DES Buckingham wanted to see his Oxford United side move the ball more sharply as they conceded a late equaliser at home to Northampton Town.

Josh Murphy gave United an early lead when he arrowed in with just six minutes played, however a Will Hondermarck header brought the Cobblers level with 10 minutes to go in the first half.

Will Goodwin looked like he was going to get a dream home debut when he came off the bench to head in Owen Dale’s cross, but Tony Springett brought the visitors level for the second time in the match, two minutes into stoppage time.

U’s head coach Buckingham said: “We wanted to start fast. In the last couple of games, we’ve been a little bit slow to get going and then finished strong.

“We went with a bit more of an attacking line-up, and you saw that with the formation and the players on the pitch.

“To get the goal after six minutes put us on a good front foot. They scored from their only chance, and it was us playing it out from the back, trying to play a way through them, with a mistake for them to equalise.

“And then in the second half, we’ve done enough with the changes, to get ourselves back in front.

“Then it’s making sure we manage those final few minutes of the game, to come away with the three points.

“I think there’s a big hint of offside in the equaliser, but there’s still a lot more we can do better after that moment.

“It’s frustrating to leave with what we thought was going to be three points, and leave with the one.”

He added: “When you play against a team like Northampton, who sat back in their own half, and not interested in pressing, there’s not much space to play.

“We need to shift the ball quicker, but in the last couple of weeks, especially in the first half, we’ve been guilty of playing a few too many longer balls, and not trying to play, so it’s about getting that balance right.

“We did it at times, and when we did it, we got through. When we didn’t do it, we struggled.

“I thought the changes we made in the second half sped that up a little bit, and I thought in the second half, we were a lot brighter and moved the ball a lot quicker.

“The early goal was what we wanted and that’s the reason we started the way we did. We wanted to make sure that we got that first goal and controlled the rest of the half.

“We continued to create in the first half, more so from the wide areas with crosses into the box, and we couldn’t get on the end of a couple, and it wasn’t to be.

“We left it to the second half to make sure we could get in front and try come away with a result.”