Cobblers boss Wilder: Oxford draw hard to take

And the Town boss was disappointed with the manner in which his team let their lead slip in a 1-1 draw at Oxford United.

Ivan Toney’s first-half free-kick had put Cobblers in complete control and they should have added to their tally.

But they were eventually made to pay for their profligacy as substitute Alex MacDonald struck in the second minute of added time to secure a point for below-par Oxford.

“We’ve gifted them an equaliser where we should be comfortably walking away with three points,” said Wilder.

“The 4,000-odd home supporters and our supporters won’t disagree that we’ve been the better side and the team in control.

“Apart from a long ball that we got done on, we played our way around the pitch well in difficult conditions and we were the better team football wise.”

It was Wilder’s first return to the Kassam Stadium since leaving Oxford for Cobblers in January last year.

And he admitted it was strange to be back at the club where he spent five largely successful years.

“It was a strange one for me because I had five fantastic years here, with great days,” said Wilder.

“I wanted my team to play well - and they did.

“I wanted my team to win, but they just came up a touch short.

“I thought we dominated the game for an away side. We had the majority of the ball, created the better chances and it’s a result that is hard to take.

“The performance was good and we needed a lift from Saturday (the 2-1 defeat at Stevenage). We certainly got it.”