Oxford boss Karl Robinson heaped praise on Nathan Holland after his two goals helped dispatch Accrington 5-1 at the Kassam Stadium.

The on-loan West Ham player’s first was a stunning solo effort before he quickly added a second from close range to open the floodgates for Oxford.

Robinson said: “That’s been coming, we’ve been threatening to do something like that.

“We’re disappointed with their goal but the way we responded to it was excellent.

“I’m really proud of Nathan – it’s been tough love as it is with all our young players.

“When he performs like that, he’s as good as any winger this club has had – and that is saying something with the club’s history.

“His ability to float and drift and front players up – today he showed everyone what a good player he is.”

Matty Taylor, Mark Sykes and an own goal from Michael Nottingham completed the rout for the Us, with Ethan Hamilton on target for Stanley.

Robinson said: “Matty’s finish and Sykes’s finish were the most difficult chances they’ve had this season, they had much easier chances on Saturday.

“I’m really, really pleased with what was a strong performance from us. We knew we had to win after last Saturday.

“It’s very rare for it to be so comfortable in the closing stages of a game, I didn’t even celebrate the final goal.”

Accrington manager John Coleman said: “Oxford were the better team but I thought we actually played quite well, and I know that sounds strange after losing 5-1.

“They were just clinical in front of goal, whereas we keep making individual errors which are costing us goals. We gifted them at least three goals tonight.

“We also scored a perfectly good goal from Ethan Hamilton when it was 2-0 which wasn’t given, the ball was clearly over the line. We keep getting decisions like that go against us.

“I honestly thought we were the better team in the second half even though we have ended up losing (the half) 3-1. They were just ruthless in front of goal.

“Oxford missed a lot of chances in their game on Saturday so maybe they were saving it up for tonight! It is a concern for us, though, that we’ve conceded 12 goals in three games.

“Analysing it, there have been nine different players who have made an error in those 12 goals. How do you legislate for that? You can’t leave nine players out of a team.

“But we’re not scared of hard work, and your luck will change if you get back to basics and you work hard enough.”