Chris Wilder described striker James Constable as "priceless" after his leading scorer took the shine off the Diamonds last night.

Constable scored twice – to take his season's tally to 21 – and made the third goal as Oxford United won 3-1 at Rushden to keep still right in the hunt for a play-off place.

With rivals Stevenage, Kettering and Torquay all drawing, it was a massive win for Oxford, who now visit Stevenage in a crucial fixture this Saturday.

Wilder said: "It was a team performance, but Constable was the individual star.

"He's priceless for us at the moment with his quality and his attitude . . . he scored, and won the penalty, which he converted, and then set up Simon Clist for the third.

"And the boy was struggling after an accidental challenge left him with a load of stud marks on him. He could easily have come off, but wanted to stay on."

U's boss Wilder knew Rushden could upset Oxford's run because new boss Justin Edinburgh has got them playing well.

And when they hit back to level after dominating the early part of the second half, they looked the more likely to go on and win.

But United then stepped up a gear, with Constable the catalyst.

"I'm delighted with the character of the boys," Wilder said.

"It was a grind for us. The opposition were excellent and we had to work very hard, concentrate and put ourselves on the line.

"I've said to the players that, no mater what else happens now, they can be proud of what they have done so far.

"When Rushden's goal went in – and it was a poor goal from us – we could have gone under, but we dug in and came back."

Constable said: "I'm really delighted to get to 20 goals, it's a target I set myself at the start of the season.

"I've been disappointed sometimes with the opportunities I've missed, but I'm there now.

"We just want to keep on winning to keep this great run going."