LIAM Manning was impressed by how his Oxford United side responded to playing against 10 men in securing a fourth straight victory in Sky Bet League One.
The U’s seemed to be heading to the summit of the third tier as they coasted to a 3-0 win at home to Shrewsbury Town, however a 98th minute winner for Portsmouth against Wycombe Wanderers kept John Mousinho’s Pompey side at the top.
United though once again collected three points by scoring three times, having done so every match in this current four-game winning streak.
Fin Stevens opened the scoring against the Shrews with his first goal for the U’s, before Joe Anderson picked up two yellow cards for the visitors and was sent off just before the hour mark.
Ciaron Brown doubled the United just a couple of minutes later, while Greg Leigh added a third goal of the night six minutes into stoppage time.
Manning said: “It was another experience for the team. We’ve had some games, Port Vale jumps to mind, where we’ve had a lot of the ball and dominated for large periods, but we’ve found a way to win tonight.
“I’m delighted for the players. You’ve really seen progress out of possession and we’re continually improving with the ball, which is important.
“It’s another experience ticked off in finding a way to win when we’re dominating and against 10 men as well.”
The U’s head coach added: “I thought it was a really professional performance where we restricted them to very little, and arguably we could’ve scored more.
“It’s hard to sleep after games so I’ll probably go back and watch the game again. All our energy then goes into Saturday.
“It’s a nice feeling to win, but it’s a real marathon.
“I actually thought we did it [kept the ball] slightly better against 11 men in the first half, to be totally honest.
“I thought we had more control. Sometimes the perception is that you should easily win when the opposition goes down to 10 men, which is never the case.
“They change what they’re doing a little bit. Sometimes it makes them stick together and come closer together, and fight harder.
“That’s why its’s another new experience for the team tonight – how do we manage the game against 10 men?”
Just like in the victories at Fleetwood Town and Stevenage, three different goalscorers found the back of the net, something which again pleased Manning.
He said: “The spread of goals again from different people and different positions is going to be important for us over the course of the season, that everybody chips in and plays their part.”
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