Oxford boss Liam Manning praised his side’s mental and physical contributions in what he felt was a “terrific performance” at Barnsley.
Following a disappointing start to the season, Oxford have now recorded three successive wins after Cameron Brannagan’s early penalty, a Jordan Williams own goal and Tyler Goodrham’s late effort earned them a 3-1 win at Oakwell.
Manning said: “It was a terrific performance. There were some challenges in the first half, in the set-up out of possession where they caused us a few problems.
“Credit to the lads because they problem-solve quite well in terms of how to deal with it.
“I thought we shifted the momentum in the first half back in our favour by passing the ball with a bit of quality.
“Going in at half-time we were able to re-focus and reset, get the group together and make a clear plan for the second half.
“Out of possession, I thought we showed a real togetherness and real compactness and defended really well.
“In possession, I thought we carried a threat throughout the whole game.
“Me being critical, I thought we missed a few too many chances, but overall it’s been a really tough week and what we saw there is a group of lads who are all together.
“They had to dig deep and go to a place where they had to push themselves and physically it probably hurt a little bit. If you want to win games, you have to go there regularly.”
Barnsley head coach Neill Collins, whose side made it 2-1 when Devante Cole pulled a goal back in the 70th minute, felt they could have got something out of the game.
He said: “I actually think the game was there for us. I think even in spite of us not being at our best, we could have won that game.
“We started a little slowly, made a couple of strange decisions, lost the penalty, but then looked like we could really hurt Oxford.
“We got ourselves in some fantastic opportunities, but didn’t get the goal. I think if we’d have shown any quality in the second half, we’d have been able to get something out of the game.
“We were victims of our own downfall in so many circumstances today. Players just weren’t able to execute things we know we can do. The reasons for that could be wide and varied.
“Ultimately, there were too many good players playing way below themselves. I don’t think we really played with any quality.
“I thought Devante was excellent. I’m sure the fans would appreciate that that’s what we’d expect from 11 players. We didn’t get the spirit and desire that Devante showed.
“I think it’s probably been below-par. I think there are some basic elements you would expect which we’re not getting.
“When we assess it, we’ll feel that there’s a lot of players and units in the team that we need more from.”
