CHRIS Wilder said he had nothing but praise for his Oxford United players, who were left devastated at being unable to force victory at York last night.

The U's were held 0-0 by Martin Foyle's relegation-threatened team, who played with great spirit in a scrappy encounter.

The two dropped points are a massive blow to United's hopes of reaching the play-offs, and they now know that nothing less than four wins from their last four games will do.

But Wilder said he couldn't fault his team, who gave eveything they had.

“I'm really proud of my players,” he said.

“We've been in the last-chance saloon and playing pressure football for three months really, and it's not been easy.

“I said a few words at half-time, but we upped our game in the second half, and Adam Chapman and others drove the game forward.”

He added: “This was no gimmie – nothing's given to you in this league.

“York are a decent side, and if it proves to be a point that gets us into the play-offs, that's great.

“If it doesn't, we move on and I want to finish the season by winning the last four games, which we are capable of doing, to give us momentum going into next season.

“The players are gutted, absolutely devastated in the dressing room, but York played with great fight and spirit.

“We've worked hard for the point tonight and the players did their utmost.

“The width of the bar has been the difference in the end,” Wilder said, referring to a superb left-foot volley by James Constable in the third minute of stoppage time which smashed against the top of the crossbar.

Billy Turley was United's man-of-the-match, saving a first-half penalty when Damian Batt was penalised for handball.

Some other results went Oxford's way, with nine-man Kidderminster only drawing 2-2 at Forest Green, and Histon managing only a point at Wrexham.

But Stevenage beat high-flying Cambridge 2-1 despite being reduced to ten men.