Karl Robinson was frustrated as his Oxford side conceded an 84th minute wonder goal and had to settle for a point in a 1-1 draw at Accrington.
The draw did extend his sideâs unbeaten run to seven games in Sky Bet League One but they missed out on the chance to jump to 10th position.
Lewis Bate hit the woodwork for Oxford in the seventh minutes before James Henry gave them a 58th minute lead, firing Marcus Browneâs cross home from close range.
With six minutes to go, Stanley midfielder Ethan Hamilton got the ball 40 yards out and his left foot shot found the bottom of the net.
The home side could have won it in added time but goalkeeper Simon Eastwood kept out Hamiltonâs free-kick.
âItâs two points dropped,â said Robinson. âI felt we had control of the game and whatâs infuriating is we had spoken about Hamiltonâs left foot.
âSimon Eastwood had made a really good save two minutes before that and then itâs a 30/40 yard shot, itâs a tremendous shot, a wonder goal.
âWhat I am furious about is that we didnât close down better and, at 1-0, we were in control of the game and we didnât turn the screw, we didnât have that killer instinct.
âLast season our Achilles heel was that we lost 29 points from leading positions, and we have talked about that in pre-season. We have got to get the second goal when we are on top.
âItâs always a difficult place to come to though and I am pleased the players stood up to the task but I go away ultimately frustrated at two points dropped.â
John Colemanâs side, after a tricky spell, are now two league games unbeaten as they look to move clear of the bottom four.
The Stanley boss said: âI thought we were excellent, our game plan worked, we pressured them and limited them to very few opportunities.
âWe took the game to them, we were positive with our subs, we caused them trouble and made some great opportunities.
âWe looked lively and, if game had gone on other 10 minutes, there was only one winner, they were hanging on.â
Hamilton now has four goals for the season and Coleman said: âIt was a fantastic strike, we know he has it in him. He has gone through a spell where those shots were getting blocked.
âEthan was unbelievable today, he covered every blade of grass and his goal deserved to win the game.
âIt would have been a travesty if we had lost, from the way we competed, and I am proud of our players, it epitomises the spirit of Accrington Stanley.
âWe are a decent team and if we keep playing like that we will get away from the relegation zone.â