26 March 2021

‘Massive win’ over Lincoln delights Oxford boss Karl Robinson

26 March 2021

Oxford boss Karl Robinson said he was proud of his players as they came from behind to beat fourth-placed Lincoln 2-1.

Matty Taylor’s 14th goal of the season proved the winner as the striker volleyed home in the 56th minute after goalkeeper Alex Palmer had saved Mark Sykes’ header.

Lincoln had taken an early lead through Anthony Scully after four minutes but were pegged back as Anthony Forde equalised, just after coming on, following a corner in the 29th minute.

Robinson, whose side moved level on points with sixth-placed Blackpool in League One, said: “I think we deserved to win it, I don’t think anyone can have any qualms about that.

“We actually started the game well and they hit us on the break.

“But from that point on, after being behind, we played well. There was a blatant penalty we should have had too.

“I’m really proud of my players, we have trained really well and to play with the commitment and energy levels we did was fantastic.

“We accepted the criticism we got for our performance and defeat at Northampton on Tuesday and we set ourselves a points target from two batches of five games in our last 10 fixtures. This one wasn’t put down as a win, so it’s a great start.

“It was great to have James Henry back in the middle of the park, and the young lad Leon Chambers-Parillon showed what a good player he is and how much running he has in him, which we have missed.

“There’s a real sense of how important this win is for us – it’s a massive win – and it’s nice to do it on live TV as well.”

Lincoln boss Michael Appleton was without three more players to add to his injured squad.

Callum Morton and Andrew Jackson tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the game, joining Brennan Johnson, who is on Wales international duty.

Appleton said: “I have two different reactions really – disappointment with the result but pleased with the players’ attitude and their performance.

“A lot has gone against us over the last 48 hours in particular and over a longer period of time recently too.

“The opening goal was evident of what we can do going forward. But the two goals we conceded are also evident of what we are capable of in not such a positive way, in terms of naivety.

“But with the players we had missing there was always a possibility of that happening.

“We can feel a bit hard done by because we thought there was a handball by Matty Taylor for Oxford’s first goal.

“Even if we had got a point, OK, we’d have been reasonably happy with that, but this is the part of the season where wins are the most important thing.

“Yes, the players are disappointed, but come Monday morning they’ll be raring to go again.”

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