Karl Robinson felt ref Tom Nield was left in an impossible position but made the right decision after a rain interrupted draw against Ipswich Town at the Kassam Stadium last night.
A torrential downpour saw the game suspended for 18 minutes in the first half while the groundstaff worked on the pitch to ensure the match could be completed
“The referee was in an impossible position” Karl told iFollow. “Both managers, all the fans, all the players wanted to play but he said to us ‘Karl, if Ipswich score you will want this game off, Paul, if Oxford score you will want it called off. So while it’s 0-0 let’s take time to take stock for a little bit and let’s see if we can get a better playing surface’. I thought that was a very clever idea even if it was frustrating for all of us.
“But first thing, what an amazing turn out on a night like that and well done for sticking with us throughout. We were playing Ipswich Town who everyone thinks should be running away with the league. And they knew they were playing a very good team in Oxford United. I know the quality wasn’t there because of the pitch tonight. There were obviously people swinging at the ball and making mistakes. That’s part and parcel in those weather conditions. But I thought it was a good performance against a very good side and we move one point closer to where we want to be. It could have been three. When you play those sort of teams make sure you don’t lose and make sure you concentrate.
“It was very professional and the players showed a different side to them. Marcus and Nathan aren’t quite match fit yet but that will come and we have certain areas we want to improve still during this window but I am really happy tonight.We should have got more out of it but we dust ourselves down and we will go to Gillingham at the weekend and have a right good go.”