Oxford boss Karl Robinson says his side’s 1-1 draw at Accrington Stanley feels like “two points lost” after conceding late.
James Henry opened the scoring early in the second half after some good work by Marcus Browne on the left wing.
But the hosts hit back through Ethan Hamilton’s thumping strike from distance six minutes from time to claim a point.
Robinson was disappointed with the manner of the equaliser and says his side need to start “turning the screw” when they go ahead in games.
“I felt we had complete control of the game,” he said. “The infuriating thing for us is we spoke about Hamilton’s left foot.
“It is harsh for Easty because he makes one of the best saves in the game low to his right two minutes earlier. It was a tremendous strike, I think it was 30 or 40 yards out.
“I just said to the players, the biggest frustration for me is how many times this season we have gone one up and then not really turned the screw.
“The defenders actually defended really well today. I have more of a criticism of how we close the ball down. From that point of view, I am furious to drop two points.”
The Oxford chief also wasn’t pleased with referee Samuel Barrott’s performance at the Wham Stadium.
He added: “I thought the referee lost a bit of control in the last 20 minutes. I thought some of the decision were really frantic and questionable.
“I don’t know why that happened. Maybe when they started having a go at him it changed some of his decisions.
“The last minute when Ciaron Brown is thrown to the floor, you think ‘I don’t know he can’t see that’. Some of the tackles on our players that they didn’t get booked for.
“But you come here knowing it is going to be a really difficult game. I am really pleased the players stood up to that, in recent years we haven’t.”
Josh Murphy came off the bench for the final 15 minutes. Yanic Wildschut also travelled with the squad but was not among the substitutes.
“Yanic was very close,” said Robinson. “He will definitely be in the squad next week. (Josh) is in a good place.
“It is always hard coming here. The centre-backs are really tight, there are not many one-v-one situations you can look for. But having them two back in the squad really raises our team.”
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