an intensity, the ball goes over the fence end and the fourth official takes his time.

“I’m sure I’m within my rights to get the football on the pitch as quick as I possibly can, because we want to win.

“I’m the one that gets booked and he didn’t add any time on for that, so I cost the players 30 seconds as well.

“It’s hard, but I have to stand here as a shield for my players. I’ll accept the criticism and the negativity that goes around, that's part of my responsibility.”