Town have lost their last three matches and are just a point above the League One relegation zone. Here are our player ratings from another torrid evening across the Oxfordshire border...
5. Max Dyche
Talk about a baptism of fire! The 17-year-old couldn't have picked a more difficult time to make his entrance into the first-team. Handled himself admirably though and was one glimmer of light on a grim night... 4.5 CHRON STAR MAN
6. Chris Lines
First league start of the campaign and will perhaps have to wait his turn for another. Played at the base of the diamond but was never in the contest as Oxford passed through and around Town's midfield with ease... 3.5
7. Jack Sowerby
It turned out his shot after just two minutes would be arguably Cobblers' best chance of the night. Saw so little of the ball and struggled to do anything about United's supremacy in midfield before trudging off with injury... 3.5 Photo: Pete Norton
8. Ryan Watson
There were a couple of instances in the first-half when space opened up for him and he could have burst into the box, but he lacked conviction and hesitated. Perhaps a reflection of his and the team's confidence at present... 4